Here are the amazing pictures of the crowd at Ilesha, Osun state today

The State Government of Osun has commenced the gradual disbursement of Nineteen Billion, Eight Hundred and One Million, Three Hundred and Twenty-Eight Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy-One Naira, Twenty-Two Kobo (19,801,328,271.22) as salaries and other entitlements to its workers.

This is in line with its agenda and commitment to paying full salaries when the state economy improves.

A statement on Tuesday morning by the Commissioner for Finance, Hon Bola Oyebamiji said the disbursement will also cover the payment of Four Months salary arrears of workers as well as other entitlements for pensioners.

Oyebamiji on behalf of government lauded the workers for their perseverance and commitment to the state despite the lean finances and that government is committed to offsetting the arrears as soon as the state’s revenue increase.

Below is the Full Statement:

“In line with its agenda and fulfillment of its promise to the State workers regarding prioritisation of their welfare above others, the government of the State of Osun has commenced payment of full salary and arrears in line with available resources.”

“This decision was taken at the meeting of the Fund Apportionment Committee led by Comrade Hassan Sumonu with labour and government representatives in attendance.”

“In line with labour unions’ demands and current financial position of the state, government of the State of Osun led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has authorised payment of of four (4) months salary arrears and 2016 leave bonus to its workers.”

“Also, Mr Governor has directed that going-forward, workers in the state should be paid their full salary as and when due to demonstrate his commitment to his earlier promises.”

“With this, Government of the State of Osun has commenced gradual disbursement of Nineteen Billion, Eight Hundred and One Million, Three Hundred and Twenty-Eight Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy-One Naira, Twenty-Two Kobo (19,801,328,271.22) as salaries and other entitlements to its workers.”

“We therefore commend labour unions and their allies for supporting this government and for believing in its capacity to honour its promises. It is our sincere pledge once more to always put workers’ welfare above other considerations as the government enters its final phase.”

“We thank you for your endurance and understanding.”

Source: http://www.osundefender.com/breaking-osun-commences-full-payment-of-august-salary-commits-n19bn/

Protocols,

It gives me great pleasure to be at this important occasion. I must therefore thank my good egbon, Mr Tola Adeniyi, for the kind invitation to the public presentation of his book, ‘In the belly of vultures’, a collection of his newspaper column articles dating back to 1959.

Egbon Tola Adeniyi and I have come a long way. I have been exposed to his writings since the 1970s and he has been part of the shaping of my intellect since then. His writings, in flawless prose, were and are still a delight to me and his numerous readers.

He is also a journalist of the old order to whom the essence of the profession is the development of the country and people and to act as the conscience of the nation. He belongs to the generation of fearless and courageous journalists who confronted evil with the power of the pen, not minding the consequences. May his tribe never diminish in the land.

In this book, he has collected his thoughts, spanning nearly six decades and froze them for a wider readership. He has thus been able to connect the past with the present. He has made the past available to young readers just as he has been able to refresh the memory of the older generation.

This occasion therefore affords me the opportunity to address two burning national issues. The first is our burgeoning human population. According the United Nations, our population of 186 million has been growing at the phenomenal rate of 2.6 per cent. In 2050, this will rise to 433 million, making us the third most populous nation behind China and India, surpassing United States and Brazil.

Population is not a problem in itself, but the quality. Providing food, housing, security, jobs, education, healthcare and municipal services to a largely dependent and non productive population is a nightmare and a ticking time bomb.

This is thus a clarion call to governments, organisations, families and especially women to be conscious of this fact. It is absolutely necessary to raise awareness on this dynamics andbring the families, especially women, to embrace planning andhave the number of children their income can adequately support.

If we take a holistic look at an economy, the summary is that a nation is as rich or poor based on family incomes. A nation is thus rich if families have surplus from their incomes, after expenses. Where there is shortfall in family incomes, government subsidy is the remedy or there will be chaos. However, the surplus of family incomes ought to translate to government riches. But when the families have deficit, government becomes poor, which in turn, reinforces families’ poverty. This is the vicious cycle of poverty that poor nations are trapped in.

We will break out of this cycle only by conscious effort to get the families have the numbers that keep them in surplus, instead of deficit.

Secondly, we must avoid going to war in this country. Nigeria’s federalism is perfectly imperfect and far from the ideal. From the inheritance elite at independence to the current leaders at all levels, we have not done much to improve on what the retreating colonialists left behind and relationship between the peoples that make up Nigeria has not been the best.

This calls for introspection and concerted efforts to make federalism work well through dialogue and other civil means. However, we have seen the escalation of the rhetoric of hate, incitement and acts of murderous brigandage in recent times. Call for separation, oppression, injustice, acts of genocide, mindless exploitation of other people’s resources, reckless pursuit of one’s interest, not minding the consequences on others, unmitigated greed of the elite and resort to scorched earth policies are dangerous developments that push inexorably towards separatism and armed conflict. We have seen ethnic supremacists sabre rattling and fanning the embers of discord, instead of addressing the factors that generated tensions. But the lesson of history is that violence will lead to more violence until we have the balance of terror and then violence acquires a life of its own, well beyond the control of those who started it.

War anywhere is bad business and no side comes out of it smelling like roses. We luckily survived the civil war. We have been able to contain insurgencies and militancy and prevent them from snowballing into national conflagration. We should not push our luck too far. Other countries in our situation are not that fortunate.

We see the devastations of war in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon (and closer home) in Liberia and Sierra Leone. While some like Liberia and Sierra Leone are fortunate to put the war behind them, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq have found it difficult to stop their own wars. Lebanon lost its Paradise and Pearl of the Middle East status to United Arab Emirates.

We should therefore all work towards peace and make our federalism a great one.

Once again, I thank egbon Tola Adeniyi, for inviting me here as I wish him many more years in the service of the country.

I thank you all for your kind attention.


Power is responsibility.

Following the release of N1.2bn by Governor Rauf Aregbesola for the payment of pensions and gratuity, the state government has on Monday begun issuance of cheques to 2006 pensioners who retired from the state civil service in 2011/2012.

The cheques were handed over to the pensioners by the Head of Service, Mr Fetus Ologboyega Oyebade and other government officials at the state Secretariat, Abere.

According to Olowogboyega, a total of 2006 pensioners that retired from Ministries, Departments, Agencies and parastatals have been listed for the payment of the pension.

Olowogboyega explained that the cheques were being given to every pensioner who had perfected their retirement documents with the government.

He added that for any of the pensioners that have died, his or her next of kin would have to present documents like death certificate, letter of administration and other necessary papers to the government for collection of the cheque.

The HOS commended Governor Aregbesola for providing the whopping sum of N1.3bn to pay pensioners despite the paucity of fund in the state, describing him as a people friendly governor.

It would be recalled that Aregbesola had last week approved the released of N1 billion for the payment of pension to retired civil servants in the state while a sum of 200million was provided to pay gratuity to those who retired ahead of the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme. .

The governor, he said had also directed the release of an additional N150m which will be distributed to some more pensioners soon.

Video of the newly completed Bisi Akande Trumpet Bridge, Gbongan, State of Osun


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMtd4zL0rLM&feature=youtu.be

Images of the newly completed Bisi Akande Trumpet Bridge, Gbongan. #stateofosun #stateofosunismoving #HomeRun

Images below

The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has on Thursday presented the draft 2018 Budget of N173,980,083,007 to the State House of Assembly.

The Governor is presenting a budget that is N27,347,336,027 higher than that of 2017, the sum N146,632,746,980.00‎ was presented to the Assembly last year.

Aregbesola, presenting the draft Budget christened “Budget of Enduring Legacy” said it is anchored on the avowed commitment of his administration to provide a conducive living environment for the people of the State.

Summarising the draft 2018 revenue budget, the governor told the House of Assembly ‎the state will be expecting money to finance the budget from expected government share of Federation Account N27 billion forming 15.56%, Value Added Tax‎ N8.8 billion (5.10%).

Others are‎ Excess crude account‎ N77.7 billion‎ (0.04%),other revenue from FAAC ‎N5,052.6billion (2.90%), personal and corporate taxes are put at ‎N25.1 billion (14.45%) and N9.7 billion (5.58%) respectively,

Expected form Licences ‎is N1.5 billion (0.92‎%), General fees N20.8 billion (11.99%)‎, General. Earnings N3.6 billion (2.55%), rent on government buildings and rent on lands and others at ‎N335.7 billion (0.19%) and N279 billion (0.16%) respectively.

Other sources are. Repayment, investment income,‎ interest earned, reimbursement, domestic aids, foreign aids, domestic grant and foreign grants

‎The governor put the total year expected receipt at N151.9 billion ‎(87.34%), other sourced fund to finance specific projects are internal source and external are‎ N1.5 billion ‎(0.86%) and external source N20.5 billion (11.80%" respectively‎.

‎He said, "Our ultimate goal for the 2018 Budget is to ensure a continuous improvement in the welfare and standard of living of our people.

