Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Wednesday inspected the on-going development of All Saint Elementary School and another Anglican School (John McKay Grammar School) in Osogbo, capital of the State of Osun.
He was received by the Bishop, Osun Anglican Communion, Revd. John Popoola and the Dean of the Cathedral of All Saints, Balogun-Agoro, Osogbo, Ven D.O.Fakolujo among others.
The Governor during the visit exchanged pleasantries with some students of the school.
 
 

The RLG Adulawo Technology City in Ilesa, State of Osun will in April train about 5,000 Youths of the state in the 2nd phase of OYESTECH I.C.T training.
The training facilitated in conjunction with the State Government and Omoluabi Holdings which is for free would cut across all the nine federal constituencies in the state.
The ICT training is expected to cover areas like Digital TV Assemblage and Repairs, Phone Assemblage and Repairs, Computer Assemblage and Repairs which is an entrepreneurship empowerment initiative.
The move according to the organizers is to also empower the Youth of the State of Osun to be self-reliant through applied ICT and entrepreneurial skills development.
Registration for the programme holds between March 1 and 16 on www.rlgadulawo.com.ng while the training commences on April 2.

Every year, Nigerian airlines spend billions of naira to service aircraft in the fleets outside the country because we do not have functional Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities. Governor Aregbesola has called for the establishment of MRO facilities over the years which have fallen on deaf ears, and the country has continued to lose hard currency because her airlines do so abroad. One of the major challenges confronting the aviation sector in Nigeria is the lack of facility to carry out maintenance checks on aircraft.
 
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New Osun Airport MRO facilities will save Nigeria billions of naira annually, which is one of the lessons that the strategic mega project taught Nigeria. When the first phase of MKO Abiola International Airport, Ido Osun, Osun State, is completed, the facility will save the country foreign exchange of billions of naira per annum. As aircraft manufacturers move towards composite materials and avionics become more sophisticated, the Osun Airport hangar maintenance facility will need to respond to the new requirements. The aircraft maintenance facility will resemble an industrial facility which will require remediation of toxic effluents, air pollution permits, safety standards for working in hazardous areas and a high tech facility with laboratories and clean rooms.
The Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Osun Airport is nearing its completion. On request of the state government, the federal government pledged support for the project, and the facility will become a national hangar. However, a nice and large hangar does not necessarily mean that the technical knowledge and man power will be available to run the facility and provide high-quality maintenance services. Who will become responsible for operating the facility and provide maintenance services? Will domestic and foreign airlines be interested in using the facility?
In order to better serve several airlines in Nigeria, Osun Airport Aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility is in good location. All facilities provide light airframe maintenance for both narrow body and wide body aircraft. Osun Airport facility is our home base, and covers nearly 2.7 million square feet (about 250,000 square metres or the size of 47 football fields). It was specifically designed to provide a smooth flow of work and material. Airframe maintenance work is performed in one area, aircraft engine maintenance work in another, and component maintenance in yet another. Meanwhile, all three are tied together by an efficient, reliable multi-vehicle transportation system capable of delivering material and parts quickly.

Osun Technical Operation hangar features state-of-the-art design, and is devoted to specific responsibilities for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of your fleet.
It has been revealed that West and Central African carriers expend at least $1bn on maintenance of their aircraft annually outside the region. This is as airlines in the country spend at least $1.8m regularly in carrying out C-Checks on their aircraft outside the country. The federal government has also said that it would formulate policies that would make Nigerian airlines to remain in business rather than allow them to close shop.
Engr. Isaac Balami, the immediate past president of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), has disclosed that all the airlines in the West and Central Africa expend $1bn in maintenance of their aircraft.  “Airlines in this region expend $1bn on the maintenance of their aircraft annually, but with this now, such maintenance can now be carried out within the region and this will reduce capital flight out of Nigeria and the sub-region.”
Leasing of maintenance and repair space can be costly. Osun Airport will build its reputation on the availability of space and excellent service to aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul companies. Osun Airport will provide multiple types of space availability and facilities to accommodate the needs of airport operation. With a smoother start-up and transition process, tools, equipment and materials to the airport with greater ease and less complication, Osun airport will deliver.
After waiting for more than 20 years, the people of Osun are now set to witness the launch of the country’s best airport hangar facility. With an initial capacity of three million passengers a year, the mega airport is among the largest airports in Africa. Over time, its capacity is expected to rise to 10 million passengers a year, making it one of the highest-capacity airports on the content.
The new multimillion dollar airport is seating on a 4,500-hectare piece of land in a less crowded area with no heavy traffic jam like in the overcrowded capital. It also has a larger terminal and runways with a capacity to host more people and flights.

Boosting the economy in Osun
With a new airport that can accommodate more passengers and flights, the economy of Osun is expected to expand. The government of Senegal also hopes that the airport will help to diversify the country’s economy, which has for a long time relied on Abuja. The airport will serve as the centrepiece of the “Airport City” and the team is already planning to develop commercial installations such as hotels, malls, and other business facilities around the facility. At least 1,000 local retailers will be allowed to operate duty-free shops on the site, which will have a direct impact on the local economy.
Since the liquidation of Nigeria Airways by the federal government in 2004, which had functional Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities that could occupy at least two Boeing aircraft at a time, airlines in the country have resorted to taking out their aircraft outside the country for required checks. Unfortunately, a country like Nigeria with its pedigree as ‘Giant of Africa’ does not have an aircraft MRO facility.
Osun airport will be the first in Nigeria to provide a functional Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in the 21st century.
 

