The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has congratulated St. James’ Elementary School for coming third at the recently concluded Channels Kids football competition.
 

 
 
A statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Semiu Okanlawon, quoted the governor as saying that the pupils have demonstrated true Omoluabi ethos of the state, part of which are handwork, dedication and cooperation.
 
The Governor commended the first runners-up of the Kids Cup for their achievement at the competition, adding that the feat must be extended to their academic pursuits.‎
 
Aregbesola stated: “I congratulate the representatives of the state at the Channels National Kids Cup tournament for making the third position in the competition. We salute their diligence and industry.
 
“Throughout the tournament, these youngsters demonstrated the ethics of decency, forbearance, healthy competition and dedication which resulted in their ultimate triumph as the bronze medalists. They are true OMOLUABI from the state of OMOLUABI.
 
“We are very proud of them, their managers, all facilitators of this victory, their parents and friends. ‎With this accomplishment, they must not rest on their oars both in sports and academics. This certainly is the beginning of great achievements for them and the children of Osun.”

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola during the course of the week took an unscheduled tour of the state capital to see for himself the extent of work done on the different ongoing projects in the stat.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who led a high delegation team of state government officials on the visit, expressed satisfaction at the level of work done at the various points visited.
Some of the works inspected during the tour include the Osogbo Government high School, the Ata-Oja School of Science and the Oba Adesoji Aderemi East Bypass Bridge.

 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has restated his commitment towards providing qualitative education for the school children in the state.
 

 
He said this at Osogbo city stadium during the celebration of children day on Friday.
Aregbesola who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori noted that his government has valued education of children since inception, promising that he would strive further to ensure that Osun state provide the best education for children in the country.
He noted that the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has adopted his school feeding programme, maintaining that the initiative has been one of the best in the country.
Aregbesola who lamented continuous hostage of Chibok Girls by the deadly Boko Haram, assured that the present government is committed and sincere in the rescue of the girls.
He commended the soldiers for their gallant fight against Boko Haram, appealing to Nigerians to pray for Buhari’s government.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Osun state Ministry of Women, Children and Social Affairs, Mrs Omolara Ajayi, appealed to parents and guardians to brace up and exercise a collaborative effort in the training of their children.
She condemned the violence against children saying “the inhuman and barbaric tradition of Female Genital Mutilation and the current trend of violence through child trafficking, child forced marriages, sex exploitation, abduction, can no longer be condoned.

Chairman of the Special Committee on Fire Safety in the state, Hon Mudasiru Oguntola Toogun has tasked owners of all categories of establishments in the state to take advantage of opportunities provided by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to improve their businesses.
 

 
Hon Toogun gave this charge while on monitoring tour to industries and multinational companies in Osogbo and Ilesa.
He said Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is concerned with the welfare of all citizens and their property in the state hence the setting up of the committee.
Hon Toogun therefore charged all industries and multinational companies in the state to be fire safety compliant. He also emphasised payment of taxes as it is meant for development
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In their separate responses,Director Don Plaza, Mr Ike Donald Obiora, Managing Director, Micro Credit Agency, Mr Dayo Babaranti , Director of Olaiya Nigeria Enterprise, Alhaji Rauf Olaiya and Director of De Bukateria, Hon Wale Adedoyin thanked the State Governor for his commitment at developing the state despite the paucity of fund.
They therefore promised to comply with fire safety regulations and regular payment of their taxes and other levies to the state.
Present were Secretary to the committee, Mr Toba Aluko and men of the Fire Service led by the Deputy Director, Mrs Moni Lawal.

The Osun State government yesterday said invitations to fake petitioners and paid agents of destabilization will put an end to frivolous petitions in Nigeria.
 

 
 
Citing Friday’s invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun, CSCEO, over its petition alleging diversion of funds belonging to local councils in the state by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor in a statement signed by its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, said the self-appointed civil society group is a group that had been making bogus claims against Governor Aregbesola and his government without producing evidence to substantiate any of the allegations.
 
For instance, this was the group that accused Governor Aregbesola of embezzling the N34.988 billion bailout loan obtained last year as part of the Federal Government’s intervention to assist states meet their salary obligations.
 
The same group had accused Governor Aregbesola of borrowing over N750 billion, which, according to it, has not impacted on the socio-economic lives of the people of Osun.
 
The government had also been accused of planning a mass sack of civil servants in the state, especially in the wake of the challenges to meet salary obligations by the state.
 
“It is instructive that none of these allegations and others from this same group has been proved to be true,” the Bureau stated.
The Bureau described the CSCEO as dubious two-man contraption put together and masquerading as a pro-people organization.
 
“We must remind Nigerians lest they take this group serious at all that Mr. Sulaiman Adeniyi who claims to be the leader of the group and Seun Adeoye, have been no more than two hired hands of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun and its allied opposition elements.
Describing the step taken by the EFCC as a welcome development, the Bureau stated, “This is a welcome development as perhaps this will put an end to frivolous activities of the likes of hired groups like this and their cohorts in the trade of making allegations that they cannot substantiate. “The Osun example in local government funds administration is a study in transparency and accountability.
Perhaps, it is only in Osun that the governor introduced Heads of Local Government Administrations, HLAs, to the monthly allocation meetings. The HLAs have full knowledge of how much is received and other allied information. A governor with a plan to divert council funds would not bring such a novel addition to the way funds are administered.
 