"This will be achieved by consolidating the previous achievements of this administration and do everything possible to recover the lost glory of the State.

"Thus, the 2018 budget has been carefully packaged to ensure the effective realization of our vision as encapsulated in our Six-Point Integral Action Plan.

"It is important to intimate this august Assembly that the preparation of 2018 Budget has been very participatory. Relevant inputs were sourced and received from various stakeholders across the State in order to enhance the quality of the Budget".

‎Aregbesola from the budget presentation put the summary of total arrears transferred to the Draft 2018 Budget as budget surplus/deficit‎ N-28.6 billion, liabilities, N22 billion, salary arrears N-22.8 billion, Pension and gratuity, N-6.7 billion and capital arrears (dredging/flood control)‎ N-2.3 billion totalling N-38.5 billion

‎He said, "Having presented the highlights of the summary of the revenue and expenditure components of the draft 2018 Budget as well as the sectoral and sub-sectoral classifications of the Capital Budget, let me now present the highlights of the proposals contained in the budget.

"I will start by highlighting the achievements recorded in each of the sectors/sub-sectors and thereafter speak on the programmes and projects admitted into the 2018 Budget.

‎"The State of Osun, being an agrarian economy with arable fertile soil, can only move forward positively by revolutionising agriculture. The present administration will continue to put agriculture in its pride of place of the state economy.

"Agriculture will not only provide employment for our teeming masses, it will also encourage rapid agro-allied industrialization of the state, generation of income and improved welfare of the citizenry.

"As spelt out in the Six-Point Integral Action Plan, our intention is to make agriculture profitable, attractive as a good venture as well as making food available in the State for the well being of our citizens.

Osun Completes Redistribution of Opon Imo For New Academic Year

...We had no money to buy textbooks before Opon Imo - Students

"We have been asked to buy textbooks so as to prepare for the coming Senior WAEC but most of us have not been able to do that because of unavailability of money. Many of us cannot afford the textbooks and have been wondering how to pass the fast approaching exams."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSDSze-2rHQ

These were the words of Adeleke Busayo, a final year student of Adventist Government High School in Ede, Osun State as she receives her "Opon Imo" tablet of knowledge.

In a similar vein, the Head Girl of the school, Oluwatuye Mary buttressed what Busayo said. She stated that most of the students have not been able to afford the needed textbooks for their coming exams, adding that the State Government under the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, has lifted an over-weighting burden through the Opon Imo project.

"I feel so excited, we have been patiently waiting for the Opon Imo since the first day our principal told us about it. I am so happy to get the Opon Imo finally because we have been told to buy textbooks but not all could afford them. Now that the Opon Imo is here, embedded with several textbooks and past questions, the burden of having to buy textbooks has been lifted.

"We are immensely grateful to the Government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, we really appreciate this privilege and we promise to use it judiciously. Aregbesola has fulfilled his promise with the people of Osun on Education Improvement and we promise to study well and make him proud." Mary added.

The Opon Imo, tablet of knowledge is an initiative which started in 2013.This initiative, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, covers 17 Core Subjects with over 5 Extra Curricula Subjects for Senior Secondary 1, 2 & 3 levels. The Tablet contains over 56 textbooks , 900 minutes of virtual classoom lessons and 1000s of Practice Questions for WAEC and JAMB.

In addition to aiding preparation for School Leaving Examinations, the introduction of the tool is expected to aid adoption of information communication technology (ICT) skills among students in the State.

Back in 2013 when the Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led Government of launched Opon Imo, many were skeptical about its sustainability and its effectiveness in combating the low rate of student performance, especially for secondary school students writing final year West Africa Senior School Certificate but four years down the line, the Opon Imo has proven its worth.

Apart from aiding students in their exams and guaranteeing their success if properly used, the Opon Imo has also relieved parents the burden of having to buy textbooks especially in this current economy situation.

As usual, the State government has begun the redistribution of e-learning computer tablets for the 2017/2018 academic session to students in the final year in the state public schools.

The redistribution of the tablets began in an informal ceremony at Osogbo Government High School, Osogbo, as the students and teachers were excited to receive the device again.

While the redistribution lasted, 30,000 units of the tablets were given to final year students who will be writing the SSCE, NECO and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) examinations and their teachers, across the state.

Speaking during the flag-off ceremony at Osogbo Government High School, the Principal of the school, Mrs Folorunsho Ladapo, described Opon-Imo as an unusual education infrastructure in the state.

Also the Administrator of Adventist Government High School, Mrs Uche Agbaso, said the distribution of the Opon Imo is an extra mile on the part of the Governor to enhance better performance of the students.

In her remarks too, the vice principal administration, Mrs A A Oyewole, lauded Aregbesola for the initiative and urged the students to make positive use of the tablets.

Speaking on the nitty gritty of the programme, the anchor, Mr Bambo Basorun explained that, "The government is doing its best to distribute to students a technological device, it is a marriage of technology and creativity, we are tying to make all our children have access to technology, as you can see, this device is being distributed to all SS3 students, the purpose is to help them in passing their exams and it has all their subjects textbooks, it has past questions and answers, it's a fantastic digital learning tool, it's a study note, so to say.

"Our Government deem it fit to give our children the best and we have started again this year, we are going round the 120 schools we have in the state now."

About the controversy surrounding the Opon Imo, Bambo explained that, "As you know Opon Imo has won an award internationally, we won an award four years ago. As far as controversy is concerned, we are unmoved, we are not shaking. It is audible to the deaf and visible to the blind that Opon Imo has come to stay. It is a fantastic project and we have not ceased in distributing it four years running now. The teachers are there, the principals are there, the students are there, the parents are there and they will give you wonderful testimonies as to what this government has done through Opon Imo so criticism with objective, we will take it but without objective, we will struck it out."

By Kingsley Omoyeni
Ministry of Information


Reducing the distance between people, markets, services and knowledge – or simply ‘getting people connected’ – is a great part of what economic growth is all about.

Although virtual connectivity has become increasingly important today with the emergence of new communication avenues, a good and reliable transport network remains vital. There is a very strong positive correlation between a country's economic development and the quality of its road network. The Aregbesola administration has nevertheless made significant efforts to improve the road situation as seen in the increased amounts allocated to the sector over the past few years.

In the quest for the social economic development of an area especially in the 20th century, good road network play a very significant role in the process of economically developming of any society that is serious and eager to achieve any meaningful growth.

Apart from the fact that good roads speed up the social economic development of an area, it also goes a long way in adding beauty to the enviroment thereby attracting would be investors to that particular area.

It interesting to know that the Aregbesola administration upon taking the mantle of leadership made it clear to whoever cared to listen that his administration was ready to turn the the state of Osun into a massive construction sight, a promise which he has kept and is still continuing in that stead.

The depth of commitment of the present administration to road transformation is evident in the fact that Osun is now a massive road construction site. The present government is constructing, reconstructing and rehabilitating roads all over the state.

As the prices of crude oil continue to drop coupled with glut of oil in the global oil market, the attention of most countries who had in the past depended on oil for their major income are gradually drifting towards agriculture as the only panacea to their economic downturn.

Nigeria being a major oil producing nation in the world had also hitherto depended on oil for a large chunk of its foreign exchange thereby neglecting the agric sector for many years.

During those years of neglect, a lot of rural roads that leads to farmlands which were supposed to be the major source of income for the country had been neglected thereby leaving a lot of those roads in a state of disrepair and leaving a lot of the rural areas where we have large farmlands inaccessible.

The nation is going through recession and it has become very obvious that the only way out of the current economic quagmire is for all and sundary to go back and embrace farming in a massive and commercial proportion.

If any one wants to go into farming in massive and commercial manner, then the only way to go is to face the rural areas where you can find large espance of land to farm in large quantities.

For a nation or state to get into farming in large proportion, rural farmers needs to be encouraged in a lot of ways and one of such ways is by making their roads good and accessible to allow them go to farms and at the same time transport their farm produce to the various markets around them.

The Osun Rural Access and Mobility Project, Osun RAMP can then be described as a project envisioned at the inception to get the nation out of the current economic downturn it is now esperiencing going by the huge impact the activities of RAMP has had on rural communities through the construction and rehabilitation of roads.

The Rural Access and Mobility Project is a world bank and French Development Agency credit financed project in support of the implementation of the federal government of Nigeria's rural travel and transport policy.

The state of Osun being an agrarian state is made up of many rural areas with vast farmland which needs accessible roads to allow the farmers in such communities to transport their farm produce to nearby markets for sale.

It was therefore a huge respite to the government and the people of Osun when the state was chosen as one of the lucky states to benefit from the RAMP intervention through the World bank and the French Development Agency in the construction and rehabilitation of rural roads across the state so as to assist farmers in the transportation of their goods to the cities thereby boosting the economy of the state through farming.

