₦airaland Forum

Update on Osun Election Tribunal

By Adebayo Adedeji

On July 18, 2022, two days after a governorship election was conducted in Osun State, APC and Governor Adegboyega Oyetola applied for the Certified True Copies (CTC) of the BVAS Report for the election ( Note: The said election was conducted on the basis of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS).

After the statutory payments were made, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on July 29, 2022, 13 days after the election, issued the CTC of the BVAS Report to APC and Oyetola.

On August 10, 2022, APC and Oyetola served INEC their Petition challenging results in 749 polling units on the account of over-voting that they believed took place in those polling units.

Having discovered the palpable inconsistencies between figures recorded as accredited votes on the EC8A ( result sheet) and the BVAS Report, INEC, according to APC and Oyetola, mischievously tampered with the contents of the original BVAS report to protect the mandate it erroneously awarded to Ademola Adeleke and PDP by issuing a fresh CTC to the defendants, claiming the CTC earlier issued to APC and Oyetola was incomplete and unsynchronised. Recall the winner was declared on the basis of BVAS.

So APC and Oyetola asked: why did INEC declare a winner when its record was untidy and not yet synchronized?

They further asked: why did INEC, on 20th July, issue the Certificate of Return to the Candidate of PDP when BVAS report, upon which the election was declared conclusive, was unsynchronised?

Oyetola and APC, in their Reply to INEC's Defence, averred that the claim of the electoral body, as to non-syncronisation of BVAS Report, is an afterthought to cover-up a shoddy job it ( INEC) did at the various polling units which led to the over-voting alleged in the controversial polling units.

The Petitioners, Oyetola and APC, are begging the Tribunal in their Petition to cancel the 173,655 votes in the disputed polling units because voters were not validly accredited as stipulated by the extant laws, and the Tribunal should declare them (Petitioners) as winners having obtained valid votes of 314,723 as against Adeleke/PDP votes of 290,213.

https://insightlinks.net/education-reform-in-osun-and-its-impacts-on-waec-examination-by-adebayo-adedeji/

Education reform in Osun and its impacts on WAEC examination

By Adebayo Adedeji

In the last two weeks, Osun State has become a subject of discussion on the account of the recently released West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination ( WASSCE) result which indicates that 32.6% of the public school students which sat for the exam in 2021 received matriculable credit passes. Many even claim WAEC ranked the state as number 36 in the whole of Nigeria. Whereas WAEC has debunked the lie that it carried out ranking on performance of states... because it is not part of its duties as Council, many opinion moulders and commentators continue to run with the negative story for political mischief aimed at projecting the education policy of the state government as ineffective and warped. Whether WAEC has truly ranked the state as number 36 or not, what is not in dispute is that the 2021 result is not a befitting feat for the state and there is a need for the state government to be more painstaking to its Performance Evaluation and Review Techniques ( PERT) in the education sector. However, it is important to accentuate the fact that the Mean Percentage of performance of the Oyetola Administration in WASSCE, 29.18%, is better than 29.0% of the immediate past administration or 11.5% of the PDP administration.

The PDP government of 2003-2010 was trademarked for disaster in the WAEC examination. Its best result was in 2010 when 36,439 of the entire 43,216 students that sat for the exam failed to obtain the needed matriculable passes. In fact in 2007, almost all the students that sat for the exam in Osun failed. Only 2,483 of the 36,171 students that sat for WAEC exam in the state obtained matriculable credit passes.

Meanwhile, in 2015, after being in the saddle for about 5 years, and after committing over =N=30 billion in education sector, the Rauf Aregbesola Adminstration could only achieve an average 20.5% performance in the senior school certification examination. The government's best performance at the time was 22.24%. It was that woeful!

Unless the harsh environment in which the current government has been forced to operate is situated and explained, one might not understand the appreciable effort that went into achieving the 32.6% mark that is now a discussion driven and sustained by detractors to gain political traction.

Without mincing words, the current government inherited a nearly collapsed education sector. The public school was clumsy. Quality teachers were inadequate. And where quality teachers were found, the morale was at its lowest ebb, thus teachers could not give their best. From 2015 to 2018 when the government experimented with the half-salary regime, the teachers in Osun State public schools were the most traumatised because when they were on the streets literally begging for what to eat, the government of that time was busy institutionalising white elephant projects. The situation was made worse with the lack of instructional materials that was prevalent in schools. The touted Opon Imo project was driven more by impulses for self-glorification than for sustainable public gain it was projected to serve. Investigation revealed none of the devices was handed to the current government. And when visitations were made to a warehouse where the devices were said to have been kept, the number available was barely 5,000 and were badly damaged, many damaged beyond repair. Recall the government repeatedly claimed no fewer than 40,000 tablets were procured for the use of secondary school students in the state. However, no information is available to ascertain number procured because relevant files relating to the project, like many projects of the defunct administration, were carted away by men who held sway at that period. Everything was more of noise than substance. No serious teaching but show-off. But the government, after all, was interested in its rating in the standardised exams by WAEC and NECO. So to shore up the image of the government, many of the school administrators became ready tools for examination malpractice. The state had been so much engrossed in this underhand practice that in 2019, when a new government was settling down to work, the state came under a heavy hammer of the examination body. Of the 318 schools that hosted WAEC in the year, 266 of them were indicted for malpractice! 111 of the schools were later banned for two years, while the remaining 155 were reprimanded. This was the education sector bequeathed to the Oyetola Administration.

In October 2019 when Governor Adegboyega Oyetola appointed Hon. Folorunso Bamisayemi as Commissioner for Education, he charged him to cure all the factors responsible for exam malpractice in our schools and run a sector entrenched in Omoluabi ethos and values. And since then, that has been the preoccupation of the Ministry of Education he superintends.

The Ministry now encourages Tutors-General and Inspectorate Departments with financial assistance to enhance their operation --- for effective supervision of schools. The Ministry, in the last three years, has also facilitated payments of grants to school. The teacher's recruitment, which began in 2020 but was stalled by the COVID-19, was completed and the first batch of 1,000 teachers, mostly science teachers, resumed classes in February 2022. The process for final recruitment of another 1,500 teachers is in the pipeline. The Ministry of Education, which was without a bicycle let alone a vehicle as at the period the current Administration came on board, is now a proud owner of 7 jack trucks for its operation. The government, through the ministry, has also invested heavily in equipping the science laboratories in public schools. The hitherto redundant Local Education Inspectors in local government areas are now active and alive to their supervisory roles.

Again, the Zero-tolerance policy for cheating and examination malpractice of the state government has begun to yield fruit. In the 2021 WASSCE, only one public school was indicted for cheating. This is a significant improvement coming from a background where 266 schools were recently scandalised for engaging in malpractice.

Even though there have been deliberate attempts by some largely fickle political characters to misinform the innocent public as to effort of the Oyetola government in the education sector, the fact is that thunderous outbursts, according to German literary agent and publisher Keith Thompson, are no substitute for superior knowledge. The 2021 performance may not be an appropriate and fair yardstick to evaluate the effort of the current government having regard that the students who sat for the exam were already on their way out of the system when the current government came on board, hence its reform could not have had much impact on them to earn it the malicious criticism its traducers currently hurl at it. But the leap in performance of the candidates in WASSCE from 4.78% in 2020 to 32.6% in 2021 is reassuring and an indication that the future is bright if the reforms are guided jealously. The extant education policy is a work-in-progress, and with more effort and cooperation of citizens and stakeholders, the desired results would begin to reflect in no distant time.

This is not photoshop.

Advocate500:
Clearly photoshopped.

...

More photos

The social media space is awash with the photos and videos of a wanted criminal Emir Ajagungbade with the famed singer, Davido, his uncle Senator Ademola and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Osun and current Minister of Interior.

Emir Ajagungbade, wanted for murder, is a notorious cultist and thug in Osogbo, Osun State.

Although Ajagungbade was first declared wanted by the Nigeria Police during the state's governorship camapign, he was always found in the camapign trail of Ademola Adeleke, governor-elect of Osun State. Some of the photos and videos of Davido and his uncle with Ajagungbade in circulation were taken during the said campaign tour.

