The state Government of Osun on Tuesday declared Wednesday October 14 a public holiday to mark the Islamic New Year (Hijrah 1437).

The Governor, through a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said the declaration is in line with the usual practice of the state government to declare holiday for Muslims to observe the important Islamic calendar date.

The statement states: “The public holiday is to allow Muslim faithful to fully observe the celebration of the Islamic new year.

“The public holiday is in line with the policy thrust of the present administration which provides equal platforms for all religions to promote communal peace and progress.”

 
SPEECH BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OSUN, OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA, AS THE CHIEF HOST AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND 11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION ON POWER AND TELECOMMUNICATION (ICEPT 2015) OF THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS (NIEEE) HELD AT THE LEISURE SPRINGS HOTEL, OSOGBO ON OCTOBER 13, 2015
 
Protocols,
I must thank the executive committee and members of the Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE) for the kind invitation to attend your Annual General Meeting and 11th International Conference and Exhibition on Power and Telecommunication (ICEPT 2015). Theme: “Power and Communications: New Frontiers for Investment””. I must thank you also for choosing our dear state as the venue of your meeting. It is a wise choice. Osun provides the serenity and ambience necessary for a successful brainstorming, a peaceful environment that provides an escape from the bedlam of other urban centres. Even nature has endowed us with enviable natural formations, foremost of which are the Oluminrin Waterfall at Erin-Ijesa, the Osun Groove at Osogbo, which has been designated as World Heritage Site by UNESCO and other breathtaking sights that reflect the wondrous works of God in the most sublime form. All these are in addition to the warmth, accommodation, hospitality and the good nature of our people. I will implore you to explore the rich bounties of nature our state is endowed with after the completion of your conference. You are welcome to the State of Osun, Ipinle Omoluabi.
The theme of your conference: “Power and Communications: New Frontiers for Investment” speaks for itself. While power is evidently needed and in short supply, telecommunication is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. From recent reports, power generation hits 4,800 megawatts from an installed capacity of 5,500 megawatts, the highest peak we have ever achieved, but peak demand is estimated at 12,700 megawatts. However, with suppressed demand, the real power demand is estimated to be 50,000 megawatts. There is a humongous shortfall here. It needs no repeating therefore that there is a wide room for investment in generation, transmission and distribution. This will include equipment and accessories like turbines, cables, pylons, transformers, metres and so on. These should generate at least one million jobs.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently informed that there are 145.6 million active telephone lines in Nigeria. This is a staggering improvement, a quantum leap from the 145,000 NITEL landlines, before the coming of mobile telephones. This is still a growing sector, especially in broadband penetration and rural access and efficiency. I need not reiteration that most jobs in this sector are also lost abroad through importation of essential equipment and accessories, especially mobile phones and low manpower, necessitating the importation of high level experts from abroad.
If there are 146 million active lines, then we can reasonably expect there should roughly be the same number of phones in use and definitely double this number would have been used and discarded since the introduction of mobile telephony in 2001. We can then imagine what value would have been added to our economy if half of this figure had been manufactured in Nigeria.
In Osun, we are laying the foundation to take a sizeable chunk of the telephony business. First, we are building capacity in ICT education. We have introduced e-learning tablets, Opon Imo, to our secondary schools. This is a standalone computer tablet that contains all the recommended textbooks for WAEC, NECO and JAMB examinations, their past questions, audio tutorials, ethics and sexuality education.
Secondly we have established an electronic manufacturing company, RLG Adulawo, which produces mobile phones, LCD television sets, laptop computers and other household products. It already has the capacity and will soon begin the production of our e-learning tablet, Opon Imo.
As a body of engineers, my first challenge to you is whether you have claimed ownership of the electrical and electronic industry first before talking about investment. By this I mean the depth of your input into the science and technology of the business. What we trade in mostly are ready made imported technology with little or no local input. The drivers of the power industry are still the Marubeni, General Electric and so on while Siemens, Alcatel, Samsung etc rule the telecommunications industry.
Virtually all our universities and polytechnics have electrical and electronic engineering departments but how has this affected the production of knowledge requisite to the sector? The Industrial Revolution began circa 1760 with the forming of synergy between the intellectual class and the mercantilist class when knowledge met entrepreneurship. Why is there no such synergy in Nigeria? Is it that there is no knowledge or there are no entrepreneurs? The challenge therefore is that you should first take possession of knowledge and then find ways to attract the investors. This is how we are going to develop a truly indigenous industry, create wealth and provide jobs for our people.
My second challenge is the teaching of science, which is actually related to the first. One of the reasons why creativity is lacking is the poor teaching and consequent reception of science education, especially mathematics, in our society. The obnoxious idea came with colonialism, that only a tiny few and exceptionally brilliant minds can understand and should study science. This has scared away the interest of the youth in science. Yet, the motivation of science is curiosity and the impulse to solve problems by questioning received wisdom. This exists in most humans and could have been a good foundation to build science education. The creativity of the youth must be explored from the kindergarten through primary, secondary and ultimately tertiary levels of education. Your body should make conscious efforts to encourage and promote science education. This is how you will be able to develop a vast reserve of human resources needed for the high level manpower in the power and telecommunication sectors and the cutting edge research and creativity needed for knowledge generation.
In Osun, we have made special arrangement with a team of experts, led by Prof Adeniran Adeboye of Howard University in the United States for the teaching of mathematics in our secondary schools. This effort should be complemented by corporate bodies, NGOs and other institutions.
Let me conclude with this admonition from Socrates who said ‘Who will move the world, let him first move himself’.
Once again, I thank you for inviting me and I wish you a fruitful and successful parley.
I thank you all, for your kind attention.