The project in Osun is being implemented and supervised by the State Project Implementation Unit(SPIU) and through its activities the project have had a wider impact on the affected communities by providing accessibility which has brought livelihoods to the poor and at the same time boosted the economy of the state.

Osun RAMP met a lot of the rural roads in a state of disrepair, but the story has changed significantly today as a lot of the roads are now wearing a look and farmers and traders alike are now esperiencing boom in their activities as they now find it much easier to get to their farms.

Commercial activities in many of the said communities has now doubled because their markets are now flooded with varieties of farm produce on every market days.

A lot of communities which had formerly been cut off by rivers from major markets now have access to the markets because Osun RAMP have succeeded in constructing bridges that will stand the test of time for them.

Some of the communities in Osun where river crossings or bridges where constructed include: Elewonta in Iwo, Olomu stream in Irewole local government, Iree Polytechnic road in Boripe, Olukesi farm - Oju eri in Boluwaduro local government, Ipon Stream in Odo-Otin, Odo Owere in Ede north local government, Gbalefe road, Modakeke in Ife east,as well as Oke-Aho stream located at Sekona in Ife north local government.

Others are: Faweri river in Ife south local government, Ogbaagba ogudu, Odo Oroki in Obokun local government, Opa bridge in Odunrin via Ipetumodu, Oyile River in Ilasetown, Oyi Adunni in Oke-Ila among others.

The impact of the RAMP intervention on rural roads in Osun can not be overemphasised as most of the rural dwellers are are now more happy going by the fact that they are now able to do what they know how to do best with much ease.

Gone are the days when they have to trek long distances of unmotorable roads before they get their farms, transporting their produce to the market is now much easier and the various rural markets are now much more busy than it used to be simply because a lot of farmers can now bring their goods to the market.

Some traders spoken to on some rural market days across the state testified to the fact that they now make brisk buisness as a result of the roads leading to their various markets now in good condition, saying that they now get a lot of patronage from people leaving in urban centers.

Food and beverage vendors in the communities now make more money as more people now visit the rural areas as a result of good roads, urban dwellers are now able to take their cars to their rural communities without the fear that bad roads may cause a breakdownof their cars.

Lumbering activities in most of the rural communities have also increased tremendously because their lorries no longer get stocked in mud during rainy season.

New private schools, as well as petrol filling stations, are now springing up on a daily basis in most of the rural communities, this is because the roads are now motorable , the volume of cars plying the roads are now more than it used to be. Good roads as they say, truly aid the rapid development of an area.

Through the intervention of RAMP in Osun most rural roads are now accessible in the state, agricultural activities have now increased, commercial activities in the rural areas is on a high rise, farmers and rural traders are smilling to the bank and the economy of Osun is being boosted.

The Osun State Government has signed an agreement worth N216 billion with a Chinese firm, Jiangsu Wuxi Taihu Cocoa Food Company Limited, on the establishment of Industrial Park in the state.

The Governor, during the agreement signing at a state dinner‎ at the Government House banquet hall in Osogbo stated that the state has agreed to allocate 200 hectares of land to facilitate the establishment of the Industrial Park in Osun.

The partnership, according to Governor Aregbesola, will support the state on six different investments which includes; cocoa bean processing, chocolate and food processing, salt processing, cassava starch processing, gold mining and power plants.

The total investment by Jiangsu Wuxi‎ Taihu Cocoa Food Company Limited on the Industrial Park is USD 600 million.

He described the multi-billion naira investment partnership as part of his administration's efforts to raise the bar of local and foreign investment in the state.
Governor held that the agreement would go a long way to support the economic drive of the state, particularly in the quest for industrialisation.

Reading through a copy of the agreement, Governor Aregbesola said the project will take-off by January next year as the state was ready to give all possible support to actualise the success of the proposed Industrial Park.

‎The agreement reads in part: ‎"On November 28, 2017 Jangsu WUXI TAIHU Cocoa Food Co., Ltd. held talks with the State Government of Osun, Nigeria on the investment in the establishment of Industrial Park in Osun State.

"Through full communication and negotiation, both sides reached resolutions which are summarized as follows: "the Osun Government of Nigeria agrees that Jiangsu Wuxi Taihu Cocoa Food company Limited will invest to establish the Industrial Park in Osun State who will allocate 200 hectares of land for the Industrial Park.

"The total investment by Jiangsu Wuxi‎ Taihu Cocoa Food Company Limited on the Industrial Park is USD 600 million. The first phase of the project includes six projects: Cocoa bean processing, chocolate and food processing, salt processing, cassava starch processing, gold mining and power plants.

"The construction project of Jiangsu Wuxi Tiahu Industrial Park will strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations of the State Government of Osun and Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"The government will provide policy guidance for the construction of JiangsuTaihu Wuxi Industrial Park and give support of energy, infrastructure and other aspects. After the completion of the project, favourable tax terms will be given.

"The state government will set up a working group for the construction of Jiangsu Taihu Wuxi Industrial Park, which is responsible for the docking and service with China. The two sides agreed that the project would start in 2018".

‎In his remarks, the General Manager of Jiangsu Wuxi Taihu Cocoa Food Company Limited, Mr. Liu Jianhui,‎ commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for tapping possible opportunities to develop the state commercially.

He said the company decided to establish $600 million worth projects in the state, having understudied the economic potentials of Osun to grow foreign investments.
Liu Jiangsu assured the state of fruitful partnership that would bring change to the economic activities of the state and as well create a robust bilateral economic relation between the state and Chinese firm.

The company's GM said the investment will generate employment opportunities for the youths, thus creating wealth and employment for the state's citizens.
According to him, we are bringing a huge investment into the state of Osun ‎so as to complement the existing investment on cocoa processing industry and as well support the state economically, commercially and industrially.

"We have very strong confidence in the fact that ‎the partnership would in no distance time bring about dividends to both parties as the state's potentials would be appropriately utilized", he stressed.

Members of the State Executive Council present are the Governor of the State,
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, his Deputy, Mrs Grace Titilayo Laoye Tomori, Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Olalekan Adeoti, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Ajibola Bashiru.

Others are; Commissioner ‎for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, Mr. Ismaila Jayeoba Alagbada and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Forestry, Natural and Mineral Resources, Mr. Stephen Babatunde Ajilore, all representing Osun State Government.

Chinese delegation members includes; General Manager of Jiangsu Wuxi Taihu Cocoa Food Company Limited, Mr. Liu Jianhui, Assistant General Manager, Shanghai Golden Monkey Group, Mr. Zhang Hua, Nigeria Skyrun Cocoa Industrial Products Limited, Ms. Xu Feng and Chinese delegation members.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, Hon. Ismaila Jayeoba Alagbada lauded Governor Rauf Aregbesola's commitment to turn Osun to a commercial hub of the southwest region.

He confirmed the progress which the previous Chinese investment had made in the cocoa processing industry located at Ede, saying "we are here to chat a new course for the development of our dear state.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo will on Thursday launch the Nationwide Small and Medium Enterprise Clinic and the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme in Osun, South-West Nigeria.

The MSME Clinic is a scheme under the office of the Vice President targeted at helping small and medium enterprises to be positioned for critical roles in re-energising the economy.

A statement by the Commissioner Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives , Mr Ismaila Jayeoba-Alagbada explained that the Vice President will lead the Federal Government delegation to Osun to officially unveil the MSME Clinic and the GEEP in the state.

Jayeoba-Alagbada stated that the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP) also known as MarketMoni, is an enterprise intervention program of the President Muhammad Buhari administration that provides soft loans for small businesses at no interests to farmers, artisans and small traders.
GEEP provides soft loans between N25,000 to N250,000 to beneficiaries to catalyse their businesses and provide positive engagements for many Nigerians who hitherto had faced problems of unemployment.

The MSME had earlier been set up in Aba, Ilorin, Sokoto, Jos, Katsina, Calabar, Abeokuta, Abuja, and Uyo.

The program was originally launched in Abuja in July this year.

It was initiated based on the survey that showed that MSMEs contribute about 48% to the annual GDP of the country.

Jayeoba-Alagbada said: “All is set to receive the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo for the flag off of these programmes and we are confident that here in Osun, he would find an already robust programme aimed to energising the economy.

“However, these fresh interventions would go a long way to increase opportunities for our people in the overall mission to empower our people.”

The State Government of Osun has restated that it is not paying half salary to the generality of its workers as some mischief makers and naysayers are trying to misbelieve.

For the purpose of emphasis, explanation and clarification, workers in the state of Osun are paid based on modulated salary structure agreed upon by the government and the labour unions in the state.

The government wishes to state that contrary to the report by a national daily on Tuesday, it does not owe any workers, if the modulated salary structure agreement is anything to go by.

We have been saying it loud and clear and we will not be tired of saying it until the mischief makers succumb to fact and reality; it is only a section of workers on grade level 13 and above that receives painfully 50 per cent of their salaries based on agreement between the government and the labour unions.

