More than three thousand students will be graduating from Osun state university, during the school fourth and fifth convocation ceremony.

 
 
The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University , Prof. Oguntola Alamu on Friday disclosed this to journalists  in Osogbo,during a press briefing on the forth-coming convocation ceremony
He stated that a total of 3164 students from six faculties, for the 2013/2014, and 2014/2015 academic sessions would be convocated.
In his words, he explained that  27 students bagged a first class honour for the 2013/2014 session, 24 students had same  in the 2014/2015 academic session.
The VC added that the university awarded grades base on the performance of students in line with their academic quality.
According to him, the citadel  in its tradition of excellence in teaching and character modelling had been able to produce intellectuals that were making wave all over the world.
Alamu maintained that the university remained focused, and committed to full implementation and evaluation of the University 2012-2016 Strategic plan.
“Since the last convocation ceremony in 2014, Osun State University has continued to make progress in teaching, research, community service, physical and infrastructural development.
The 2014/2015 academic session witnessed the resuscitation of Entrepreneurial Training for the final year students, in line with the mission of the univesity.
I am delighted to inform you that most of the graduants will be collecting two certificates by the end of this ceremony- Bachelor’s degree certificate and the Entrepreneurship skill set certificate,” Alamu resorted.
The combined convocation ceremony was billed for March 8th and 9th, alongside a Convocation Lecture.
The Lecture titled:Sustainable Tertiary Education in Post -Oil Nigeria will be delivered by Prof. Micheal Faborode, who is the Secretary General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities on March 6, among other activities.

Following the approval of an Electronic Data Gathering System (EDGS) by the Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the State of Osun, the Macro Statistics Department of the State Planning Commission (SPC) has dispatched templates to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government (MDAs) in the State.
 

 
The templates are expected to be filled and sent to the SPC on or before 28th of February 2016. A released signed by the Coordinating Director (CD) of SPC, Mr, J.O. Akande, reminded all the MDAs that have not forwarded their completed templates to the SPC, to do so, latest by the 15th of March, 2016.
The Coordinating Director further said that, the soft copy should be submitted to this Email: osundatabank@gmail.com, while the hard copy should be brought to the SPC.
All MDAs are enjoined to treat this reminder with utmost importance, because access to timely rendition of data to users will accelerate Planning and Economic Development, especially in the State of Osun.

Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola yesterday paid an unscheduled visit to ongoing construction work at Osogbo Government High School to ascertain the level of work done so far.
 

 
On his arrival at the site, Governor Aregbesola went straight to the basket ball court where he showed off his sporting skills
 

 
 
However, Governor Aregbesola’s inspection tour didn’t stop there just as he moved round the school in a bid to attest to the level of completion at the site.
Governor Aregbesola ,who went through the school football pitch and major areas of the school site and commended the high spate of work on the site, saying with the growing speed of the school construction, he was assured of its completion soonest.
Governor Aregbesola also expressed satisfaction on the present state of the school construction, promising that his government would not hesitate to provide the needed infrastructure on education just as he had embarked on the construction of ultra modern schools across the nooks and crannies of the state.
He said his dream is to turn Osun to an epitome of educational pacesetter not only in Nigeria but in Africa and the world at large
He therefore admonished the artisans working on the site not to deviate or breach the contractual agreement with the state by constructing an edifice that would be a model in the world.
He said his government would accept nothing but the best, urging the contractors to continuously meet up with the state’s expectations on the modern schools through the use of standard and quality materials.

Osun State House of Assembly has decried the poor implementation of laws passed by Houses of Assembly in the country.

 
 
Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salaam, stated this in Ijebu-Jesa yesterday at a two-day workshop on legislative practice and procedure, organised for members of the Assembly, saying, it is only laws the executive arm is interested in that are properly implemented.
In a statement issued by chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, the speaker said it was very unfortunate that there are several bills that could improve the economy of the states and the federation at large, which have been passed, but poorly implemented or not implemented at all. “On the passage of bill, not minding the number, bills would only be passed for the sake of it if they are not being implemented. “There are several bills passed in this country after legislators have put in their best, but are not being implemented.
 