Nigerians, who are bothered about the spate of insecurity in the country, have begun to call out the ace singer Davido, his uncle and the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, to handover the said accused to the law enforcement agents for prosecution. Their claim is hinged on the fact that Ajagungbade enjoys robust relationship with them and they may be using their influence to protect him.

bruno10000:
Nah APC URCHIN you be

Don't be silly!

https://www.thegong.com.ng/osun-why-the-adelekes-are-desperate-for-power/
Osun: Why the Adelekes are desperate for power

By Hezekiah Oyinlola

WHAT would make a single individual spend as much as N50billion to prosecute a governornship election in a financially struggling state like Osun? An Osun that is gasping for breath on the account of inccessnt negative statutory revenue? Osun that its monthly IGR, though has considerably improved under the current administration, is not enough to take care of its expenses let alone be enough for any political buccaneer to milk? These are some of the troubling questions one is confronted with in his quiet time after being regaled with stories of how Deji Adeleke emptied his treasury to ensure his godson became the next governor of Osun.

Deji Adeleke needs no introduction. He is the father of ace singer, Davido and the elder brother of Osun governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke. Ademola owes his living and meteoric rise in politics to God and to Deji, his brother. Without Deji, it is believed there would not be any Ademola. Deji contributed immense resources to activities leading to his emergence as Osun governor in expectation, rumour has it, that he would run the government while Ademola would run around as the titular head.

Dr Adeleke's foray into Osun politics did not start today. It goes a long way back, some thirty years when Isiaka Adeleke, his flamboyant elder brother, was installed as governor of the newly created Osun State. He is credited as the main spender in the election; and expectedly, he was mightily compensated with juicy accounts of the state government which were lodged in a merchant bank owned by him and his two other friends, Folorunso "Folli" Adeoye and Kayode Aderinokun. Both Adeoye and Aderinokun were special consultants to Isiaka Adeleke during his governorship and are said to be the think-tank of the administration.

Specifically, the N38million state fund, meant for settling pension and gratuity of Osun workers, developed wings in the Pacific Merchant Bank owned by the trio of Deji, Adeoye and Aderinokun. This is a story for another day.

So what is Deji's motivation this time around...?

Many say it is Osun GOLD. Osun has enormous gold reserves within its territory. According to a professor of geology, Olugbenga Okunlola of the University of Ibadan, in his 2017 research finding entitled “Riches Beneath Our Feet: Mineral Endowment and Sustainable Development of Nigeria,” the gold deposit in Osun is worth $5 billion, which is N2.5trillion (at current CBN rate).

Multiple sources in Nigeria's mining sector and the Adelekes' camp confirmed that Deji Adeleke is the main investor in the Segilola Gold Project in Atakumosa. And that his two friends, Folorunso "Folli" Adeoye and Kayode Aderinokun, and others, who are shareholders in Thor Explorations Limited, are merely holding the fort for him.

The Segilola Gold Project is Thor's flagship project. It is believed to be the most advanced gold exploration project in Nigeria. The property comprises mining licence ML41 and exploration licence EL19066. ML41 covers an area of (17.2km2; 1,720ha) and is wholly contained within the larger EL19066 covering an area of 135 Cadastral Units (27.0km2; 2,700ha). It comprises a proposed open pit gold mining project based on an indicated mineral resource defined by a comprehensive drilling programme including 157 drill holes totalling over 12,200 metres to define 555,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 3.8 grams per ton (at a cut-off grade of 1.0 g/tAu and applying a top cut of 50g/tAu).

The sources also confirmed that the ongoing project is not Deji's ultimate target: his targets are said to be mining licences owned by the state government of Osun. Currently, the state owns 10 solid minerals exploration and 7 mining licences from the Federal Ministry of Mining and Solid Minerals. Seven of the exploration licences are for Gold fields in Osun, Zamfara and Niger states; two are for Lead and Zinc exploration in Ebonyi and Kogi. Three of the mining licences are for Gold in Osun State while the remaining four are for Feldspar and Quartz in the north. The licences when successfully explored are worth billions in dollars.

Already, Thor Explorations Limited has made millions in dollars within one year of mining in Iperindo, Atakumosa East of Osun State. In the first half of 2022 alone, the company produced 45,128oz of gold. An operation cost per ounce of gold cost $950 while each ounce was sold for $1700 on the average. After doing the maths, the company would still be left with a profit of $30million ( N13.5 billion profit at N450 exchange rate).

The company has made so much money that it repaid, in a short span, $14.5m of the loan it obtained to set up the venture, reducing its loan by 29%. Unfortunately while Osun gold is mined and the operators smile to bank, the state gets nothing in return. The Company is on 3-year Tax holiday. And the holiday may be extended for additional two years by the Minister of Mines. What this means, invariably, is that Osun will be getting nothing on the Thor Explorations' mining activities until 2026 when the company begins to pay due taxes to the relevant agencies.

Meanwhile, in 2019 alone, the state government of Osun received N100 million as a sign-on fee from Badger Mines for the exploration and development of one of the State's mining titles. The partnership between the state government and the Badger Mines has shown a lot of prospects but all these are at risks when the Adelekes take charge of the government in November because they have vowed to terminate the contract, and similar contracts, and gift all licences to companies where they have vested interests. The threat to nullify all the contracts regarding mining titles was issued on August 1, 2022 by Mallam Olawale Rasheed, Ademola Adeleke's spokesperson. Industry players fear that the citizens of Osun may be the worst-hit in the arrangement if vicious characters with conflict interests are made to be in absolute control of the people's Commonwealth.

https://osbcng.org/appraising-oyetolas-giant-stride-in-road-construction/

Appraising Oyetola's giant-stride in road construction

By Adebayo Adedeji

Claudia Berg, a development researcher at the World Bank, in her 2015 article, reiterates importance the Bank attaches to road construction. It is believed that without good roads, other aspects of development will suffer. Roads are the arteries through which the economy pulses; they facilitate and spur economic growth. According to her, the Bank puts premium on lending more for roads than even for education, health, and social services combined.

Similarly in Osun State where Governor Adegboyega Oyetola calls the shots, if there is anything that has defined the government, it is its deliberate decision to invest massively in road construction. Here, the road infrastructure has been given a rebirth.

Since November 2018 when the government was inaugurated, over 100 road interventions have been carried out. The 20km Ede-Ara-Ejigbo has been done. The 13.5km Ada-Igbajo road has been done. The 8.1km road in Origbo-meje, snaking through Moro, Yakooyo, Ipetumodu, Asipa-Ife has been done. The 4.8km Ereja roundabout-Ereguru-Oke Ooye-Sabo-Irojo road in Ilesha has been done. The 1.3km Kuta Palace Junction-Isale Oba Road-Asamu Junction in Kuta, Aiyedire local government, has been done.

The Osogbo-Kelebe-Iragbiji road, spanning 16.55km, has also been done. This road, like many the government of Oyetola has undertaken, suffered neglect for many years before it was salvaged. A part of the road, said to have earlier been awarded by a previous adminisration to a company owned by a PDP chieftain, Senator Ogunwale Jumokol, for =N=750 million, was left in a deplorable state. Many abandoned roads preceeding the administration have been taken care of.

And as we speak, roads, numbering 25 and spanning 200km across 9 federal constituencies of the state, are receiving attention of the government. Osogbo-Ifon road, abandoned 15 years ago, is one of them. So also the 5.83km Ipetumodu-Ode-Omu road. This road will link Ife North and Ayedaade Local Government Areas. Ayetoro street in Ifetedo, Ife South Local Government, is also under construction.

Ijeshaland, whose people revolted against APC government in the 2018 election for the way it was shabbily treated and neglected in that government's infrastructural plan, is now wearing a new look. The government is working on 55km roads spanning across the six local governments there: Wesley Guild Hospital road in Ilesha, School of Health Technology road in Ilesha, Ita-Akogun/General Hospital road in Ilesha, Iwara/Igangan road/Olopon road in Atakumosa East are some of the roads experiencing the intensity of crawler excavator, road roller and asphalt mixing plant. Others are Kajola/Oke Ibode/Osu road in Atakumosa West and Eti-Oni/Esa-Oke road in Obokun Local Government.