Outside that category of workers on grade level 13 and above, no other receives half of his or her salaries and the workers in this category are just about 20 per cent of the state’s workforce.

Workers on levels 8-12 receive 75 percent of their salaries while officers on levels 7 and below receive their full pay.

All workers in the state have received their salaries up to October this year. As we pay active workers, so we pay pensioners.

The only outstanding payment to pensioners is the gratuity and this is due to workers who choose not to participate in the Contributory Pension Scheme and therefore left service in 2011/2012.

We recall that workers on levels 8 and above received the July and August arrears when the government paid in July this after receiving the second tranche of the Paris Club Loan Refund.

We wish to state that the modulated salary was arrived upon as the best option the government could take in the interest of the workers due to the PDP induced economic recession that crippled the state finances.

We consider at as a deliberate attempt to malign the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola for a national newspaper which has the clear fact about the salary structure of the state at hand to accuse the state government of Osun of paying half salary.

Signed
Adelani Baderinwa
Commissioner for Information and Strategy
State of Osun

BROADCAST BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OSUN, OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA, ON THE SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ADMINISTRATION, ON NOVEMBER 27, 2017

My good people of Osun,

It gives me great joy to address us all on the seventh anniversary of our administration. I congratulate all the functionaries of the administration (past and present), workers in the state that have been the vehicle and cutting edge instrument of governance, leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and all our supporters in the state and beyond, who believe in us and whose encouragement has kept us going at the most trying times.

Our administration was inaugurated on November 27, 2010; the day after God-fearing judges of the Court of Appeal in Ibadan restored our mandate and ordered that we be inaugurated immediately. That was seven years ago.
It was an eventful period, full of triumphs, challenges and interesting times. Looking back, we can say like Julius Caesar in his letter to the Roman Senate around 47 BC: ‘Veni Vidi Vici’, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’.

We were able to come to the government of Osun, in spite of the obstacles the opposition put in our way; we saw the situation of the people and their various needs; and we overcame the challenges of meeting them, as they came our way. It is a great privilege to have served you these past seven years.

Osun is the heartland of Yoruba. Ile Ife, where the Yoruba race began, is close to the capital city in Osogbo. We saw the manifest destiny of Osun as the catalyst and driver of Yoruba renaissance and development. This is why we have taken regional integration to be very important. To be able to play this role, we must ourselves be on the march. Like Aristotle said, he that will move the world must first move himself.

We realised then that the people must be conscious of themselves – their past, present and future. They must rediscover their heritage and strength and use them to engender their own development, in order to take their rightful place in Nigeria and in the black race. This is why we began with rebranding by bringing to our consciousness our heritage as Omoluabi, the quintessential Yoruba persona that is the epitome of virtues in hard work, chivalry, honesty, knowledge, dignity and character.

That investment has paid off. From the elders to school children, Osun people now conduct themselves with the consciousness of Omoluabi, in business transaction, interpersonal relations, warm reception of strangers and even examination conduct in schools.

We know the relevance of education in development. It is established wisdom that the acquired knowledge of today determines the future of the people, just as their knowledge base of yesterday is responsible for the state of things today.

We set to work by holding an education summit of stakeholder. From that summit, we began an education revolution that should impact our state for the next 50 years. Under it, we have constructed brand new state of the art 20 Elementary Schools, 22 Middle Schools and 11 High Schools.

In addition, we rehabilitated existing schools and made them decent environment for leaning. We have consistently for more than five years been feeding 262,000 elementary school pupils nutritious meals every school day. We gave free uniforms to all pupils in public schools. We have also introduced discipline to our schools. We provided the first and only of its kind computer e-learning tablets to final year student of High Schools in Osun.

We reintroduced callisthenics into Nigeria, a sporting activity that has been known to have the substance of unity, harmony, balance and team work which presents one of the best engagements for teaching young pupils the cooperative spirit in a simple, delightful and interesting way. Since 2012, we have trained 28,000 children in this sport and have now extended it to private schools in order to spread the benefits beyond public schools.

With mathematical certainty, our 11 mega high schools, in 50 years to come, would have produced 550,000 world beaters, occupying strategic positions nationally and globally, by the grace of God.

We have engaged more than 40,000 youths in public works through the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES). Most of them eventually got soft-landing in teaching, agriculture, information and communication technology and several others. For this reason, Osun has one of the lowest crime incidents in the country and has been adjudged the second least poor state in Nigeria by credible rating agencies.

We introduced protection and succour for our senior citizens, gave them access to healthcare and put them on monthly allowance.

We took care of the destitute and the mentally challenged. We gave them medical care, rehabilitated them and resettled or reunited them with their family, whichever case is applicable.

We have provided soft and interest free loans to more than 350,000 people, particularly women, to start micro, small and medium enterprises and have disbursed more than N15 billion in the process.

We have also provided security for the state with the purchase of patrol vehicles,
armoured personnel carriers and other gadgets for law enforcement agencies. Criminals and bandits now think twice before coming to Osun. You all can now sleep in peace without fear of night marauders.

We have revived farming and made it a profitable vocation, such that young people have now embraced it. Through the agencies of Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme (O’REAP), Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, we have provided assistance to farmers, sent budding farmers on training abroad and laid the foundation for agriculture boom.

Our administration has also invested in road transport infrastructure. We have constructed more than 1,500 kilometre of roads in the nooks and crannies of the state, including 10 kilometres in each local government area in the state. Besides the township roads in Osogbo, Ilesa, Ile-Ife, Ede, Gbongan, Iwo, Ejigbo and other towns and a network of several intercity roads, these four roads: Omoluabi Motorway from Gbongan to Akoda with Abdulkareem Adebisi Akande Trumpet Interchange, Osogbo to Ila-Odo, Gbongan-OrileOwu to Ijebu Igbo and Oba Adesoji Aderemi East Bye Pass, stand out and are iconic road projects that are befitting legacies we are leaving behind by the time we complete our term.
We have come, seen the challenges and conquered poverty, ignorance, disease and fear of the known and unknown these seven years.

However, as we all know, a financial tsunami hit the country from late 2013 occasioned by alleged theft of crude oil. By the middle of 2014, this has been escalated by the global fall in price of crude oil. By then, there has been a substantial reduction in our revenue base, as we stutter to fulfil some of our obligations. We came out of it and have been waxing strong since then.
The lesson we learnt from this debacle was that the era of dependence on free and unearned money from oil is over and we must work for our own money. It is a fundamental principle that the total wealth of a nation is the collective effort at wealth creation by every member of that nation in the production of goods and services. It behoves on all of us therefore to work hard and create our wealth.
Every able-bodied person, above 18 years of age, who is not in school, must work, any kind of legitimate work, even if it is as a human porter in a market or motor park, and must never be dependent on parents and family. There are many opportunities in arts, crafts, creative engagements and all areas of human needs. Given all of the government incentives available, the easiest occupation to be in now is farming.

The government will then be supported from our taxes, rates, levies and fines. Every taxable adult in Osun must view it as a patriotic duty to support the government with tax payment as and when due.

At our level of development, all it takes for our state to be solvent and prosperous is for at least one million, out of the over four million population in Osun, to pay a tax of N250 every day for 20 days in a month. That will bring N5 billion, which is enough to pay salaries of our workers, run the government and develop our state in every area.

In the remaining one year, I will be committed the more to serving you, to accelerate the pace of development and increase our efforts at ushering in prosperity to the government and people.

We will leave a good and enviable legacy in education, physical infrastructure and all aspects of human development. We will also do our best to bequeath a worthy legacy successor that will continue the works we have started in the best tradition of progressive leadership. We will not leave you exposed and helpless before the wolves.

In these past seven years, I have been privileged to work with and be supported by a host of people. The first of which are the wonderful, dutiful and godly workers of the state government. Your sacrifice, understanding and commitment to duty made it possible for our administration to make much impact. I am very grateful.
My appreciation goes to the leadership and members of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun and all over Nigeria, for the vision of people-centred political leadership we are mandated to provide and for which they have backed us up to the hilt.

I have also enjoyed the company and services of the political class and technocrats, past and present, from Osun, Lagos and beyond, that have helped me to crystallise and actualise all our ideas of government. I thank you all.
I acknowledge the rock solid support of my wife and members of my family. The stability they give at home, the peace of mind and comfort I receive from them are invaluable. I thank you all.

I will like to use the opportunity of this address to thank all those who commiserated with us and stood by us in August at the departure of my mother. I appreciate your love and your kind assistance during this period and beyond. I thank you.

I must express my gratitude and appreciation to all the people and residents of all our communities in Osun from the big cities to our villages and farming communities, women, traders, women groups, market women and men, farmers, professional groups, artisans, drivers, transporters, commercial motorcyclists, traditional rulers, community leaders, religious leader, security agencies, students, employers of labour, employees, media practitioners, nongovernmental organisations, political parties and other groups that have been our ardent supporters and admirers.