• Donald writes from Benin City inwalomhe.donald@yahoo.com

Nigerians have been charged on attitudinal change towards ensuring that the country is self sufficient in food production with a view to banishing hunger across the nation.
 

 
 
This charge was made by Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Tuesday during the foundation laying ceremony of “Sanrot Agro-Allied Rice mill and Fertilizer Blending Plant” in Ijebu-Jesa owned by a business mogul, Chief Rotimi Obeisun.
Ogbeni Aregbesola also joined Chief Rotimi Obeisun to commission other projects under the Timsed group of companies which include: hotel and holiday centre, civic centre and cinema, food and confectionery section, water and beverage bottling plant and Timsed radio and television broadcasting service to mark his 60th birthday celebrations.
He stressed the need for the country to stop exporting raw materials and importing finished items, a situation which the governor said is contributing to the dwindling economic fortunes of the nation.
He explained that the rice mill which has the capacity to produce ten million tons of rice per annum will go a long way in providing a ready market for rice farmers in Osun and environs.
The Governor also commended the fertilizer blending plant saying it will be a major boost to the state’s economy as it will be able to produce about one hundred thousand metric tons of fertilizer when fully operational.

The Government of the state of Osun has embarked on series of reforms aimed at placing its Public Service on a higher pedestal with the aim of making it the best in Africa in terms of productivity and efficiency.
 

 
This will not only place it on the world map but rather make it the envy of other Public Services within and outside the country.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Productivity, Efficiency and Due Process, Mr. Ademola Adeyinka gave this hint while playing host to the Chairman of the Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria, Pastor Amos Adekunle in his office in the state capital.
Also speaking in the same vein, the General Manager of Osun Public Procurement Agency, Mr. Fatoberu Ayodele said the Government of the State of Osun recognises the importance of procurement, which is why it signed the Act into law, having been passed earlier by the State House of Assembly.
He said the Procurement Agency is the flagship of Due Process and by so doing, it is anchored on professionalism as it relates to other divisions or departments.

Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has charged the newly elected councillors across the state to make the development of their constituents the watchword during their tenure of office.
 
 
 
Delivering an address titled: “A New Dawn In Democratic Representation, the Governor said his administration only acceded to the demand of Osun people through the memoranda of 2012, noting that there can not be an issue as to the acceptability of the parliamentary system of government at the local level by the people of the state.
He explained that the parliamentary system of government is far better than the executive because the latter has absolute powers vested in the hands of one individual which could make the leader in such circumstance to be an authoritarian leader.
Ogbeni Aregbesola who expressed delight at seeing a democratically elected government return to the local areas stated that the system of government by democratically elected people is well-established in the constitution of the country, leaving no room for ambiguity.
He said, “I don’t know why some people are malicious about what we have done because I know it is unfounded, the system of local government administration by democratically elected people is well-established in the constitution of Nigeria and so it is not ambiguous at all.
“And let me tell you that nowhere in the constitution of the country was it stated that we should use the executive or parliamentary system of government at the local level, our constitution remains neutral concerning it. The most important thing is that it must be democratic.
“We should all be happy about the parliamentary system of government because it is the best form of democratic government, it avoids a situation where an individual sees himself as the most powerful person.
“The parliamentary system does not allow for being an authoritarian leader because the executives are formed by the entire parliament, thereby making members of the parliament to be members of the executive.
“In the parliamentary system, visions are seen and arrived at together while the actions are also jointly taken, it is also more stable and less prone to corruption because everybody wants the progress of democracy in the system”, he said.
Ogbeni Aregbesola also used the occasion to admonish the elected parliamentarians to be steadfast, honest and have the love of the people who elected them into office at heart, saying, the beauty of democracy is to deliver its dividends to the electorates.
He urged them to see themselves as change agents while putting loyalty to their party and the interest of the people on the front burner. He also charged them to join the drive of the state government in sustainable revenue generation for the local government and state governments.
On environmental sanitation, the governor urged the councillors to see themselves as the chief sanitation officers of their various local government, stressing that they should work closely with waste management agencies to clean up the environment.
“I urge you to see yourselves as change agents in your local governments, you must listen to the people who elected you. Your first task is to ensure that the environment is clean throughout your local government, I give you three weeks to clean the waste in your area.
Addressing the gathering, the state APC Chairman, Prince Adegboyega Famodun also noted that the parliamentary system of government will bring government closer to the people and urged the parliamentarians to obey their party at all times.
He said they should always have it at the back of their mind that it is the party that drives the system, noting that the party is now in a crucial time as elections is around the corner.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the APC elders’ council in the state, Engr. Sola Akinwunmi commended the selfless manner Ogbeni Aregbesola has been running the affairs of the state in the past seven years.
He explained that he is particularly thrilled about the parliamentary system of government at the local level because it will create a lot of discipline among politicians and the electorates.