Photos of the Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the Chief Executive Officer MEI Group of Companies Mike Enyinnnaya with others, during a dinner party organised by the Law Students of the University of Lagos, at Eko Hotel Lagos State recently

Head, Department of Commercial & Industrial Law, Prof. Joseph Abugu presenting Prestigious Award in Infrastructure Development and Management of Economy to Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, during a dinner party organised by the Law Students of the University of Lagos, at Eko Hotel Lagos State recently

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (left),former Anthony General of the Federation,Chief Kanu Godwin Agabi (right) and Chief Executive Officer MEI Group of Companies Mike Enyinnnaya, during a dinner party organised by the Law Students of the University of Lagos, at Eko Hotel Lagos State recently Law Student Dinner UNLAG 3

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle), Chief Executive Officer MEI Group of Companies Mike Enyinnnaya (right) and former Chairman of Badagiri local Government, Mr. Moses Dosu, during a dinner party organised by the Law Students of the University of Lagos, at Eko Hotel Lagos State recently

I welcome you all to this important and epochal event in the annals of our state, the inauguration of the committee of government and labour on the apportionment of net revenue accruing from the Federation Accounts and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to the State Government of Osun to take care of salaries, pensions and other critical expenditure of government.

As we are all aware, a financial tsunami swept through the federation, beginning from July 2013 and ravaged the entire country until the exit of that anti-people ancien regime. This crippled the finances of the states and the Federal Government, making the payment of even salaries very difficult. What many do not realise was that the governmental system of the whole country was under mortal threat, and not only Osun. It might interest us to know that the government of Goodluck Jonathan, according to his Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had to borrow N476 billion from commercial banks to be able to pay salaries in the last four months of the administration.

Thank God for His mercies. If God had not heard our prayers and came to our rescue with the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, the entire Nigerian government at all levels was dangerously racing towards bankruptcy. This should not surprise anyone. The then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (now the Emir of Kano) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had alleged that over $40 billion oil sales was not remitted into the Federation Accounts. That was when oil was selling for over $100 per barrel. This tragedy was compounded with the eventual fall in oil price to circa $40. We now know where the money went.

But our predicament began in July 2013 when our Statutory Allocation from the Federation Accounts took a nosedive from N4.6 billion to N2.6 billion. Before then, the monthly expenditure we inherited was N1.4 billion salaries and N200 million pensions, making a total of N1.6 billion every month. However, with 100 per cent increase in minimum wage, relativity and addition of 8,500 retirees to the pensions roll at the state and local government, our monthly emoluments rose to N3.6 billion, including a monthly pension bill of N520 million. Our finances therefore took a jolt when our statutory allocation fell in 2013 and continued in a freefall which got to the nadir of N466 million in April this year.

The change in government gave us a reprieve, with the magical disappearance of oil money being gradually stemmed and a small lift in oil price, making it to hover around $45; our monthly allocation has steadied around N2.2 billion. The President has also graciously arranged a bailout of N34.9 billion for us. Although this has helped us to be able to pay salaries up to July this year, it is a far cry from the N88 billion we demanded. That amount would have enabled us to offset all outstanding indebtedness on emoluments and other obligations.