I thank you all.

Osun a dara!

The State Government of Osun has called on students in the state-owned higher institutions to handle their reservations for the increase in some fees payable in their institutions with maturity, sense of responsibility and reality of the situation at hand.

The government put it on record that it has not authorized any increment in the tuition fees in all the state-owned tertiary institutions and that only ancillary fees were increased by institutions authorities based on some considerations.
As at today, the tuition fees of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and the College of Technology, Esa-Oke remain N25, 000 while that of Osun State College of Education, Ilesa and Ila-Orangun is still N20, 000.

It is pertinent to remind the people that the Aregbesola government, at its inception and without being persuaded in 2011 reduced the tuition fees of all the state-owned tertiary institutions from N45, 000 to N25, 000. Since the reduction in 2011, the government has not put a penny on the tuition fees.

Government wishes to state that the management of the tertiary institutions are at liberty to fix extraneous fees and are responsible for its regulations; it insists that tuition fees are yet to be increased.

The government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola reiterates its commitment to promoting functional and affordable education, the manifestation of which is the improvement in the standard of education in the state.

The government called on the students to be peaceful and orderly in their protest. It is true that protest is legitimate but they should not be allowed to be hijacked by miscreants and political jobbers who were always looking for such avenue to unleash unpleasant experiences on the people. They should be informed that the rights of other people start from there their end.


Signed
Adelani Baderinwa
Commissioner for Information and Strategy
The State of Osun

Osun Ranks Second In Human Capital On Nigeria’s First Sub-National Competitiveness Index

The state of Osun has ranked second in human Capital on Nigeria’s first sub-national competitiveness index released by the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria.

The report which was release early November by the council took two years of research into the factors that drive competitiveness in Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT. The research was funded by Ford Foundation and The Tony Elumelu Foundation. The research covered more than 2,000 businesses, 8,000 households, 400 indicators and 4 pillars.

In Human Capital which covers education, migration, gender equality and health, Osun came second after Delta State whilst Enugu state took the third position, whilst Kebbi, Borno and Gombe took the last three positions respectively.

The State of Osun has received several knocks after BudgIT, a socio-economic organisation released its State of the State 2016 report, stating Osun cannot meet its obligations due to its huge deductions for debt repayment from its Federal Allocation. Though the state continue to pay it workforce in an arrangement that sees workers in levels 1-7 (67% of workforce) receive their full salary, whilst workers in grade level 8-12 (25% of workforce) receive 75% of their salaries and workers in grade level 13-17 (8% of workforce) receive 50% of their salaries.

Meanwhile, the state government in its defense on the BudgIT report revealed the state invested heavily in human capital, saying independent reports from several credible local and international organisations has ranked Osun high in all the Human Development Index.

The commissioner for Information, Mr. Adelani Baderinwa reacting to the report on Sub-National Competitiveness Index revealed that, “this again has vindicated our government. We borrowed funds for infrastructural and human capital development.

“The ranking of Osun as Second in Human Capital amongst the 36 states in the Federation in the First Sub-National Competitiveness Index is an endorsement of our belief that investment in Education and other critical infrastructure can never be overemphasized.

“Again, I must appreciate our workers who have made this possible. They have remained steadfast and continue to sacrifice for the future of Osun and its children yet unborn in the face of daunting challenge in meeting our monthly obligations.

“You can be rest assured that the state government will complete all the projects its embarked upon before the end of the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s administration”, the commissioner noted.

It can be recalled that Osun also maintained the 2nd position after Lagos in the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) recently released the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) for the year 2016.

The report concludes that Osun has the least poverty outside Lagos.

Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is set to unveil residents' registration card (Kaadi Omoluabi) for schools pupils, artisans, business men and women on 24th October, 2017.

The flag off of the card will be done simultaneously with the commissioning of the new State-of-the-Art Modern School built by the current administration being part of its innovations in the education sector.

‘Kaadi Omoluabi’ residents' registration identification initiative which had commenced since 2012; when operational, will assist the government to establish a reliable database of all residents of the state including pupils in all schools as well as artisans for efficient planning and allocation of resources to meet the needs of the citizenry.

The initiative will also enable the government’s e-government strategy and implementation in ensuring government service delivery and facilitate transactions for economic growth of the state.

Speaking on the proposed ‘Kaadi Omoluabi’ initiative, the State Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, Mr. Ismail Alagbada noted that the society is changing and becoming more mobile which necessitated the growing need for the government to integrate the residents of the state into its e-government initiatives to enable the services provided by government to be fully utilized and provide an accurate picture for government policy and planning.

He said that the card will also ease the processing of loan facilities to artisans as well as market men and women because it will serve as guarantor to people seeking to obtain loan facilities from banks in the state.

According to him, “since Kaadi Omoluabi initiative is biometric, residents of the state seeking loan facility from banks will no longer be compulsorily required to use civil servants as guarantors for the loan which many people considered difficult.

Jayeoba Alagbada also said that the card will also serve as means of re-introducing discipline back to schools in the state stressing that any student without the card will not be allowed in school and any erring pupils could easily be identified through the card.

He said further that any contractors engaged by the state government will have access to all artisans and others for gainful employment adding that contractual jobs or activities would be done through the issuance of the card.

The Commissioner however disclosed that the card will be issued to students across the state free of charge while adults are to pay token for it.

Alagbada therefore called on the residents of the avail themselves for the benefits inherent in the card and called for the continue support of the government in its bid to move the state's economy forward.

Osun State government has expressed confidence in the governing council and workers of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, following the payment of three-month salaries and subsequent suspension of strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the institution.

According to Osun government, the payment of the three-month salaries was an indication that the council and the two owner state governments, Osun and Oyo are committed to the smooth running of all activities in the university.

The state government in a press release by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Adelani Baderinwa, on Tuesday said the resumption of the LAUTECH workers and academic normalcy is important to the owner governments, as they were concerned about the plight of the students.

Baderinwa maintained that the two owner state governments are so much concerned about the well being of the students as well as the progress and development of LAUTECH and the welfare of its workers with mutual understanding.

He said: “Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi were very sensitive about LAUTECH matter and they have exhibited reasonable and convincing commitment to the welfare of the workers of the institution and the plight of the students.

“It would be recalled that the Osun government recently released a sum of N1bn to the university.

“Notwithstanding pressures from some quarters that Osun government should not commit the state resources to LAUTECH again due to obvious marginalization of the state in LAUTECH, Governor Aregbesola who is passionate about functional education, a team player and a goal getter will not cease in funding LAUTECH and will stop at nothing in ensuring that LAUTECH is back on its feet.

“The basis of agitation of Osun people is that Oyo indigenes in the employment of LAUTECH are about thrice that of Osun while only one faculty in the institution is located in Osun as against the seven faculties located in Oyo despite the equality in funding by the two states.

“All stakeholders are called upon to be sensitive to their responsibilities and join the two owner governments, and especially Governor Aregbesola who went out of his way to provide promptly, not minding the dearth of fund facing Osun and loud protestations of inequality in the partnership, what was agreed to in rebuilding the institution and ensuring the resumption of LAUTECH workers.

“There is no any other way to express sensitivity and commitment to the progress of the institution, the welfare of its workers and the plight of the students.”

Baderinwa urged LAUTECH labour unions to continue to cooperate with the council in ensuring that the institution is fully back on track.

The Osun State Chapter of Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has commended Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the governor of Osun state, describing him as a progressive, detribalized and peace loving leader.

HDP therefore expressed her party’s support for the leadership style of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State.

Osun HDP said the method of governance of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his quick intervention on issues of utmost concern to the citizenry of Osun, has promote unity, peace and harmony in the state.

A statement jointly signed by the State Chairman of Osun HDP, Mr. Wole Adedoyin and State Secretary Mr. Tijani Lukman Lolade, made available to journalists in Osogbo, urged all Osun State citizens to support Ogbeni Rauf Aregebsola and jointly work for the progress and development of Osun State.

The party also commended him for all the developmental projects he is executing in the state and his willingness to conduct free and fair local government elections come next year.

With this, Ogbeni Rauf Aregesola has proved his critics wrong with seen-and-believing projects all spread over the nooks and crannies of Osun State.

The statement further read “one of these is the peace, oneness and equality he brought to the political party administration of the state. Governor Aregbesola sees all political parties as equal, no record of government brutality against any political party in the state since he has assumed power. To Aregbesola, No party is mushroom or timorous”.

“We enjoined the people of Osun State to join hands with the governor and make Osun state our heaven on earth” the party added.

It is evident that the present administration in Osun led by Governor Rauf Aregbesola has since inception committed largest chunks of the state's resources to revamp education sector as this is manifested in the achievements recorded so far.

Reports have shown that the three senatorial districts of the state namely: Osun Central Senatorial District, Osun West Senatorial District and Osun East Senatorial District had in the last six and a half years witnessed a tremendous change and geometric progression not only in the education sector but in all aspects of human endeavours.