The statement also urged the petitioners to check out Osun’s record of payment of council salaries and pensions and compare those with what obtains in many other states of the federation.

Osun State House of Assembly has ordered the stoppage of work on the ongoing construction of filling stations that have not complied with the required rules and guidelines.
 

 
 
A statement by the chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye said, the Assembly gave the order during a meeting with officials of the state Ministry of Environment, Land, Physical Planning and Urban Development and directors of Town Planning in all the local government areas of the state.
Speaking at the meeting, the House Committee chairman, Land, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Nurein Adebisi said the level of indiscriminate citing of filling stations across the state was worrisome.

The Osun Government has directed illegal private school owners in the state to register with the state ministry of education or would be shut.
 
 

 
 
 
Festus Olajide, the Permanent Secretary, Osun Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, gave the directive while meeting with members of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and Association of Muslim Islamic Schools (AMIS) in Osogbo.
 
Olajide said private school owners operating without approval should register with the ministry before the commencement of a special general inspection to private schools by the ministry.
He said he would not compromise the required standards and quality in teaching, learning and infrastructure in private schools in the state.
 
“The only means by which students can perform excellently and have confident during examinations without relying on malpractices is through good qualitative education provided by qualified education personnel and standard facilities, good quality lesson delivery in private schools,” he said.
Olajide said the ownership and operation of private schools in the state were strictly regulated since they dealt with moulding and building of human capital for the state, Nigeria and the world.
Olajide said the cordial relationship between private school owners and the state government could further be strengthened if they could identify “miracle centers” where examination malpractices strive.
He, however, commended the private school owners for their contributions in the areas of employment and revenue generation to the state.
Olajide urged them to redouble their efforts on the payment of rates and taxes to the government coffers.
Ayo Oluwafemi, the Osun WAEC Branch Comptroller, expressed worries over the spate of examination malpractices in Nigeria with particular reference to some private schools.
He appealed to private school owners to operate with the fear of God and concern about the future of their students, rather than urgent financial gains.

The Osun House of Assembly has assured civil servants in the state that the 2016 budget would ensure full payment of their salaries.
 

 
 
The Speaker of the House, Rt.Hon  Najeem Salaam, gave the assurance in Osogbo during an interactive session on the appropriation bill.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that civil servants on Grade Level 8 and above had been receiving half of their salaries since last year.
Salaam, however, said the capturing of the full payment of workers’ salaries in the budget was an indication that the government was working hard to ensure that civil servants were adequately paid.
He urged civil servants to work hard and play their roles, especially in generating revenue with a view to making the budget achieve its goals.
“It is important for civil servants to work hard; let us all block leakages so that we can have enough fund to carry out our obligations, including payment of full salaries of workers,’’ he said.
Earlier, Mr Kamil Oyedele, the House Committee Chairman on Finance and Appropriation, had said the budget was moderate, simple and realistic.
Oyedele said the budget focused on initiatives that would boost the resources of the state.
NAN reports that Gov. Rauf Aregbesola had on Dec. 10, 2015, presented a budget proposal of N150 billion to the assembly.
But Aregbesola in a letter to the assembly and read at plenary on April 11 sought for the downward review of the budget to N137.9 billion due to the poor economic situation.

Amir – ul-Hajj, Barrister Zikrullahi Olakunle Hassan has charged 2016 Intending Muslim Pilgrims to exercise patience when they get to holy land of Mecca and Medinah.
 
 

 
 
 
Barrister Hassan made this remark at the enlightenment programme organised for 2016 Intending Pilgrims in the state.
He assured them that all arrangements have been put in place to ensure a successful hajj such as conducive hotel accommodation, free meals, free hiram clothes and others.
He then thanked Governor Rauf Aregbesola for his unalloyed support for the board.
In his lecture, Dr K.K Busari, emphasised the essence of patience while in holy land. He made reference to holy Quran 39v10, 2v 155-157 and Q12 v 83 where Allah enjoined Prophet Ibrahim to be patient while performing hajj.
He said to have expected reward from Allah, pilgrims need to follow the procedure and rites of hajj as would be guided by Ullamahs.
Also speaking, head medical team, Dr Arazim Seriki advised the pilgrims to monitor their health challenges and report any problem to the medical team for necessary action. He warned them to avoid hard drugs.

Late Honourable Obafemi Fagbola, a.k.a. OBAF, the Pioneer Commissioner for Tourism and Culture in the State of Osun has been described as a visionary, focused and result oriented leader.
 
 

 
 
This is contained in a Press statement issued on behalf of the State Government by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture, Mrs Olajumoke Bello.
The Release stated further that it would be on record that the Late  Commissioner, who will be committed to mother earth tomorrow in his home town, Ile-Ife blazed the trail as the Pioneer Commissioner, laying solid foundation, by harnessing the State’s endowed Culture and Tourism potentials, enlistment of Osun Osogbo as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, during his tenure, thereby projecting the State as a World Culture and Tourism destination.
The Permanent Secretary therefore prays for the repose of his soul and that the Good Lord grants his family, friends and well – wishers fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.