We have opened all our books; we have been honest and transparent on our financial status and we have not held anything back. We have run an open government. Nevertheless, I want you all to know that in spite of the reprieve we got, we are not yet out of the woods. The challenges ahead are still enormous. By this I do not mean our obligations on salaries and pensions; that will be a small minded understanding of government. For the government to function effectively, it must not just pay salaries, it must also empower the workers to do their work (which is the overhead cost) and more importantly, it must constantly be conscious that its raison d’etre is the delivery of public good through the provision of social services; and it is for this reason that workers are hired in the first place.

When we therefore look at the responsibility of government through this whole gamut, we must rise beyond the sterile debate of reducing government finances to just paying salaries.

In light of this, it must be clear that we are in a tough time. Even then, as Robert Schuler once wrote, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do’. The time calls for toughness on our part. We must look critically at the next 24 months, steer the ship of state through this stormy weather and land at a safe harbour.

On the part of our workers, we must be prepared for a more efficient service rendering. We must change the attitude from government job being seen as social security to a profitable venture; not venture for financial gain but business for social service. We must be business minded. The positive impact of every agency of government must be felt in its own area of assignment and responsibility. In education, your products must be found to be worthy in learning and character. In healthcare, your work must be reflected in a healthy citizenry. In agriculture, it must be in undisputable food security and banishment of hunger. There must be real works to show for public works. The time has come for us to start measuring performance.

We must also do away with a bloated workforce, eliminate laziness and redundancy, block all avenues for embezzlement and leakages and make government work.

We are entering into a period of adjustment, where we must get much from little and achieve more with less. We must rise to the challenge of the time. It is a call to duty and a clarion call to action. If we are not prepared for the challenge, we are going to be worse off than we are now in two years. But God forbid!

From all of us, we must recognise and reconcile to the need to pay our tax. Paying tax is the first obligation of citizens to the government. I have been making the point long before we had the financial challenge that every government must be run from the tax generated from the people. From our own taxes, we should be able to pay salaries, run government and develop the state. The allocation we receive from Abuja should be a sort of legacy fund tied to specific legacy projects. There is nowhere in the world where government is successfully run without the citizens paying tax regularly and responsibly.

We are calling also on the Diaspora to join hands in the development of our state. They can be part of our efforts at education, through the soon to be established education trust fund. In spite of our efforts, there are a lot still to be done in education, in order to secure the future of our children and create a well-informed society.

Comrade Hassan Sunmonu has graciously accepted to head the committee being inaugurated today. He is a man of integrity, wisdom and uncommon passion for people. I have no doubt that with other distinguished members of the committee, the task on hand will be met with a resounding success.

I congratulate members of the committee and wish you success in the service of the people. I thank also all the workers in the state for their understanding, forbearance and unalloyed support through these times.

*Being the full text of speech delivered by the Governor of Osun at the inauguration of the Hassan Sunmonu-led Standing Committee of Labour/Government in Osogbo on Friday, October 9, 2015.

Pictures of the South West Zonal Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Otunba Femi Arowosola; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase; the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran;Osun State Chairman of CPRC, Comrade Amitolu Shittu; Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mrs Adeyemi Kalafite and others, after a meeting, during a recent familiarization tour by the IG at Osogbo, the State capital of Osun

South West Zonal Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Otunba Femi Arowosola; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase; the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran;Osun State Chairman of CPRC, Comrade Amitolu Shittu; Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mrs Adeyemi Kalafite and others, after a meeting, during a recent familiarization tour by the IG at Osogbo, the State capital of Osun

From left, Police Commissioner, Osun State Command, Mr. Kola Sodipo; South West Zonal Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Otunba Femi Arowosola; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase; the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran;Osun State Chairman of CPRC, Comrade Amitolu Shittu; Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mrs Adeyemi Kalafite and others, after a meeting, during a recent familiarization tour by the IG at Osogbo, the State capital of Osun

The State Government of Osun on Sunday formally responded to the Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka over his decision to resign as the chairman of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo.

In a response personally signed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the government stated that public interest is supreme in all matters.

The Governor called on people of goodwill in Nigeria and beyond to prevail on the highly reverred Nobel Laureate; Prof. Wole Soyinka, not to go ahead with his decision to resign saying that in the interest of the public and the culture of our race to which Soyinka is passionately committed, he must continue in his capacity as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Centre.

“Yes, Wole Soyinka has resigned but he himself has conceeded the fact that the Governor must accept it”.

“We cannot accept the resignation even though we hold him in the highest of esteem, because of the responsibilities attached to his chairmanship of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding which is beyond him and even beyond us.