The Ikirun zone is now a beehive of activities because the government is rehabilitating no less than 62km network of roads there: 10km is being done in Ifedayo and 36km in Ifelodun/ Boripe/ Boluwaduro/ Ila local government areas. The Eekosin Inaja road in Odo-otin local government is also part of the ongoing projects.

Equally, Osun west senatorial district has been transformed into a construction hub as Oyetola government is also ensuring the rehabilitation of 52km roads in Iwo and Olaoluwa areas don't experience delay. The aspiration of the government is to complete all the roads on record time as it has become its custom. The Commissioner for Works and Transport in Osun, Engr Remi Omowaiye, in a recent interview with journalists, gave the assurance regarding timely completion of ongoing projects.

According to him, ' the tradition of this administration is to start and finish every project within a timeline of 9-10 months. We will keep to that target and, importantly, without compromising the standard.'

Even though the government has to ration its meagre resources to fund key projects, the leadership astuteness of Governor Oyetola and commitment of his men in the work and transport ministry have, no doubt, made a difference to the delight of critical stakeholders and all.

According to the traditional ruler of Modakeke, Ogunsua Moses Oyediran, the gesture of Oyetola to 'reconstruct Famia road has helped to impact greatly the lives of our people as it has contributed significantly to their socioeconomic welfare and well-being. He deserves our commendation.' Kabiyesi said.

On many occasions too, the road safety commission chief in the country, Boboye Oyeyemi, has saluted the administration for its devotion to world-class road infrastructure development. In his words, 'I have been monitoring the development in Osun because I was once the Sector Commander in the State and I knew how the state was then and how it is now with a lot of development springing up here and there.... These and many more show (praising Governor Oyetola) your capacity, capability and mission to develop, transform and take the State to enviable heights.'

Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal is one traditional ruler who, despite his close relationship to a PDP chieftain, Ademola Adeleke, has never shrouded his admiration for the performing Oyetola for being committed to socioeconomic and infrastructural development of the state.

The general belief in Osun is that the current policy drivers are discharging their responsibility with decency, competence, professionalism, and above all, human-face and fear of God. And given that the government has not borrowed one Kobo to execute all its ambitious projects, the credit must be rightly given. Everyone believes Oyetola is an intentional leader whose presence in government at this critical time is God-willed.

greymiles:
Op fear God
Fear judgement day
Fear the day it will be only you to make account of your sins

What is it?

Banishing hunger and creating wealth through Osun Food Support Scheme

By Adebayo Adedeji

Food is the basic necessity of man. It is the third most important thing for living beings after air and water. It is important because it promotes health and prevents diseases. It is for these reasons special attention, since the launch of World Food Programme (WFP) in 1961, is daily given to it by world leaders and policy makers. The WFP is a fully-fledged UN programme set up to provide food assistance to citizens of the world. The second of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals also centres around food: to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Through Action Against Hunger campaign, a decisive action is again being taken against the causes and effects of hunger. For 40 years, across nearly 50 countries, including our country Nigeria, the organisation has led the global fight against hunger. Just last week, The 1 Billion Meals initiative took off in Dubai. It is aimed to provide food support to the underprivileged and undernourished in 59 countries around the world, including Nigeria. Already, distribution of foodstuffs has begun in Lebanon, India, Jordan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Everywhere, the policy is focused on making food more abundant.

Sadly, the latest edition of the food security report published mid-2021 indicates that between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020. Of this number, 282 million live in Africa. Again, 2.37 billion people ( nearly one in three people in the world) did not have access to adequate food in 2020. Many of the affected population live here in Nigeria. So to combat this menace, there should be deliberate efforts by political leaders. One of the efforts is what the government of Osun is doing through Osun Food Support Scheme.

The Scheme, flagged off Thursday April 1, 2021, was designed to alleviate welfare challenge and economic disclocation caused particularly by the COVID-19. Since inauguration a year ago, at least 30,000 needy and vulnerable citizens, including youths, widows, the aged and people living with disabilities across Osun State, have been consistently provided with 5kg of food items ranging from rice, beans, semo and garri. To ensure the donation reaches the monthly 30,000-target audience, the distribution is done in partnership with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Osun Muslim Community, recognised indigenous religion groups and trade associations, leaderships of ethnic affiliates and market leaders.

To date, no fewer than 360,000 persons have benefitted directly from the scheme. And according to Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties whose ministry is driving the project, Engineer Olalekan Badmus, it is estimated that by November 2022 when the phase one of Osun Food Support Scheme is projected to end, 570,000 beneficiaries would have been directly impacted across the 30 local government areas of the state.

One of the impacts of the food distribution, beyond providing succour to 30,000 vulnerable people every month, is stimulation of small and medium scale businesses ( SMEs) in the state. The active players in agriculture and food supply chain in the state, from where the government source commodities like cassava/yam flours, banana flours, poundo yam which cost the government =N=100m every month, are in better positions to tell their good story. Promoters of the SMEs are no fewer than 50. Raji Ahmed Adekunle, from Ode-Omu is one of them. He shares his experience:

“Recently, I was invited by the state government to be part of those that would supply garri in large quantity. We have done this and as you can see, we were able to meet up with government expectations in this regard.

“To me, this is highly unprecedented and commendable as it will go a long way to encourage us to continue to do our business, expand our production capacity and create employment opportunity for others.

“So, this initiative is well appreciated, as far as I am concerned. When I was contacted and later contracted for this, it first came as a surprise. I was shocked that someone like me that resides in Ode-Omu could be found worthy to supply garri to government.

“I find it very surprising that the State government will be so magnanimous to recognise my little efforts in far away Ode-Omu. With this alone, I have been elevated by the project as this would go a long way to project ‘Garri- Ode-Omu’ to the world and beyond.

“It is also worthy of letting the people know how magnanimous the government has been to us to have approved a take-off grant to execute the production. Indeed, this is very unprecedented because it is a plus to us as a people.

“I will advise the government to continue with this project because the impact is being felt across the nooks and crannies of the state. Take for instance, I have more than 12 local women working directly and indirectly for me and the implication is that these women have as well benefitted from this project."

The laudation abounds: from the suppliers of the food items to needy market women to people living with disabilities and the aged which the project was conceived to service. Speaking during one of the distributions of the food items in Osogbo, some of the beneficiaries said Governor Oyetola has proven that his commitment to welfare of the people is genuine and beyond political show-off.

Chief Chinaka Bennett, representing Ohaneze Ndigbo, Alhaji Kelani Raji, of the Muslim Community, Adedokun Waheed, representative of the artisans, Madam Mustapha Mohiliat a widow from Aleshinloye Community, Oke-Ijetu, eulogised Governor Oyetola for initiating the food support scheme and for fulfilling his promises to the people.

The representative of Fulani Community and the PRO of the Miyetti Allah Group in Osun State, Mohammed Abdullah, also did not hide his admiration for the governor for extending the intervention to his ethnic group. " Fulanis in the state are grateful, and we are praying to God that Governor Oyetola achieves a second term. We will support him." Abdullah said.

Fashoto Oludare, speaking for the Osogbo Chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, says: "we are grateful for the infrastructure, and we also very grateful for the food support programme which has more of personal impact on citizens."

The food scheme, first of its kind in Nigeria, has significantly increased the support base of the Oyetola-led government, going by the positive feedbacks and surveys. It has further connected the people to the government. The project has created a double-barrel impact of hunger banishment and economic buoyancy. The successes are copius.

Therefore, as Oyetola, like other world leaders and policy enforcers, streamline his programmes to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030, Samson Owoyokun, Governor's Senior Special Assistant in the Ministry of Regional Integration and Special Duties, hopes Oyetola would be re-elected in July so the value which the initiative has added to citizens would be sustained when the second phase of a much bigger Osun Food Support Scheme kicks off later in the year.

https://www.newsindicator.com.ng/2022/04/11/banishing-hunger-and-creating-wealth-through-osun-food-support-scheme/

How Ministry of Interior Managed 1.5m Applicants for 5,000 NSCDC Jobs - Aregbesola

The recently concluded recruitment into the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has been declared one of the fairest and transparent in recent time despite the huge number of applicants who applied for the few positions available.