There are bills that can develop this state and Nigeria as a whole that are lying fallow,” he said. According to the statement, the speaker, however, stressed that the assembly would be careful and do a thorough job before the passage of 2016 budget to ensure that a realistic budget was approved.
He said the present cash crunch in the state and the country at large is responsible for the delay in the passage of the budget.
Explaining the rationale behind the training for members, the speaker reportedly said it is meant to enhance the capacity of members on the application of legislative rules and procedure as well as ensuring effective, robust and participatory legislative process.
In his lecture, a former clerk of the House of Representatives, Dr. Niyi Ajiboye, reportedly said lack of financial autonomy has been responsible for the failure of the executive to take the implementation of the laws passed by houses of assembly seriously.
He said if the Houses of Assembly are given autonomy, it would make them more efficient, and be able to hold the executive responsible for nonimplementation of laws passed.

The Government of the State of Osun is determined to ensure that every child from age 0 to five years in the state is given polio vaccination and ensure that polio is completely eradicated in the state.

 
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Akinyinka Oluseyi Esho gave the assurance at Ileri-Ijesa in Ilesa East Local Government Area while on a monitoring exercise.
The Permanent Secretary, who was in the company of the Director of Primary Health Care in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Kayode Ogunniyi, then vaccinated a school pupil and a baby girl that missed the vaccinating team assigned to the community.
He then pointed out that the State Government will do everything possible to eradicate polio completely in the state.
Dr. Akinyinka Esho then commended health workers for working round the clock in order to ensure that polio is completely kicked out of the state.
The Permanent Secretary then paid an unscheduled visit to the School of Health Technology in Ilesa where he commended the staff for not been found wanting in the discharge of their duties.  He then enjoined them to keep it up.
Other places visited include Urogbo Community in Atakunmosa Local Government Area.

It is currently, highly unlikely that any gang will try to raid a bank in the state of Osun; at least for the foreseeable future. The basis of this supposition is the big blow that was dealt to a gang that attempted just a few weeks ago, to rob banks along Ekoeinde Road in Ikirun, the headquarters of Ifelodun local government area. More often than not, these heinous activities are carried out successfully often coming at the cost of human lives and properties, and in this case, it had looked like normal business until reinforcements in the form of tanks secured for the police by the state government arrived. Two of the gang were reported killed, with another four arrested having had their firepower rendered ineffective. And so in one full swoop, Osun sent a clear note to robbers. Stay off.
 

 
 
The confidence of the security operatives who stood against these robbers must be commended and their act encouraged but another side to the story that must be told is the empowerment of these security forces by the equipment secured by the state government which helped make the foiling of this incidence, a success. This is because it resonates the view that our security operatives can post better results in crime fighting if better equipped. But it is also because when these equipment, worth N1.3bn, were procured by the state government in 2014, it generated hues and cries from political opponents, and misled citizens who labelled it wasteful spending with some saying the state was not much of a security risk to warrant such. There are other things to do with money, some posited, comfortably ignoring that the major essence of any government is the security of its people.
Governor Aregbesola, being one not to cow to unhealthy criticisms, had gone on to procure the equipment that last week must have marked Osun as a red zone for prospective robbers. It is with this in mind that my mind raced to recent happenings as regards the ongoing construction of the MKO Abiola Airport in Ido-Osun in a joint venture between the state government and the federal government. The airport has continued to generate criticism from left, right, centre as a result of the nationwide financial crisis that has left Osun unable to meet recurrent expenditure demands. To many, if you cannot pay salaries, how dare you build an airport?

While the governor has gotten many sticks for another social investment, many ignore however that the project was actually hatched and its approval secured by previous governments. When Governor Aregbesola took over, it is to his credit that the plan was changed so as to make the airport a cargo maintenance hub, which will be the first of its kind in West Africa, furnished with hangars and the government reportedly has signed agreements with two hanger operators in a move to ensure that Osun becomes the destination for aircrafts seeking maintenance and repairs. Clearly, the idea for Aregbesola was maybe we can make this investment but let us make sure it will be a money-spinning one for us.
It is however understandable that in a state where doctors are on strike and workers on half salary, many turn deaf ears to such projects. But in closing our ears, are we focusing on the problem rather than the solution? It is already established that oil prices have fallen so bad and federal allocations have dropped to abysmal levels, so much so that if the state were to decide to pay all salaries as at due, the state will be left with nothing for capital spending. That is what we as a people, are demanding for labour, but if the state really spends all on salaries, it will still owe some and with the continuous reduction of oil price and revenue, more and more will be owed and at what cost? Security, industrialization, and all other aspects of the state requiring capital expenditure will be forgotten. In truth, if we go down this route, the state will run into extinction faster than we think.