“It has to do with the culture and tradition of our race which we believe that the CBCIU is meant to preserve and promote.”

“We call on all people of goodwill to prevail on Prof. Wole Soyinka an international personage of Culture, in the interest of our race, not to go ahead with his decision to resign.”

The government stated that though the former chairman of the Centre had the vision to build the centre in his capacity then as the Governor of the state, he cannot be the chairman of the Centre in perpetuity as stipulated by the Law establishing the Centre.

The statement noted, “The issue here is not difficult at all. The issue is that for whatever reason, a former governor of our state who had the vision of building that centre was misdirected to believe that he could be the perpetual chairman of the Board of Trustees, a situation that contradicts the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on any public institution.

“There is no way the constitution will permit any individual to, in his individual capacity, head at that level, public institutions in perpetuity. It is not done. It offends the constitution. No matter how powerful you may be, no individual can put himself in perpetual role in a public institution.”

The statement added that the Law which vested that perpetual chairmanship in the former Governor has been amended.

It said, “The law which vested the perpetual chairmanship of the Centre on the former Governor has been amended through the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (Amendment) Law 2012.

“Wherever the public interest is, personal interest suffers, diminishes or does not exist at all. The public interest prevails.”

“To that extent, as far at the CBCIU is concerned, the obnoxious section which gives the perpetual chairmanship of the Board of Trustees to any individual is no longer there. It is null and void and cannot be the point of reference for anybody. Whoever therefore still sees himself in that light is not in any way acting on the legal instrument today in force on that centre.”

The Government said Soyinka’s chairmanship of the Centre is part of a larger responsibility to drive the building of a new heritage centre in the state.

It stated, “His chairmanship of the Centre is a precursor to a higher responsibility of helping us superintend the building of Yoruba World Heritage Centre in Ile Ife which we call the New Ife. This centre is conceived to exhibit Yoruba heritage 500 years before our contact with the Europeans, the experience since that contact to date and the projection of what will be in the next 500 years.”

“The issue of UNESCO and National Commission for  Museum and Monument that still see the former Chairman of the Centre  in that capacity is beyond our own purview.

“The legal position today is that our centre which is here in Osogbo is an establishment by law and the law that establishes it is clear on the structure of management and control. We believe that this has removed all the controversies on this matter.”

The Government also advised the media to always cross-check facts and details of all matters and issues before any report so as to avoid a situation of misinformation that has led to the highly unfortunate situation of our highly revered Nobel  Laureate taking a hard decision to resign.

“Once again, we call on all people of goodwill to prevail on Prof Wole Soyinka to kindly reconsider  his position and avail us his world acclaimed Knowledge, intellect, international network and commitment to black  culture and civilisation,  it concluded.  

IN furtherance of the United Nations campaign for eco-friendly sources of energy, the Bank of Industry (Bol) at the weekend took the lead with the commissioning of 24 kilo watts of micro-grid so­lar solution in two communities in Osun State.
With this initiative, Osun State has be­come the first State to benefit from Bol’s intervention in the provision of renew­able energy in South West Nigeria.
Managing Director of Bol, Mr. Ra­sheed Olaoluwa disclosed this at the commissioning of the project in Idi-Ata and Onibambu communities in Osun State. Olaoluwa lamented that the 4,500 electricity generated from the national grid was grossly inadequate for a lead­ing African economy like Nigeria with a population of 170 million people, hence the intervention of Bol and the United nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Worst him from the inadequate na­tional grid supply according to Olaoluwa are the rural communities, especially the off-grid areas which have always been without electricity and have resigned their fate to the use of kerosene lanterns, oil lamps, and other types of dangerous and unhealthy sources of light to be able to live their daily lives.
He argued that the situation remained one of the main factors responsible for the concept of rural-urban migration.
The Bol boss disclosed that the bank is starting off with the provision of long-term financing for the installation of off-grid solar home systems in six commu­nities in a pilot phase, as part of its Solar Energy Partnership with UNIDO.
‘‘These communities, with an aver­age of 200 homes each, are located in Anambra, Edo, Gombe, Kaduna, Niger and Osun States. Today, we have come to Osun State in partnership with Arner­gy Solar Limited to commission a 24kw micro-grid solar electrification system in Idi-ita/Onibambu, a community which hitherto had no access to electricity,’’ he said.
Also speaking, Governor of the State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, urged the leader of the two communities to judiciously protect the installation and en­sure that payments are promptly made for energy consumed so that the scheme can be self-sustaining thus encouraging the investor to replicate such in other lo­cations within the State.
Aregbesola who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Moshood Adeoti said ‘‘As a respon­sible Government, I want the Ministry of Water Resources, Rural Development and Community Affairs to carry out due diligence on the issue of appropri­ate pricing and adequate supply to each household. This is to ensure consumer protection against exploitation,’’ he stressed.
In his address,Chief Executive Officer of Arnergy, Mr.Femi Adeyemo,said the application of technology for industrial­ization is key to enthroning sustainable economic growth and development.
He explained that the firms distrib­uted off-grid solar rural electrification is orchestrated to help reduce the wide gap/deficit in the energy sector in the country.
LEADERSHIP