This was declared by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, at the Policy Dialogue on Entrenching Transparency in Public Service Recruitment in Nigeria, organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, an institution of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Relates Offences Comission, ICPC, in Abuja on Tuesday.

“For the NSCDC, about 1.5 million applications were registered on the website. Those who met the requirements on age and height were about 750,000 and were asked to upload their certificates. A total of 217,000 applicants uploaded their certificates of which 113,000 were shortlisted to write the CBT but only 53,116 eventually sat for the test. It is from these that 5,000 were picked among the successful ones.

“In recruiting into the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the board decided to advertise in the media to bring the information to the awareness of as many people as possible. This rules out secret recruitment. We also put away the manual mode of conducting tests to computer based tests that can be done in any location, eliminating the need to have a mass crowd together in one place. We hired a reputable examination body, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for the aptitude test.

“In addition, we included the National Identity Number (NIN) to authenticate the identities and biodata of applicants and eliminate fraud and possible impersonation. We also engaged the Federal Character Commission at all stages of the recruitment exercise. All these were done through a dedicated website,” the minister revealed.

The Minister who revealed the process was long and tortuous, however stated that the recruitment exercise was a novelty that came with a lot of pressure, yet they were able to recruit the best into the service.

“The recruitment process into the NSCDC was long and tortuous, though It is also a novelty. So we expect a lot of pressure. Some of the pressures are understandable. A woman came with her son after getting very high up people to influence his appointment. But we discovered that the son was far, far below the required height of 1.7 metres. Some applicants on wheelchairs also came, demanding for the statutory five per cent allocation for special people. We politely explained to them that the job is paramilitary, requiring strenuous physical exercise for which they are not eligible, given their physical condition.

“One of the lessons we learnt, which we have always known anyway, is that there is no part of this country where we cannot get merit, if we want the best. We got people from all parts of the country who are qualified, including females, as certified by the Federal Character Commission that was part of the process from the beginning to the end,” the Minister noted.

Speaking during his address, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Relates Offences Comission, ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, noted that the event was the third in it series and the even was germane in the fight against corruption.

“You will agree with me that the theme for today, Entrenching Transparency in Public Service Recruitment, is very germane in the fight against corruption and more importantly, they contribute towards the attainment of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) one of whose objectives is promoting an improved legal, policy, and regulatory environment for the fight against corruption.

“Indiscriminate recruitment has impacted personnel budget such that government personnel wage bill has continued to rise has continued to rise geometrically almost doubling between 2015 and 2022 from N1.832trn in 2015 to N3.494trn in 2022,” the ICPC chairman noted.

In her keynote address, the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi’ Esan, campaigned for more transparency in the recruitment process of all government agencies.

“Transparency in recruitment is a matter that elicits interests because some people for some incorrect reasons think public sector jobs are somehow better than jobs in other sector. In fact, according to a 2021 Q3 report, Agriculture, Trade and Manufacturing stands as the highest employee of layout in Nigeria.

She continued, “In March 2021, my office reported to the ICPC that in a particular Ministry, over 1,000 people were carrying fake employment letters and are already enrolled on the IPPIS platform and are drawing salaries from the Federal Government.

She however listed the measures being put in place to ensure transparency in recruitment and also delist those found wanting on parading fake employment letters.

“Just yesterday, the Civil Service Commission sent us a list of 500 people parading fake employment letters and recommended that their salaries be stopped. A list of another 3,000 was forwarded for their salaries to be stopped until their certificates and letter of appointments are verified,” the Head of service stated.

Other dignitaries at the event include, Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, Prof. Tunde Babawale; Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Dr. Bello Tukur Ingawa; Director (IPPIS), Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Dr. Ben Nsikak, Executive Director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Mr. Adetokunbo Mumini amongst others.

Signed
Sola Fasure
Media Adviser to the Minister
5/4/2022

Capital Investment Destinations in Nigeria for 2021

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 24 states in Nigeria attracted zero foreign investments in 2021 as the value of capital importation into Nigeria fell by 30.78% to $6.7B in 2021 from $9.68B in 2020.

The report affirmatively notes that among these 24 states, 10 have failed to attract any foreign investments in the last 3 years.

However, the State of Osun has made the list of top 5 states in Nigeria who have been able to attract foreign investments into their states despite the rarity of interests by foreign investors.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Osun attracted a total of $29.9 million into the state in 2021. The state was rated 3rd after Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria and economic hub of the country and Abuja, the Nation's Capital. Kano, Kaduna, Anambra and Oyo were rated after Osun in the 2021 rating.

Recall, that the Governor Adegboyega Oyetola administration set up the Osun Investment Promotion Agency in November 2019 with a mandate to facilitate investor interest and promote the inherent investment opportunities within Osun in addition to managing and executing the requirements for promoting an Enabling Business Environment for businesses to thrive.

OSIPA has since its creation shared a seamless relationship with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission(NIPC) and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) which has brightened and improved the prospect investment attraction and Ease of Doing Business in the state as evidenced by Osun’s upward movement from the 26th position to the 15th position in the Enabling Business Environment ranking among all 36 states and the FCT in April 2021.

Today, Osun is one of the States in Nigeria operating the EoDB One-Stop Shop effectively to remove the bureaucratic hurdles often encountered when registering and setting up a new business.

Speaking on this development, the Chief Executive Officer, Osun Investment Promotions Agency who also doubles as Special Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Femi Adeniran while expressing gratitude to the leadership team of the Osun State Government for their support reiterated the vision of Governor Oyetola towards ensuring Osun takes its pride of place as a desired Investment Destination in Nigeria.

Adeniran commended Governor Oyetola for the exemplary leadership he has provided in the state which has earned the state the accolade. He also commended the Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji, for the good work he and other members of the economic team are doing in the state.

Approach your department office for a To Whom It May Concern letter confirming your status as a graduate of the department.

Brilliant contribution.

fergie001:
Correct


Wrong.

It becomes statute-barred when they raise it after elections.

The Atiku v Buhari at the Appeal Court has been struck down because the Supreme Court threw out a similar case in Akinlade v APC.

Hear the Supreme Court in 2020:

"By virtue of section 31(1) (2), (4), (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act the issue of alleged false statement in a candidate’s affidavit containing his particulars and personal information, Form CF001, is a pre-election issue. In the instant case, the appellants made an issue, in their petition, of the 2nd respondent’s affidavit, Form CF001, allegedly containing false statement of his qualification to contest the election to the office of the Governor of Ogun State. The tribunal and the Court of Appeal were right to have held that by virtue of section 31(1) (2), (4), (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act read together with 285(9) and (14) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) it was a pre-election issue to be disposed of under section 31 of the Electoral Act (as amended), and was therefore statute- barred." (Ejembi Eko JSC)



How can a case that has been overturned by a Superior Court be a locus classicus.

Madukolu v Nkemdilim is more enriching.

The Supreme Court in APC v Lere per Rhodes-Vivour JSC (as he then was) in 2020 defined the umbrella where pre-election matters will fall:

(1) nomination of candidates,
(2) double nomination of a candidate,
(3) disqualification of a candidate,
(4) wrongful substitution of a successful candidate’s name by the Electoral Body,
(5) wrongful omission of a successful candidate’s name on the register,
(6) complaints about the conduct of primaries,
(7) false declaration on oath about particulars of a candidate.

Issues that fall under (1)-(7) above are pre-election matters. The 4th Alteration has handled them.

---

One of the settled position concerning interpretation of the Constitution and statutes is that where the provisions of the Constitution or statute sought to be interpreted have been examined, interpreted and pronounced upon by the apex Court in the land all subordinate Courts must follow and adhere to the interpretation placed on such provisions of the Constitution or of a statute. Issue of Construction or interpretation of such statute will not arise.

---

Issues of pre-election can only be raised by aspirants in that political party's primaries and it has to be no more than 14 days from the cause of action.

The APC legislators pushed for this change because of the Bayelsa & Lyon situation.



It still amounts to nothing because the Constitution supercedes the Electoral Act.

The Supreme Court leads, others follow....