The giant strides however did not stop at Senatorial District but rather moved across the nine Federal Constituencies in the state.

The Aregbesola's administration resolve to take bull by the horn in the education sector coupled with his genuine policy that gave masses particularly the vulnerable the ample opportunities to access quality public education without hindrance had increased the soaring popularity of the state and as well made Osun a state of reckoning among her peers.

The All Progressives Congress led government in the state had in no doubt showcased to the entire world that free education is not a lip service but a practical exercise that must reflect and manifest in the lives of the masses particularly those whose income are at lowest ebb.

The policy of "every child must go to school" initiated by the Aregbesola led administration had not only rejuvenated the education sector but rekindled the interest and willingness to public education as education facilities being put in place outsmart those at the private schools.

The initiative widen the scope of public school enrollment at a very impressive percentage and as well giving the parent an ultimate access to functional and quality public education as this could be genuinely justified on the pupils and students' performances both in internal and external examinations since 2010.

Moreover, it has been consistently reported that Osun's education model had not only taken the centre point of the national education policy but contributed significantly to modern education system and structure in the world.

The impacts and imparts of Osun's education policy which had been nationally and internationally adopted and replicated however made Osun to be the first state in Nigeria to record such feat in the history of this country.

‎Let take for instance, the below efforts genuinely made by the present administration in Osun West Senatorial District as regards educational infrastructure and renaissance.

Osun West Senatorial District has enjoyed a minimum of N11 billion (N10, 810,000,000.00) worth of investment in the education sector since 2010 till now.

It is on record that six Model Elementary schools were built and commissioned with 150 classrooms across the Osun West Senatorial District while two of these schools were built in Iwo Local Government, one in Ayedaade Local Government, one in Ayedire Local Government and two in Ede South Local Government.

In the same vein, nothing less than seven‎ Model Middle schools were built and commissioned with 175 classrooms across Osun West Senatorial District where one of these state-of-the-art schools was built in Irewole Local Government; one in Ejigbo Local Government, two in Iwo Local Government, two in Ayedaade Local Government and one in Irewole Local Government.

Also, four‎ Model High Schools were built and commissioned across the Osun West Senatorial District where one of these model schoold was built in Ejigbo Local Government, one in Ede South Local Government, one in Iwo Local Government and one in Irewole.

Likewise, ‎more than 600 classrooms across 100 models schools renovated in conjunction with UBEB, 2,094 sets furniture supplied to the schools across the ten LGAs made of Osun West Senatorial District.

‎Also, ‎about 20 scholar buses and 50 personnel deployed to the Senatorial District and more than 50,000 students have benefited from the Opon-Imo project in 3 years.

It is also on records that ‎over 2,000 OYES cadets from Osun West Senatorial District were deployed to different schools as teachers just as about 1, 076 regular teachers were recruited from same zone while 900 teachers were trained in 26 different training programmes and workshops.

In addition, more than 6,000 teaching and non-teaching staff were promoted from Osun West Senatorial District while ‎more than 84,000 pupils gets fed daily under school feeding programmes through which 1,000 cooks were employed all from the Senatorial District.

The statistics had shown that ‎about 68 million delicious meals have been served since 2012 across 500 schools in the Osun West Senatorial District, while 300,000 school uniforms were distributed free to students across the 10 LGAs of the Senatorial District.

The government’s achievement in the state of Osun is not only limited to the West Senatorial District, however, for lack of time and space, we would write on the achievement of the current administration in the other Senatorial district in the part two of this treatise.

Education Commissioner Inspects Schools
...calls for dedication of all to the success of our children

For the efforts of the Aregbesola administration at improving education in the state to yield positive results, parents and teachers need to see themselves as major stakeholders in the drive, hence they need total commitment to the child as no child is born a failure.
These were the words of the Commissioner for Education, Mr Kola Omotunde-Young during inspection visits to some schools across the state.

Parents, guardians and society are encouraged to pay more attention to the educational development of our children and ensure every child enjoys good parenting as a right and not a privilege. We should support our neighbours to be better parents so our children can be productive and have safe environment to live now and in future.

The commissioner said teachers should ensure effective teaching and mentoring and make classrooms friendly and learner -centered so that the standard of education in the state can improve.

Mr Omotunde-Young encouraged the use of Yoruba - mother tongue (MT) - as first language and English as second language (ESL) of teaching in our schools and the use of locally available examples and concepts to illustrate in order to achieve effective understanding of the subjects by the pupils and students.

The commissioner urged teachers and school authorities to always maintain clean environment noting that it will reflect in the overall behaviour of the students.

He appealed to parents and guardians to provide for the academic needs of their children. He was unhappy that many parents sent their children to schools to resume the new term in tattered dresses and advised that heads of schools should invite parents of such children and insist they clothe them properly as leaders of tomorrow and also provide them with materials required for learning.

Heads of schools have been enjoined to see themselves as guardians and should ensure no such child apparently uncared for should be allowed to be withdrawn from school. It is the right of the child to be properly clothed and educated and parents must be made to realise that having children come with responsibilities that cannot be ignored.

Henceforth such parents must be reported rather than allowed to deny the child education. The Ministry of Education in collaboration with other child centred agencies of government shall soon publish Telephone numbers, e-mail and contact details to report mothers and fathers who refuse to live up to their responsibilities to their children.

It is in all our best interests to support, mentor and assist the uninformed and uncaring mothers, fathers or guardians to improve in their responsibilities to the child and report such to authorities if they refuse to be good parents.

All Progressives Congress in the state of Osun has challenged the PDP to immediately stop its nasty criticism of the APC government and start to articulate its own alternative agenda of what that party will do differently for the
people of the state.


'We challenge these loud-mouthed and weak critics of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola's projects to tell us at least what the PDP will do better (and how) on education, youth employment and social security for a start', the APC said in a statement over the weekend.


The party's director of publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi said in that statement that the 'PDP should tell the people of Osun what policy thrust 'it has in plan to substitute what Aregbesola has done for students, teachers and educational infrastructure in the last seven years.


According to the APC chieftain, 'for over seven years now, the PDP has been shouting that it will destroy all Aregbesola's projects. The people of Osun deserve to know, what the PDP will replace the whole infrastructure on ground already, with.


'It's cheap and indolent to keep criticising someone when you cannot provide an alternative, so that the world can assess whether or not the alternative on offer is worth the effort to consider or reject outright," the APC said.


'Show your sincerity and ability to think outside the box like our unusual governor, or if you can't, then keep quiet,' the APC challenged the PDP, adding that, 'he who criticizes without providing an alternative is an opportunist who has nothing to offer and should not be taken seriously.


'If PDP wants the people of Osun to take their party seriously, let them tell us what they will do differently, and how they will fund their own project.


'Tell the citizens of Osun, whether or not you will break down the schools Aregbesola built. Say it loud and clear whether or not you will redesign, uproot and reconstruct the roads and bridges; destroy and rebuild Nelson Mandela Freedom Park; go round the state of Osun and urge the people to pile up dirt in the streets in their environment.


'Tell us your alternative plan to stop flooding different from how Aregbesola did it. Are you going to now stop feeding children at schools in the state which the Federal Government has continued, but which the PDP criticized? Will the PDP cancel the airport project in which the Turkish government has shown interest?


'Let the PDP come clean and tell the world if it will reject and stop all the World Bank, European Union and other internationally funded projects that Aregbesola attracted to Osun?


'If the PDP cannot give us details of what it will do differently - including how the party intends to find the money to pay full salaries to workers, different from what APC government is doing currently, then they will be exposed for the fraudulent critics and politicians we have always known them to be.


'Tell us your plans now or stop disturbing us with senseless noises', the APC declared

'If wishes were horses, beggars will ride'.
'What Mr. Sarafa Tunji Ishola, the mediator in Osun PDP imbroglio about the PDP planning to sack APC from office in 2018, is just talk, silly talk.


Sarafa said in Osogbo on Tuesday that his mediating committee was in Osun to reposition PDP to sack the APC from government come 2018 governorship poll.
'We wouldn't blame him much because he is ignorant of Osun politics.


'Secondly, the exercise of bringing the divided PDP together, which he claimed to have succeeded in, doesn't add up


'The division within the PDP in Osun is skin-deep and multifaceted, and it's entirely driven by the reckless ambition of one man against the run of affairs to become governor at all cost.


'Besides, the economic problem in the state of Osun is nationwide and not peculiar to Osun. So, if the PDP thinks it can capitalise on the economic downturn, it's just fooling itself, because essentially that party (PDP) created the problem with its kleptocratic rule that wrecked the Nigerian economy between 1999 and 2015, and put the country in recession.


'They stole the country blind and the monumental stealing made it impossible for us to withstand the fall in oil prices.