Photos of the Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola, presenting a plaque to the Managing Director, Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, Air Commodor Emmanuel Eze during a courtesy visit to the Governor towards the completion of the MKO International Airport in his office, Abere, Osogbo

Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola, presenting plaque to the Managing Director, Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, Air Commodor Emmanuel Eze. With them is the Wing Commander Ridwan Abdullahi, during a courtesy visit to the Governor towards the completion of the MKO International Airport in his office, Abere, Osogbo

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; Managing Director, Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, Air Commodor Emmanuel Eze (3rd right); Osun Aiport Project Engineer, Engr. Aminu Suleiman; Wing Commander Ridwan Abdullahi (2nd left); Warrant Officer, Sulman Tosho (right); and Warrant Officer, Abdullahi Tukur, during a courtesy visit to the Governor towards the completion of the MKO International Airport in his office, Abere, Osogbo

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; Managing Director, Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, Air Commodor Emmanuel Eze (6th right); Osun Aiport Project Engineer, Engr.Aminu Suleiman (4th right); Wing Commander Ridwan Abdullahi (4th left); Warrant Officer, Sulman Tosho (2nd right); Warrant Officer, Abdullahi Tukur (3rd right), State Head of Service, Mr Sunday Owoeye (5th right) and others, during a courtesy visit to the Governor towards the completion of the MKO International Airport in his office, Abere, Osogbo

The Managing Director of Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited, the company handling the MKO Abiola International Airport, Air Commodore Hyacinth Eze has assured that the airport in Osun will be ready for operations in the next eight months.

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Air Force-owned company stated this on Wednesday evening when he led the team of engineers handling the project to the governor in Osogbo.‎ The‎ airport at Ido-Osun in Egbedore Local Government Area of the state when completed will be a cargo and aircraft maintenance hub.‎

The Airport will be the first to have hanger for the maintenance of different types of aircraft and helicopters in West African sub-region. He said that the delay in completion of the project was caused by a little hitch, which has now been overcome.
Eze assured that work will be fast on the project site so as to meet the tentative target of eight months being proposed for full commencement of operation of the airport.
According to Eze, “Our company has two on-going projects in the state, one, which is the most important of the projects is the airport named MKO Abiola International Airport.
“It is a project that we started and we have little hitch along the line but today, I am happy to inform you that this project is being revived.
“We have gone up to seventy percent of the work and in another eight months we are hoping that this project will be completed and handed over to the state of Osun.
“In eight months time, we will have a full operational international airport in Osun”.

Pictures of the Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola with the President General, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Prince Felix Awofisayo and also the Former Assistant Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barrister Gbenga Akano at the courtesy visit to the Governor, at the Government House, Osogbo.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd left); President General, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Prince Felix Awofisayo (2nd right), Former Assistant Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barrister Gbenga Akano (left) and Director of Mobilization, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Mr. Lanre Opadoyin, during a courtesy visit to the Governor, at the Government House, Osogbo.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); President General, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Prince Felix Awofisayo (6th right), Former Assistant Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barrister Gbenga Akano (6th left), Director of Administration, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Mr. Niyi Aluko (5th left), State Women Coordinator, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Mrs. Olokungboye Temilade (4th left), Former Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment and Sanitation, Mr. Bola Ilori (5th right), Director of Mobilization, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Mr. Lanre Opadoyin (4th right) and others, during a courtesy visit to the Governor, at the Government House, Osogbo.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (middle); President General, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Prince Felix Awofisayo (5TH right), Former Assistant Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barrister Gbenga Akano (5th left), Director of Administration, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Mr. Niyi Aluko (4th left), Former Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment and Sanitation, Mr. Bola Ilori (4th right), Director of Finance, Oranmiyan Worldwide, Mr. Toyin Orungbe (3rd right) and others, during a courtesy visit to the Governor, at the Government House, Osogbo.