How are we going to beg the Moderators to move this thread to frontage for wider readership and contribution? The brilliant contributions here were never envisaged before creating this thread.

https://fij.ng/article/aregbesolas-aide-collected-n1-2m-from-nis-job-seekers-now-they-cant-reach-him-cant-reach-him/
Aregbesola’s Aide Collected N1.2m From NIS Job Seekers. Now, They Can’t Reach Him

Dickson Felix, a banker, has alleged that Babangida Tanko, an assistant comptroller at the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in Abuja and Special Adviser to Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior, defrauded him of N1,250,000.

Felix told FIJ that a client had introduced Tanko to him as a senior NIS official who could help him get a replacement job at the agency. He explained that the NIS does not advertise replacement jobs, but reserves slots only for its senior staff members.

He stated that he contacted Tanko in June 2020 and asked him to help his wife and sister secure a replacement job at the NIS in Abuja, and he assured him that he would help them get the job.

“I paid him N150,000 for my wife and sister in June 2020, after learning that he works for the Minister of Interior. In the transfer, I signified that it was for employment purposes only, and he got angry. He said such a narration could mar the employment because it was indicting,” Felix told FIJ.

Felix said he paid for six other relatives of his up to February 2021, hoping that they would ask them to resume at the NIS in Abuja. But after a while, he suspected that something might have gone wrong.

“I noticed that people assumed roles and trainings went on, but my people were not among them. Tanko kept dribbling me and stopped taking my calls. I called him and told him he did nothing,” he said.

“I asked him to refund my money. But Tanko said it would not be possible. And from the way he spoke, it was clear that he had only collected my money doing nothing.“

Felix said he researched Tanko to know if he was who he presented himself as. He said he found that he was a fraudulent staff member of the NIS.

“I discovered that he has scammed so many victims under the guise of helping them. Most people contacted him because he is a high-ranking official,” he said.

“I emailed the servicom unit of the NIS. One officer in the unit said there were complaints about Tanko defrauding people. They said he was powerful and would use his influence to quench so many things.”

When FIJ called Tanko, he said he would do a conference call and add this reporter with the comptroller general in charge of the recruitment for him to explain.

“You are talking to the Special Adviser to the Minister. I will add you to a conference call with the chief comptroller general in charge of the recruitment. Maybe he can talk to you. Maybe, I am not sure. If he says I should talk to you, I will. If he says I should not talk to you, then maybe he will invite you briefly to come,” he said.

I love your legal intervention. Very perspectival. How I wish the Thread could make it to frontpage so other profound comments could be shared to enrich the discourse.

I reiterate my appreciation for your brilliant input. God bless you.

fergie001:
False information in INEC Form CF001 which is an affidavit, amounts to lying on oath and is invariably, a crime. Being a crime, its commission must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

In proving beyond reasonable doubt, it is not enough for an appellant qua plaintiff to demonstrate the act of falsification (of age), it is also incumbent on him to establish that the act was intentional. In other words that it was done with the intention to gain an advantage by the alleged act of criminality. (Agi v PDP 2016 SC)

SC on APC v Obaseki 2021:

The information in Obaseki's CF001 (2016) and EC9 (2020) differ only on the year of graduation from University of Ibadan and the period 1st respondent worked at Afrinvest.

Such differences may create doubt about the truth of the information, but they cannot be proof that the said information in the affidavit is false. Such proof would require evidence beyond a different information in a previous affidavit of the informant.

The nature of the information in issue in this case requires evidence of more than a previous inconsistent statement of the declarant to prove that the current information is false.


Can a false document submitted by Adeleke in 2018 be an admissible evidence in 2022?

A crime is established once it is shown that the information is false. (APC v Obaseki 2021 SC)

In the case of Saleh v Abah, Abah presented a forged Certificate from the Fed Poly Mubi for the 2011 HoR elections in which he defeated Saleh at the PDP Primaries.

In 2015, Abah removed the said forged document from qualifications submitted to INEC in 2011 and won again but Saleh challenged it.

The question in form INEC form CF001 and Section 66(1)(i) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is whether a certificate that turned out to be forged has ever been presented, not whether the forger has ever been charged, tried or convicted on this. (Saleh v Abah 2016 SC)

The SC went ahead to remove Abah.


In the alternative that Adeleke is a citizen of the US, can he be disqualified?

References can be made to Section 182(1):

"No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if -
(a) subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country; or..."

and Section 28(1)

"Subject to the other provisions of this section, a person shall forfeit forthwith his Nigerian citizenship if, not being a citizen of Nigeria by birth, he acquires or retains the citizenship or nationality of a country, other than Nigeria, of which he is not a citizen by birth."

The Appeal Court in decided cases have insisted that a Nigerian Citizen by birth cannot be deprived of contesting elections in Nigeria:

PDP v Abiola Ajimobi 2012
Gboluga v Akintoye 2019

***Was there a reason to lie, if any?

Adeleke been a citizen of Nigeria by birth is entitled to contest elections in Nigeria.


Who can sue Adeleke?

Point 1:
An aspirant who participated in the primaries of his political party who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by his political party's candidate in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate in relation to his constitutional requirements to contest the election is false may file a suit at the Federal High Court against that candidate seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false. (Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 as amended).

Adeleke been the sole candidate in the PDP Primaries cannot be sued by any person.

However, the Nigeria Police can sue following very thorough evidence if indeed he had perjured.



kahal29, ejimatic, legallyminded, adegbaraogboye, garfield1

garfield1:
So swhat is the difference?

Do you mind him?

ejimatic:
. What did Adeleke fill in in the form 2022? Is it yes or no? Any issue relating to the 2018 election is status barred.

A crime is not statute barred.

garfield1:
Cc fergie001,ejimatic,legally minded,adegbaraogboye etc I believe this may be a ground for his disq

Of course, Yes. He is likely to be disqualified and jailed.

Fact-Check: *Did Ademola Adeleke lie under oath* ?

The factional governornship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State for the July 16, 2022 election has been alleged to have committed perjury by swearing under oath. The allegation borders on his response to the questionnaire in the INEC form he submitted in 2018 when he was running for the same position.

In the INEC Form submitted by Ademola Adeleke in 2018, he was asked if he had acquired Citizenship of another Country? Ademola said NO.

_Please find attached the INEC Form under review_ .

Here is the question under Part B number 9 of the INEC Form: *Have you voluntary acquired citizenship of other country?*

His answer in the INEC form is *NO* .

*Investigation*

Meanwhile, investigation conducted indicates the ex-senator is a known citizen of the United States of America. He acquired the US citizenship *voluntarily* through Naturalisation.

Naturalisation is one of the voluntary ways of obtaining a citizenship of a country contrary to Involuntary method through Jus Sanguine ( becoming a citizen on the basis of Blood relationship) and Jus Soli ( becoming a citizen as a result of Place of birth).

*What does Nigeria law say about Perjury?*

According to the criminal code act, any person who, in any judicial proceeding, or for the purpose of instituting any judicial proceeding, knowingly gives false testimony touching any matter which is material to any question...intended to be raised in that proceeding, is guilty of an offence which is called PERJURY. Any person who commits perjury is liable to imprisonment for up to fourteen years, depending on the state where the offence is committed.

*Conclusion*

If a perjury case is instituted against Senator Ademola Adeleke in court and he is found guilty, he will not only be ineligible to become Osun Governor but will also be sent to jail, for up to 14 years, for the criminal offence.

The sickening narrative against Asiwaju

By Adebayo Adedeji

The venom sorrounding the election of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is not dissimilar from what happened in other climes in the past. In the United States, for example, Thomas Jefferson was an object of attacks from the Federalists led by President Adams, Tom Pinckney and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson was labeled sorts of names including an atheist who "insults the Bible." He was also alleged to have sired several children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings.

In the case of Tinubu, he is constanty said to be too sick and frail to serve as president. Many pejorative images of his have been sponsored in the media to diminish his suitability for the office of the president. However, the video in circulation of Tinubu at the APC National Convention in Abuja does not support the fallacious attrition. One then would be tempted to ask if it is the same Asiwaju Tinubu some children of the fallen angels and political juveniles tout and deride to be suffering from strange infirmities is the one in the video. Asiwaju is seen walking briskly and smartly -- much better than his contemporaries. With poise, he carries himself and takes every step with presidential candour. The video shows a vivid image of a healthy man that is at peace with his head, with his heart and with himself.