' The Aregbesola-led APC government did not steal Osun's money, neither was it reckless. All over the state, there is evidence of what Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the APC government did with Osun's money that has never been seen or done in the state, since it was created.


'Sarafa should be told if he's ignorant, that if the PDP could not win Osun in 2014 with the entire resources of the Federal Government at its disposal, there's no magic that will make it to win the state now, because then as now, the PDP told all sorts of criminal lies against the APC, did what was demonically possible to disparage the person of the Governor, Osun people were not swayed by the lies and the smear campaign, there's no way they will be accepted now.


'It's a pity that because the PDP in Osun is blind, they have equally made Sarafa, the mediator, blind. He came to Osun but could not see, he could not feel and he could not hear what's evidently going on in Osun'.

Kunle Oyatomi Esq,
Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy,
APC, State of Osun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt83wCsEU-w
The citizens in Osun State has lauded the effort of the State Government lead by Governor Rauf Aregbesola for his unwavering effort in ensuring peace and banishing every threat to the State security.

This is coming on the backdrop of release by the National Bureau of Statistics, naming Osun as one of the safest state in Nigeria. The citizens our correspondent spoke with hailed the government at several towns and villages across the State during an interview about the status of security in their different area of living.

A resident of Onward area, Osogbo, Tijani Lukman glorified security personnel for the excellent work done to ensure peace in the state.

He said "There is peace in my own community which I believe is a reflection of how everywhere is in the state, if the story was different, we would have read it on the pages of newspapers or seen it on television.

While speaking to our correspondent, a female resident of Ilesha area of the state, Ibrahim Oyindamola, noted that since her relocation, she has witnessed unabated peace and quiet and gave kudos to the government and the police for a job well done.

She said, "Osun State is a cool place to live as far as I am concerned because where I come from I never experienced it this way. I have never been robbed or molested since I relocated for the past few years.”

However, another citizen Habeeb Salami said "there is no way whereby bad people won't exist in our communities but if you listen to radio and read newspaper you will see that they are been brought to book which shows that the state has no tolerance for such and make me to think that our judicial system in the state is working effectively.

"The state government didn't achieve this by mere words but also adequate provision of ammunitions for the securities to conquer ritual killing, theft and cultism in the state.

"A brother of mine is a Police officer who always lauds the government in the role they are playing to ensure that their own life is safe and insured while ensuring other people's security.

The people's view in lauding the government corresponded with the National Bureau of Statistics ranking which Osun as one of the most secured state in the country.

It was learnt that for the State government to achieve this feat, it established Osun citizens meditation center known as O-meditation, supplied of 125 patrol van to security agencies, provision of an helicopter for aerial surveillance, regular financial supports for both local vigilante group and other security agency, provision of 25 fully equipped armoured personnel carrier; recruitment of thousands of youth into Osun Sheriff corps, traffic marshals, Edu-marshal were among other things done by the State.

The State Government of Osun has concluded arrangements to provide about 648 healthy rams for the upcoming Eid-El-Kabir festival.

The programme tagged O’RAM done through the Selema Oloba Ranch, Iwo raises highly fattened rams breed and vaccinated within two months.

According to the Managing Director of Selema Oloba Ranch, Sola Omidiran, the 648 rams breed in the ranch were acquired from various parts of Nigeria’s northern region.

He explained that during the fattening period, animals add 15kg more weight to their system enhancing their capacity and body shape to provide more beef to its consumers.

Omidiran noted that in line with the government’s quest to generate revenue for the state, the company has attracted partnerships with a wide range of leading online stores to ensure adequate marketing for its animals.

His Words “In a bid to enhance our marketing strategies, we have gone to partner with varying online stores with our website https://www.selemafarmfresh.com, or online sites like Jumia, Ebano Supermaket, Red and Green Butchery and Lekki Farms.”

“With all what we are doing, we can assure you that we will give you value for money. There will be nowhere else you will find rams that are of good quality like these other than the Selema Farms. “

“We have animals in four different categories that are going for different prices that are for sale. We have the Bronze category of about 25-30kg for about N45,000; the Silva Category of 31-36kg for N60,000; Gold category of 37-43kg for N70,000 and the Platinum of 44-50kg for N80,000,” Omidiran stated.

Aside the rams, Omidina added that there are also goats, cattles as well as tomatoes, onions, pepper and the rest as part of the Fresh products under the Selema Farms Fresh category.

It will be recalled that the O’Rams and Livestock project is part of the multi various sectors of the Osun Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Programme O’REAP, a cardinal point of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s six-point integral action plan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxUQz0WR9xQ&t=3s

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi has prayed that sickness that will infect President Muhammadu Buhari should infect him.

The monarch also prayed to God that PMB must spend eighth years in power which should be in health and sound mind.

Christians, Muslims and Traditional worshippers were all present at the marathon prayer session which took place in Oluwo's palace in Iwo on Thursday.

The President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Iwo, Pastor Caleb Ayoola led the Christian followers in the prayer while the Iwo Chief Imam, Alhaji Abdulfatai Olododo lead the muslim faith and the Traditionalist was lead by Ojetunde Ajibowu.

The marathon prayer session lasted for four hours as mammoth crowd were at the palace under sun to pray according to their religion for Nigeria leaders especially for PMB and governor Aregbesola.

During the prayer of Oluwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, he prayed that "Any sickness that will infect the president should infect him.

He said "if any one claimed he or she love Nigeria, the love for the leaders can't be sideline. If you claim you love Nigeria and you don't love the leaders, you are just told a lie".

" It is painful that those who launched that campaign of 'Resume or Resign' are not patriotic as they claimed."

"They politicise the campaign which shouldn't be. Buhari is my son and I won't be happy when people are wishing him dead".

"If any civil servant or police officer fall sick will you advise them to resign?. Those who are are clamouring for Buhari's resignation are not sane.

As i have prayed for Buhari today, new life has come for him. He must spend eighth years in power despite all obstacles from opposition.

"Nigerian don't love those that love them but they are passionate about those that hate the them.

"All those who are wishing him dead and those who are clamouring for his resignation shall fall sick.

He also reiterated that, any sickness that will infect the president should infect him, any misfortune that will befall on him(PMB) should befall him.

Traditional rulers, past and present political office holders were all present to grace the prayer session.

The assurance that the government of the State of Osun was committed to the payment of the outstanding parts of workers salaries was re-echoed last week, as the Chairman of the Osun Fund Allocation Committee, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu assured that the government would pay their outstanding salaries.

The Fund Allocation Committee, was set up by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the state, comprises of Labour leaders, government representatives and other stakeholders to allocate the government available fund to the payment of salaries, pension, allowances and other obligations.

Comrade Sunmonu who gave this assurance recently while appearing on the OSBC Television current affairs Yoruba programme, Kabenko commended the state government for using the funds available judiciously to take care of workers welfare and enumerations.

The labour leaders who commended the state government for the transparency brought into the system said, “there is no hidden agenda in government negotiation, if the money is available we are ready to pay all”.

Inspite of owing some categories of workers salary in arrears, the Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola has been described as the best governor that continues to be a reference point of human capital development by the international community. A United State’s economic consultant made this assertion in Lagos on Wednesday.

He was speaking on “Media and Diversity Reporting” organized by journalists in Lagos.

“Osun and Lagos States remain the most cited examples of good and quality leadership among the 36 states of the federation in international economic and political circles in terms of management of human and material resources in West Africa. Osun is of particular importance because it is an agrarian state with little resources, dwindling national income but yet has been able to provide enviable records in terms of human development index”, Chief Segun Ajibulu a tax consultant with the United States and President of South West Professional Forum, (SOWPROF) wrote in an address sent to the organisers.

The address was read on his behalf by Mr Victor Fatunla, an official of the SOWPROF and the Managing Director of Factors Insurance Brokers, who represented the group at the event held at M Square Hotel in Lagos.

In the address, he said he was impressed that international community continue to show interests in what is going on in Osun State for various reasons. According to him, the media needs to probe deep into what he described as a “revolution in politics and economy” that has taken place in Osun in the past close to seven years.

He urged journalists to engage Osun State constructively so as to rediscover the real story of the state’s success instead of depending on press statements from the opposition.

He said “beyond the false narrative that Osun has not been paying workers’ salaries, it is important for journalists to understand how the state manages to pay workers on levels seven downwards full salary till date inspite of the lean resources. We should find out how the state manages to pay 75 percent of workers’ salary for those on grades seven and below. We should find out how political office holders including the members of the State House of Assembly decide to earn only 50 percent of their pay, how the governor decides not to be paid any salary since assumption of office and above all how the state was able to build secondary and primary schools of international standards in the face of learn resources.”

He said the media has been concentrating on press releases by the opposition figures who take delight in demonizing the state saying that independent observers and members of the international community continue to do independent reports on the state of Osun which puts the state ahead of many of her peers in terms of sustainable development. “It should interest journalists to know while UNESCO, the world bank and various international institutions continue to partner with the State of Osun. It shows the moral integrity of the leadership of the state.”