What we should be asking the Osun State government right now to do, is to diversify its earnings, by investing in money-yielding ventures, not prescribing the death pill of simply spending its entire budget on recurrent needs. No government does that. We must demand that Osun, and other financially challenged states show us how they are investing to make sure that this dark cloud presently hovering over their accounts will disperse, sooner or later. In such a demand, lies the solution.
And if we look at it this way, Osun is already making inroads. What that airport will do to the revenue of the state has been conveniently ignored for so long that I think we might be missing the point. As with when the security equipment were procured for police in the state, this looks like a proactive step. The state did not wait for it to be attacked and many killed before spending on those equipment, it acted to prevent occurrences, with the future in mind. Same way, while the airport project does not appear pleasing now, it definitely holds great prospect for the future. It is projects like these that will ensure that in the next four years, we don’t find ourselves criticizing whoever takes over from Aregbesola for not being able to pay salaries also.

For one, it would have been easy for Aregbesola to ignore this important project for now and divert funds to paying more salaries, as this would mean him saving his name but the insistence of the governor to proceed with it shows a man who is ready to be hated for the next governor to be loved. As long as Osun does not go extinct from salary paying alone.
It is very tough to defend salaries not being paid and the government must find a way to ensure that their investments start paying off for salary obligations to be met but the prospect of renewed efforts to increase cocoa production (Cocoa Omoluabi), and the opening up of the state to increased investments,  and export via an airport, and the potential revenue stream from having the only aircraft maintenance facility in the West African region leaves a lot to look forward to in the state of Osun. They may not all come to fruition under Ogbeni Aregbesola but if they end up turning Osun into a mega state sooner or later, then just like those who had criticised the security expenses but turned around to praise the governor after seeing the fruits last week, maybe we will look back and commend Aregbesola for seeing what many of us are currently not seeing, or outrightly refusing to see. I have often heard that, trying times are not the times to stop trying and it is inspiring to see the government of the state of Osun act it out. May their efforts come to fruition.
Gbolahan Yusuf

Worried by the incessant protests by the  people of Osun state over the epileptic power supply,  the state government has called on the authorities of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC)  to embark on an aggressive public enlightenment campaign to address the issue of inadequate power supply.
 

Osun government also admonished the IBEDC to find a lasting solution to crazy bills allegedly being circulated to its consumers in the state
Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, gave the admonition during an interface with IBEDC Authorities along with the representatives of the Security Chiefs in the state.
The meeting which was at the instance of the state Governor was borne out of the State Government’s concern over regular consumer protest of poor power supply with the attendant crazy bills, for services not enjoyed.
The Security Chiefs expressed concern over the security implications of these incessant protests by the people which they said could lead to a breakdown of law and order.
They also expressed grave concern over the increase in the activities of night marauders which regular power outage at night usually cause.
They therefore advised the authorities of IBEDC to take urgent steps aimed at improving service delivery in order to justify the monthly electricity bills.
In his explanation, the IBEDC Business Hub Technical Manager in Osogbo, Engr. Omotayo Noah, attributed the general load shedding to inadequate supply of energy from the transmission units.
While lamenting that the number of megawatts of power accessible to the state on monthly basis is a far cry from what is actually needed, Engr.  Noah, regretted that energy theft in various forms, is so rampant in the state.
Among those in attendance at the meeting was the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mr. Tope Adejumo.

The Public Relations Officer of the Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) Ile-Ife, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju has debunked social media report of epidemic disease in the institution.

 
Olanrewaju who spoke to journalists at the Health Centre of OAU on Sunday, described the media report as unfounded.
He said the sickness is a malaria caused by the climate change and was not peculiar to OAU, saying “no student has been admitted.
He however urged members of the public to refute the social media report where over 150 students were said to have been admitted.
Conducting the press round the wards, Director of Health Centre, Dr Irinoye Adedayo Ishola, said there has been no outbreak of any infection.
He said “all we have is malaria endemic. The anxiety of examination coupled with poor nutrition caused the breakdown by some students”.
“Climate change is another causes because the heat is much and it affects the body”.
He said the school would have cried out if they have perceived a strange disease.