The issue with many of the anti-Asiwaju sloganeers is that they have found it difficult to sustain a mudslinging against the man that has paid his due in politics and is about to reap the fruit of his labour. Every calumnious campaign against him continues to fall flat on its face because he has in abundance qualities many closet aspirants for the coveted office lack: rich work experience in the world's leading accounting firms, robust involvement in oil and gas industry, eight years governorship acumen in Lagos State and most distinctly, his profound investment in quality human resources. And again, people are not given to sophistic representation of him. Tinubu at every opportunity leverages on his rich network of friends to turn things around for good. Therefore, it is understandable only his health is pilloried, and not his lofty credentials, by the wobbling wailers and the sponsored speculators.

Meanwhile, the more vitriol, created to earn him negative press, is hurled at him, the more he wins followership. The reception in his honour at the National Convention of his party is the validation of the height of love and respect Asiwaju Tinubu enjoys in APC. Massive. He was a cynosure of all eyes. He cleared the stage; he stole the show and carried the day. Or why did you think former Ekiti governor, Ayodele Fayose, captioned the said convention Bola Tinubu's Convention? It was because Tinubu was the Epicentre and Centre of attraction at the event. The Convention started and ended with him.

As predicted, the talked-about 2023 presidential election could be an easy ritual for Tinubu if some of the current positive optics in his favour amount to something. The 2023 arrangement appears to be divinely sanctioned for a political megastar who, though left political office 15 years ago, has become a recurring decimal in the Nigeria political turf.

Asiwaju Tinubu may turn out to be another Thomas Jefferson who, though faced with onslaught, was declared the US President March 4, 1801.

https://dailymailng.com/2022/03/19/youre-engaging-in-a-self-destructive-drama-of-verbal-war-osun-government-replies-former-finance-commissioner/

You’re Engaging In A Self-destructive Drama Of Verbal War – Osun Government Replies Former Finance Commissioner

… Says citizens' welfare remains its top priority and will not be distracted

The Osun State Government has said it will not be distracted by the mischief and lies of former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Bolorunduro, but remains commited to its core mandate of ensuring the security and welfare of every resident of the State.

Commissioner for Finance, Mr Bola Oyebamiji stated this through a press statement in response to an earlier publication by the former Commissioner.

The Commissioner said it is unfortunate that Bolorunduro has decided to engage in a self-destructive drama of verbal war all in a bid to delibrately distract the government away from its core mandate to the people.

Mr Oyebamiji said the write-up is full of unsubstantiated lies with regards to the loan repayment figures of the State laced with an attempt to emotively pitch the current government against the last one by saying projects initiated by the last government have been abandoned.

Oyebamiji’s full statement reads, “My attention has been called, yet again, to the needless and ill-motivated vituperation from Wale Bolorunduro, the immediate past Commissioner for Finance in Osun. It is needless because, it was a feeble attempt to draw the current government into the arena of a self-destructive drama of verbal war, the hallmark of the splinter group in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to which Bolorunduro belongs. It is equally ill-motivated considering the prevailing political calculations within the State. Since the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was concluded, in which His Excellency, Governor Gboyega Oyetola emerged as the candidate of our party, attempts are being made to distract the current government from her core mandate: the security and welfare of the good people of Osun. Unfortunately, a million dramatic series of lies from Dr Bolorunduro will not distract us; we remain committed as a government.

“To the unsubstantiated lies presented by Bolorunduro with regard to the loan repayment figures of the State laced with an attempt to emotively pitch the current government against the last government, to the effect that projects initiated by the last government have been abandoned and the untidy accusation of a cover-up of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) figures, below are my responses.

“Firstly, government is a continuum and the current government, based on her financial capacity, has continued to drive many programmes and projects inherited from the last government with a touch of restructuring and improved capacity. For instance, the Oba Adesoji Aderemi road project has moved beyond where it was in 2018 to about 75% completion; the Gbogan-Akoda road has been pushed to 40% completion; the Osogbo-Ila-Odo road is progressing well (up to 60% completion); the Ilesa-Iperindo-Ipetu-Ijesa road project now stands at close to 65% completion among others. Also, legacy programmes such as the OMEAL (the school feeding programme), O-Ambulance (the ambulatory services programme), OYES (the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme) and many others have been reinvigorated to the satisfaction of the good people of Osun as demonstrated by their continued support to the current Governor. Therefore, the unsubstantiated claim of project or programme abandonment falls flat on its face. This outright falsehood has not yielded any gain to its purveyors in the past, and it will certainly not this time.

“Secondly, to trivialize the volatile nature of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the State and the statutory revenues from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in a period of the global crisis is to be clever by half. The Audited Financial Statement of the State is a good source of information regarding this. Therefore, anyone in doubt can access the available information at will. To wrongly accuse the State Government, led by a party you belong, of cover-up is simply irresponsible and infantile. Our IGR figures have always been in the public domain and we will not be ashamed to call the figures in a period of uncertainty. Our last Net Statutory Revenue Allocation from the FAAC which unsettled many indigenes of Osun and sympathizers, expectedly so, stood at -379,914,981.09 (excluding VAT) after the direct monthly deductions of =N=1.8billion were made. I challenge Bolorunduro to controvert this figure with verifiable evidence, if he has any, within the next 72hours.

“Thirdly, let me say again for the umpteenth time that the current administration led by His Excellency, Governor Gboyega Oyetola, has not approached any financial entity for any facility since 2018 till date. The Governor, right from November 2018, has sustained his focus on priority spending; critical expenditures of government are being funded based on available resources. Consequently, Bolorunduro’s search for non-existent fresh loan deductions, to satisfy his biased position as a possible explanation for the negative receipt from Net Statutory Revenue Allocation from FAAC in January 2022, is laughable. Our debt figures are in the open. The Debt Management Office (DMO), Osun, makes adequate monthly returns to the Debt Management Office, Abuja as a matter of duty. The DMO, Abuja and the relevant offices in Osun are available to clear any genuine doubt, regarding our debt figures, which may be agitating the minds of Bolorunduro.

“In the light of the above, I sincerely call on the former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Bolorunduro to be honourable in his new role as opposition within. Much as we welcome a dissenting voice on matters of governance, Governor Gboyega Oyetola deserves to be commended and supported for his forthrightness, dedication, and unparalleled transparency in the administration of the State at this critical time, ” the Commissioner stated.

https://www.newsindicator.com.ng/2022/03/06/osun-economy-and-why-electorate-must-keep-faith-with-oyetola/

Osun economy and why electorate must keep faith with Oyetola

By Adebayo Adedeji

Some three years ago, in the early life of this administration, this writer predicted that Osun state was likely to face economic challenge considering large chunk of its federal allocation deducted to settle loans obtained by the previous governments in the state. As at November 2018 when the current government was inaugurated, the debt stock of the state was in the range of N270bn. This included the financial commitment not captured by the Debt Management Office of Nigeria. This was the total debt left behind by the Rauf Aregbesola-led government, even though it inherited merely N15bn debt in November 2010 when it came on board.

In the first two years of the Oyetola administration, an average sum of N2.4bn was deducted from its monthly allocation to service inherited debt. Funds due to the administration to execute its numerous lofty programmes are taken at source to service debt owed by the defunct government. Whereas during the reign of Rauf Aregbesola, the average statutory gross allocation to the state government was N50bn. Specifically, in 2013, its gross allocation was N55bn. Meanwhile in 2019, during Oyetola governornship, the Net that actually came to the state was paltry N24.2bn even though the allocated gross was N51.9bn. The balance of N27.7bn was deducted to service inherited debt. This same time, Oyo State went home with N55bn, Ekiti State with N41bn and Ogun State with N38bn.