He said “It amazes many in the global world how 150,000 computers were given to students, how 500 rural roads were constructed and how the state political leaders make sacrifices for the utilitarian good of the greater society.” He said diversity reporting means that journalists should deal with substance instead of allowing shadows to assume lives of their own.

He said “This man won the most difficult election in modern Nigerian history. He was the first progressive government to stop the advance of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the build up to the 2015 Presidential election. The most vicious military and security machines were deployed against him, having identified him as the leading icon of the incoming goverment. There were security reports that the Federal Government led by PDP needed to demolish Ekiti and Osun States in order to clear the hurdle for 2015 Presidential election. Ekiti fell like a pack of cards. But in Osun, it dazzled the PDP and their agents how Aregbesola fought literally with his blood to bring the PDP on her knees. What led to the victory was the conviction of Osun people that Aregbesola and his team was a better alternative.”

He said the defeat of the PDP in Osun paved the way for the eventual loss of the Federal government by the PDP machine. Ajibulu said “The Federal Government decided to borrow the school-feed programme from Osun. This is remarkable. If the National Assembly can make sacrifices by taking half of their salary as the political leaders in Osun do, Nigeria will be able to save about 50 billion every month.” No fewer than 35 journalists from the print, electronic and social media attended the event.

The State Government of Osun has declared Monday, August 21 as public holiday to commemorate the annual Isese Day.

Isese Day is a public holiday set aside for traditional believers in the state by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration.

The holiday is in recognition of the annual Isese Day, which allows the adherents of traditional religion to come together for the annual celebration.

Also know as Traditional Worshipers Day, Isese Day is the celebration of the peak of festivities among adherents of traditional religion.

The government enjoined all the traditional believers to celebrate the Isese day in peace and avoid any act capable of breaching the peace of the state.

Signed
Adelani Baderinwa
Commissioner for Information and Strategy
State of Osun

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has said that the state government is not insensitive to the plight of pensioners in the state.
Aregbesola explained that the government is incapacitated to pay the pensioners gratuity which is about N5bn.
The governor stated this just as he called on the Federal Government to assist state governments across the country in raising bonds to pay the gratuities of state pensioners who voluntarily retired from the service to avoid the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Aregbesola made the call while playing host to the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Mrs. Sharon Ikiazor who paid him a courtesy visit at the state secretariat on Monday.
He explained that the mass retirement of workers from the state civil service at the end of 2012 because they did not want to join the Contributory Pension Scheme, placed a gratuity burden of about N5bn in the state.
Aregbesola noted that the state has been struggling and managing to pay salaries and pension because of the continuous decline of the nation's economy as a result of the instability in the crude oil market.
The governor said: "It's a pity we have found ourselves in the situation we are. Because many of them (pensioners) chose to leave the service at the end of 2012 because they did not want to join the contributory pension scheme, the state has a gratuity burden of about N5bn.
"As at the time they were leaving, the state was already struggling to pay salaries as a result of the sharp drop in the revenue accruable to the federal government.
"It started with a drop of about N600 million and it later jumped toN1bn. If we could not meet up with their gratuity in 2012, how could we do it in 2013 or 2014 when it was getting tougher? Or is it going to be now when there is still a lot of instability in the crude oil market?
Aregbesola said the call for the FG’s intervention in the payment of gratuity for the state pensioners through the provision of bonds became imperative because state governments in the country are under serious financial burdens.
According to Aregbesola, the bonds which will be paid back by the state government with ease will go a long way in relieving the states of the financial burden, ensure prompt payment to pensioners and as well boost the nation's economy as money will be in circulation.
The governor disclosed that a lot of states across the federation who have joined the Contributory Pension Scheme are finding it difficult to offset the huge gratuity of pensioners accumulated as a result of the mass exodus from the service because they did not want to join the new pension regime.
He said:"Because many of the workers did not want to join the contributory pension scheme, a lot of them exited the service at the same time, thereby making state governments have huge gratuity responsibilities upon them.
"I believe the Federal government can assist the state governments in raising bonds which will be paid back with ease. With the bonds, the state governments can pay the gratuities of these pensioners, thereby injecting money into the economy and boost the economy in return.
"I believe we must do all we can to ease the sufferings of the people and this is a good avenue to inject money into the system. I urge the Federal government to assist in easing the burden of the states concerning this issue because I believe they have the capacity to do it".
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Mrs. Sharon Ikiazor stated that the directorate is in the state for the continuous pension verification exercise of federal pensioners.
"We are here to carry out the usual verification exercise of federal pensioners and we are satisfied with the hospitality we have received", she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm6XuSWKmRI
The Osun State Investment Company Limited, OSICOL, has said that Essence Table water, one of its signature products, is now one of the leading brands in the array of similar products in the south western part of Nigeria.

This was revealed during a briefing of the company’s activities over the weekend.

The company which is an investment agency of the State Government of Osun revealed that medical expert now recommends Essence Table water for use in hospitals because of mercury free value that has distinguished it in the market.

According to OSICOL General Manager, Mrs. Amade H.I, what differentiates Essence Water from other brands is its purity nature made from well-researched materials. She noted that Essence Table water applied for Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and acquired it within six months.

Speaking on the achievements of OSICOL, Amade stated that the company's balance sheet has recorded significant improvement from a fortune of about N300m in 2011 when the Aregbesola government came on board to N2.6b in 2017.

Her words “In the line of producing healthy water, most water companies failed to avoid the presence of mercury in their processed water. Mercury, an element which naturally is found in air, water and soil can cause serious damage to the body when exposed to even a little of the substance.

“When exposed to mercury, the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs, kidney and even the skin might be affected. Mercury also exists in various forms (metallic, inorganic and organic) and these forms determine the extent of health hazard on people exposed to it.”

She said the product is available across the country at affordable rates urging the people to choose Essence Water as it is helpful in safeguarding their health.

“Osun State Investment Company Limited has however ensured that not just the people of the state enjoy healthy living, by making sure that there is an active distribution of the products within all state of the Federation to ensure that revenue is generated for the state of Osun.”

Aside OSICOL Water, the company has nearly completed the biggest gas station in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, delved into real estate with properties in Lagos and Abuja, the federal capital territory coupled with about 526 hectares of land in cultivating cocoa in Ibokun.

The Osun State Investment Company Limited has also won several awards and recognition in commemoration of its excellence in being one of the leading Investment platforms in the south western part of the country.

OSICOL has embarked on diverse business ventures as part of efforts to boost the state's internally generated revenue drive, create wealth and sustain its economic self-reliance.

The company which was established in 1991 has various business interests, among them, are manufacturing, bulk purchasing, training and consultancy, sales and distribution, real estate, agriculture among others.

See how the State of Osun disbursed the second tranche of the Paris refund.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ0xn3pOtVU
The State Government of Osun has engaged 5,000 women in the area of local soap production with a view to empowering them and indirectly connecting them to the international markets.

The programme conceived in partnership with an offtaker, Kasmo Industries, an indigenous soap making company in Osogbo, is supported with financial impetus from an investor organization in the state.

According to facilitator of the programme, Mr. Rufus Idris, the 5,000 women supply black soap which serves as raw material for the local production of over 6 million bar soap, “Dudu Kasmo”, for the first phase in the growing Kasmo Soap business.

He said the state Government of Osun through GEMS4, a DFID-fund programme will link expanding market for unique wholesale and retail products from Osun into larger local and international markets. One of the products selected for the programme is Dudu Kasmo.

It will be recalled that a memorandum of understanding was signed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Alhaji Kasali Owolabi, the CEO of Kasmo Industries Limited in October 2016 to create a non-governmental scheme to reduce hunger, poverty and raise the standard of living through wealth creation.

“The benefits attached to the production of Kasmo soap include capacity building for employed staffs, giving the product more credibility as well as improving the quality and quantity of the goods.

“With GEMS4 support, Kasmo Industries Limited is expected to increase its capacity for raw materials intake from rural women, increasing their production which will in turn increase their income,” Mr. Rufus noted.

One of the local soap makers who spoke on behalf of her colleagues, Emilia Abioye said the initiative has empowered them by giving them direct access to produce for Kasmo Company thereby improving their profit.

She expressed her appreciation to the state government and GEMS4 for the programme, a move Mrs Abioye confirmed could banish poverty in the land.

So far, about 10,059 cooperative societies have been registered under several similar schemes in the state. Through partnership with DFID and access to a N2.5bn development fund, 133 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises have been setup, with 800 cooperative societies benefitting in low interest loans which has helped them employ over 10,000 individuals across the state.

The money facilitated through the Central Bank of Nigeria is in collaboration with SMEDAN under the GEMS4 scheme to provide opportunities to itinerant business owners in order to boost their productivity and generate more income for them.

The government, however, reiterated its readiness to track the programme’s impact in the lives of itinerant women local soap makers in Osun State.