This is the precarious situation in which the current government has fared in the last 39 months. Nevertheless, the administration has discharged its responsibilities creditably. From N10.5bn Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) it met at inauguration, the administration has worked assiduously to move the IGR to N19.5bn in 2020. In fact, the IGR for Jan-June 2021 was N13.5bn, while the unofficial record indicated it ballooned to close to N30bn for the whole year of 2021. The government of the day is still able to meet its statutory obligation because of the exemplary leadership Governor Oyetola has provided in the state as shown through IGR improvement.

How would the state have survived the depleted federal allocation without a financial engineering that led to a substantial leap in its IGR?

Still and all, unless the state government sustains its drive towards financial prosperity, where the state could meet its obligation with less or no recourse to the federal allocation, it may be contending with crises in the immediate future.

The distributable federal allocation for the month of January ( but shared in February) is an indication that there is a fire on the mountain because the allocation accruable to states dipped to a four-year low. Unlike in December 2021 when N699.82bn was disbursed, only N574.66bn was disbursed in January of this year. The sharp drop in the allocations follows the Federal Government's announcement of its plans to deduct N950bn for the payment of fuel subsidy allocations due to States in 2022. If the situation persists, many states, particularly grossly indebted states like Osun, would find it difficult to pay salary and pension of their workers because about 35% of what should be available to them would be sized down for subsidy payment. For January, Osun state, for example, was allocated N1.425bn but the sum of N1.8bn was deducted to service its loan. What this means is that the state did not only receive nothing in allocation, it also recorded a negative of N375m which would be carried forward in the next distribution.

Graciously, what the state has going for it is the financially studded team which has brought its experience to bear in administering the state economy. The Oyetola-led government is a clear departure from what we used to have in the state when, even in the season of anomy -- when the government could not pay salary and pension -- over N500m was voted for callisthenic display during the Children's Day. The current government is plugging leakages and freeing up resources to finance its projects. There is no part of the state that has not felt its impact in the areas of infrastructure, primary healthcare centres, wealth creation, and food support scheme that has catered for no fewer than 330,000 people since inception in April 2021.

Oyetola government is reputed for prompt payment of salary and pension. Since inauguration, it has committed about N160bn to resolve salary, pension and gratuity obligations. This is as it has coughed out about N75bn to offset part of the N270bn debt it inherited. No state in Nigeria, besides Lagos, has a better record than this in the period under review.

Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has given a good account of himself. And with him in the saddle for another four years, the resources of the state can be put into better use. The financial challenge ahead of all states in the country -- the challenge of dwindling resources in the face of rising expenses -- calls for deft administrators with deep financial understanding in the mode of current Osun governor, who before coming into public life, had top-notch experience working in the private sector. It is logical he is allowed to steer the affairs of the state further, most especially when the touted replacement for him in the opposition party is an haphazardly educated power monger who could barely read and write. Committing the future of Osun state in the hands of an empty head who does not know the difference between Copyright and Piracy may be suicidal. Osun should not toil with its future by installing a nondescript loafer whose only job experience outside family business and influence was working as a bartender in some backend restaurants in the United States.

Oyetola deserves the second term and, in my humble opinion, he should get it. Sincerely, he should.

How Aregbesola's ex-men spanked him for Oyetola in Ilesa

By Samuel Aderogba

It was a real walloping for the minister of interior and former Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as his anointed candidate in the yesterday's APC gubernatorial primary election, Moshood Adeoti was served a distasteful meal he never envisaged. He polled paltry 12,921 votes as against Governor Gboyega Oyetola's 222,169 votes across 332 polling wards of the 30 local government areas in the state. Adeoti lost in the whole 332 wards!

In Ilesha, specifically, Aregbesola was decimated by his erstwhile associates. The former governor, from Ilesha east local government, has always boasted to be the political decider in the area and he actually relied on his structure to deliver his godson in the election. But regrettably for him, the combination of his ex-lieutenants like Engr Remi Omowaiye , Rt Hon Timothy Owoeye and Hon Idowu Falade was to much for the Interior minister to break. Of all the 21 wards in the two local governments in Ilesha, Aregbesola could not secure any for Adeoti. He was spanked all through. Whereas Oyetola polled
4,626 votes in Ilesha east, the minister's local government, Adeoti polled measly 480 votes. Similarly, in Ilesha west, Oyetola polled 3877 votes as against Adeoti's 446. Remi Omowaiye, Aregbesola's commissioner for science and innovation, is from this local government and he gave a good and spectacular account of himself. In his Ilesha West Ward 6, Omowaiye, who is now the state commissioner for works and transport, was on hand to return 892 votes to Oyetola while Aregbesola's lackey polled 53 votes. The result returned in Omowaiye's ward is the best in the whole of 21 wards in Ilesha town.

In Aregbesola's Ifofin ward 8, the minister's woes were heightened by his former henchman, Idowu Falade, who ensured all the rigging machineries of the minister were neutralised. Falade is now with Oyetola and he lived up to the billing of being the real election winner for Aregbesola in the area. For instance, at a time the minister's personal assistant and nephew, Olateju Ishola was contemplating to mobilise political thugs to disrupt the election and give Adeoti a leverage in the ward, Falade was reported to have telephoned the security agencies to beef up security in and around the area. This singular proactive action foiled the rigging attempt

Again, in Ilesha east ward 7, the trio of former health minister, Professor Isaac Adewole, his son, Adedayo, who is the state commissioner for agriculture and Dr Tunde Faleye, the MD of Omoluabi Holdings, got the job done. Oyetola's winning there was equally emphatic as the governor polled 808 votes to humble Aregbesola whose man polled just 42 votes.

Rt Hon Timothy Owoeye, the current speaker of the state assembly, was a cynosure of all eyes as he did not only confirm his unflinching support to Governor Oyetola, he mobilised all his family members, including his aged parents, to vote for the governor in his Ilesha east Ward 10 where 740 votes were returned for Oyetola and 30 votes for Adeoti.

Owoeye, the longest serving honourable in the state assembly who since 2007 has held key positions like Minority Leader and Majority Leader, was Aregbesola's protégé and is his representative in the assembly.

As expected, the Aregbesola's men put up a good fight in Ilesa west Ward 3 where Adeoti's trusted associate, Alhaji Azeez Adesiji used to hold sway. Adesiji, former Ilesha west chairman and state deputy chairman of APC, was cut to sizes by Lawrence Ayeni, a member of the National Assembly representing Atakumosa East/Atakumosa West/Ilesha East/Ilesha West. Ayeni, a known former ally of Minister Aregbesola, is one of the most loved politicians in Ijeshaland because of his philanthropy and excellent service to the people. That he galvanised 334 votes for Oyetola as against Adeoti's 114, in a ward described to be the stronghold of Aregbesola and Adeoti, is salutary.

Elsewhere in Ijeshaland, it was the same disgraceful outing for Aregbesola and his men for they were equally pummeled with votes.

Hon. Ajibola Famurewa, Oyetola's campaign director general in 2018 and party's senatorial flagbearer in the 2019 election, repelled the political sorte of Aregbesola. He mobilised other party men to ensure the governor aced in Atakumosa with 7302 votes as opposed to Adeoti's 470 votes. In the same vein, the upwardly mobile aide of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, Seun Odofin commendably held fort for Oyetola in his Ijebu-jesa ward 3 of Oriade local government. The 2,549 votes returned for Oyetola in just Ijebu-jesa compared to Adeoti's scornful 47 votes, has become a talking point in the political arena in Osun.

No doubt, the yesterday's primary election, forecast to be the determinant of Aregbesola's political future, has validated the claim that the interior minister is now a political eunuch who can't germinate or procreate in his hitherto stronghold and that his hold on the July 16 governorship election would be insignificant.

Here are the summary of the results of the Osun APC Gubernatorial Primary held yesterday, 19th February, 2022. The incumbent governor, Adegboyega Oyetola walloped his other rivals in the contests.

The main governornship election is slated for July 16, 2022

Reps probe Aregbesola over ‘misappropriated’ N165b prison funds

Published on February 16, 2022

By John Owen Nwachukwu


The House of Representatives has commenced a probe of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, made this known on Wednesday.

Gbajabiamila is a staunch loyalist of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who has declared his intention to run for presidency in 2023.

This development is coming few days after Aregbesola publicly blasted Tinubu for turning himself into a god.

Gbajabiamila presided over the plenary on Wednesday, where members resolved that the interior minister and prisons chief, Haliru Nababa be probed.

They are being accused of misappropriating about N165billion funds earmarked for prisons development across the country.

The House resolution came as a result of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Ndudi Elumelu, who is the Minority Leader of the House.

“The House is disturbed that despite this Act and increase in budgetary allocations to the Nigerian Correctional Service to drive its renewed mandate, the tempo and quality of the service have remained the same if not retrogressing,” Elumelu said.

“The House is worried that the working conditions of staff and inmates’ welfare have deteriorated notwithstanding, the over N165 billion budget allocations to the service in the last two years.”

With this, the lawmakers resolved to have its committee on Reformatory Institutions investigate the allegations and report to the House within 12 weeks, for further legislative action.

https://dailypost.ng/2022/02/16/reps-probe-aregbesola-over-misappropriated-n165b-prison-funds/

Inordinate Ambition.

Sheu Adeoti was Iwo Local Government caretaker chairman 2002/2003.

He later became state Chairman of Alliance for Democracy, AD, then Chairman of AC/ACN.

He was appointed SSG and he served for eight years between 2010-2018.

In 2018 when he could not win the APC gubernatorial ticket, he moved to another party, ADP, to contest the election.

He lost the contest to Governor Oyetola.

In 2019, he called APC a VOMIT to which he would never return.

Circa July 2020, he ate his VOMIT by returning to the party.

Today, less than 2years after returning to his vomit, he wants to become the party's flagbearer.

He is boasting to send the incumbent governor back to Lagos.

Orisirisi.

A letter written by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to the Osun State governor, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, revealed the
government superintended by the immediate past governor of the state and the country's Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola did not pay 29 months pension of the local government retirees.

The letter, dated 21 April, 2021, was signed by Akeem Lawal, the Commission's Director of Operations.

Osun Finance and Garrulity of Yesterday's Men

By Adebayo Adedeji


https://www.osunreportersng.com/osun-finance-and-garrulity-of-yesterdays-men-by-adebayo-adedeji/

At a time one would expect the financial concoctionists to back off their calumnious campaign against the government of Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun, it is strange to realise that the spent forces continue to launch sorte to substantiate the financial recklessness enlivened during the governorship of Rauf Aregbesola, the current interior minister.

The leading character in the mindless attack is a former commissioner in the state, who despite his first class degree in engineering and his boastful claim of exposure and foray in the country's banking industry, still suffers from inferiority complex.

The ex-commissioner, in his customised magisterial arrogance, made weird assertions regarding indebtedness of the state as at the period Aregbesola's tenure eclipsed in November 2018. His recent involvement was a reaction to the query of the Osun Masterminds addressed to the governor. The Masterminds is an assemblage of rights activists seeking accountability about the finance of Osun State, particularly finance from 2010 to 2018, period Aregbesola rode over the State roughshod.

Rather than allowing the current government, to which the questions were addressed, do justice to the concerns of the group, the loquacious lap-dog strayed into the discussion by formulating tangential questions for the governor. Throughout his rambling, the ex-commissioner under whose watch the state borrowed N16.5 billion from commercial banks at two digit interest rate to renovate 11 secondary schools, was silent on the N42 billion Paris Club refund the government of Aregbesola received in four tranches to cushion the effect of biting economy at the time. The refund was a partial settlement of long-standing claims by Osun State government relating to over deductions from its Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) payment for external debt service between 1995 and 2002. The fund was released to Aregbesola as part of the wide efforts to stimulate the economy and was specifically designed to support Osun in meeting salary and other obligations, thereby alleviating the challenges faced by workers. The releases though were conditional upon a minimum per cent being applied to the payment of workers' salaries and pensions, the government of Aregbesola, till date, has not been able to reasonably account for the fund for it was diverted and spent frivolously.

Nothwithstanding the financial buffers and free fund enjoyed by the defunct government, the state was still left financially prostate. Claiming Aregbesola left a debt of N170.5 billion for his successor is putting it mildly. The debt is way above it. In fact the debt is in the region of N270 billion! And to offset the whole bill, the state would need to endure further for there will not be any relief until year 2046, the expected year for completion of debt repayment accessed by the government superintended by Aregbesola.

And as long as the state services the debt Aregbesola inducted it into, the state will continue to suffer the effect of the repayment. Even though the government of Oyetola has offset from the debt the sum of N72, 264, 135, 513.19 ( seventy two billion, two hundred and sixty four million, one hundred and thirty five thousand, five hundred and thirteen naira and nineteen kobo), it continues to suffer on the account of the monthly deduction meant for debt repayment. At the moment, the sum of N1.817 billion is monthly taken from the federal allocation due to the State.

In my earlier intervention on the financial situation of Osun, I wrote that some of the decisions, lacking in foresight, of Aregbesola and his yes-men, rammed the state into dire straits where, for example, funds meant to be available for the current administration to execute its numerous lofty programmes are taken at source to service debt owed by the defunct administration. It is not in dispute that in the first term of Rauf Aregbesola, the average statutory gross allocation to the state government was N50 billion. Specifically, in 2013, its gross allocation was N55 billion. Note: Gross is the money due to states, while Net is what is eventually distributed to them --- after deductions (i.e loan repayment) have been made. The Net shrinks when debt repayment obligations are fulfilled. Unfortunately, while the state government's Gross allocation from the Federal Account in 2019, during Oyetola governorship, was N51.9 billion, the Net that actually came to the state was paltry N24.2 billion! Where did the balance of N27.7 billion go? It was deducted to settle the debt left behind by Aregbesola government. This same time, Oyo State went home with N55 billion, Ekiti State with N41 billion and Ogun State with N38 billion.

Similarly in 2020, more than N20 billion was knocked off, from what was due to Osun State, to settle loans obtained by Aregbesola government. According to the State of States report for 2021, Osun's debt repayment for 2020 was the third largest loan repayment made by any state in Nigeria. Osun's debt burden was almost 9 times bigger than the IGR in the year under review!

But as volte-face, the garrulous machine and self-imposed Joseph Goebbels of Aregbesola government continues to weave an argument to pin the financial recklessness of the government he served on the head of a romanticised omnipotent Chief-of-Staff.

How ludicrous could it sound that a chief of staff, an officer not known to the Constitution of Nigeria, is made a scapegoat and is always pilloried to account for the action of his principal, the governor, on whose desk the buck stops? The more the Aregboslaists canvass this line of argument, the more they reduce the political status of their principal to that of a leader who, though had the mandate to govern, was not in charge of his government.

The falsehood peddling machine should own up that while he served as the commissioner, memos bordering on finance of the State were communicated directly between the governor and the finance commissioner. They were never routed through the chief of staff or any officer of the government. This was the practice during the period of Aregbesola. The man's claim that the Chief-of-Staff was the gateway to all financial transactions in that government is disingenuous, irresponsible and mendacious.

The ex-commissioner, who some weeks ago entertained the listeners on a popular radio station how Aregbesola, against the suggestion of Chief-of-Staff Oyetola, insisted on his nomination as Commissioner, should not be part of the ignoramuses conjuring the juvenile myth of the chief of staff being more powerful than the governor who employed him.

Again, the ex-commissioner should discontinue his pedestrian falsehood that the government of Oyetola has secretly obtained financial bonds to shore up resources available to it. The weird and misleading claim, aimed at demonising the government of the day, is capable of stirring up civil unrest. For the purpose of enlightenment, yes, there exist private and public bonds. But there is nothing like secret bond. No bond can be accessed through the backdoor. Every bond process is pedantic and passes through conventional institutions. As a fact, every bond must have an imprimatur of the Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This position of the ex-commissioner clearly shows he does not have the depth and grasp of the government finance, contrary to his blusterous claim of being the best financial expert around!

Going forward, the ex-commissioner should be told in clear terms that the reason behind his sustained defence of the humongous debt left behind by the government he served is well understood by the people and at the appropriate time, he and the people behind the pillage of Osun would be called to official questioning. The time is near when every misappropriated fund, backend deal and 'insider- cut' enjoyed by him and his ilk would be exposed to all compatriots.