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Osun begins Interview for shortlisted Teachers across the State | Over 42,000 pupils, students receives free corrective glasses in Osun – Governor Adeleke. | GOVERNOR ADELEKE CELEBRATES HON KASOPE ABOLARIN ON HIS BIRTHDAY. | I Won’t be Distracted from Good Governance-Governor Adeleke | Osun Government Acted in Line with Public Interest by Submitting Petition to EFCC | Your Best Governor Award for Health Sector is Well Deserved – Telegraph Management | LENTEN: GOVERNOR ADELEKE FELICITATES CHRISTIANS | GOVERNOR ADELEKE CONDOLES AIDE, KAMIL ARANSI, OVER MOTHER’S PASSING | Osun LGs Governor Adeleke Briefs Traditional Rulers, Reaffirms that No Court Order Reinstates Yes/No Chairmen | GOVERNOR ADELEKE PRAYS FOR AND FELICITATES WITH DR DEJI ADELEKE AT 68 | Illegal Occupation of Council Secretariats: Osun Local Government Chairmen, NULGE Drag Yes/ No L.G Chairmen to Courts | Gov. Adeleke Eulogises Obasanjo at 88, Describes Him as Father of All. | Governor Adeleke Launches Stakeholders’ Consultation, Visits Chief Bisi Akande on Recent Developments | Governor Adeleke Launches Stakeholders’ Consultation, Visits Chief Bisi Akande on Recent Developments | GOVERNOR ADELEKE CONGRATULATES NEW NYSC DIRECTOR–GENERAL, BRIGADIER-GENERAL NAFIU OLAKUNLE. | GOVERNOR ADELEKE GREETS ALHAJA LATEEFAT GBAJABIAMILA AT 95 | GOVERNOR ADELEKE CONGRATULATES AIDE, TUNDE BADMUS, ON HIS BIRTHDAY | OSUN GOVT FAULTS MASTERMINDS’ POSITION ON THE LG CRISIS | Governor Adeleke Orders Investigation over Clashes at Egbedi Town | Ramadan: Governor Adeleke preaches Peace & Godliness | Governor Adeleke Sets Up Panel of Enquiry on Esa Oke – Ayegunle Chieftaincy Dispute
O’-Clean-Vehicles

Osun State Government yesterday said that its O’Clean Plus programme Initiative has restored healthy living among citizens, adding that the scheme has also gone a long way in averting incident of flooding in the state.
The government, while responding to allegations that the programme was a “drain pipe” through the general manager, Osun State Waste Management Agency, OSWMA, Alhaji Ganiyu Oyeladun, rated the O’ Clean as “successful” and attributed the success to the commitment of the governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and ingenuity of Special Adviser to governor on Environment and Sanitation, Hon. Bola ilori.
The OSWMA boss, in a release issued in Osogbo yesterday, copies of which were made available to newsmen then debunked the allegations that only ten out of its sixty one refuse trucks bought under the scheme were functioning.
Oyeladun said government under its O’Clean programme procured sixty one brand new customized refuse trucks with two hundred and forty four units of refuse bins for its empowerment programme in waste management tagged “private sector partnership in waste management”.
He added that the trucks were given to interested members of public under the PSP arrangement to ensure that the programme like other programmes of the present administration recorded success.
He added that government had deployed the sixty-one trucks to all the thirty one local government areas of the state and Modakeke Area Office, stressing that all the trucks have been operating optimally, except one which was involved in an accident.
NATIONAL MIRROR

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Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has reinstated his com­mitment to infra­structure development across the nooks and crannies of the state, in fulfillment of his prom­ise to deliver the dividends of de­mocracy to the people, especially in the rural areas.
The governor, who was re-elected on August 9, 2014, to com­plete his second term mandate, made the declaration through his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Sunday Akere, in an exclusive chat with Daily Sun at the week­end.
He stressed that though he had since embarked on different gi­gantic projects in the state with evidences of success, particularly in road construction as well as enormous provision of other social infrastructure. According to him, the priority project of the admin­istration was the national airport, which is undergoing construc­tion and had reached an advanced stage.
“Since Aregbesola emerged as the governor of Osun State and even now that he is preparing to be inaugurated on November 27 for his second term tenure, his mindset has been to build new Osun. That’s why he does not rest on his oars in embarking on devel­opmental projects as well as social infrastructure in the state,”Akerele stressed.
“One of the major projects in this regard is the airport that is un­dergoing construction and there is no going back about it, no matter the challenges of meager resources that we are facing in the state,” he added.
He admitted that the people of the state, particularly the civil ser­vants, were groaning in pains be­cause of irregular salaries, following federal allocation that was not steady, he however, assured that “by the time we are through with the legacies we are setting, every­body will smile.”
SUN NEWS

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Gov-Ahmed

Gov-AhmedOsun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has commiserated with his Kwara State counterpart, Abdulfatahi Ahmed, over the death of his mother, Hajia Ramotalahi Ahmed.
Aregbesola said the loss of Ahmed matriarch was a huge and burdensome one, which has left a deep gulf in the family. He stated that the exit of mama was one that touches not only the immediate family but also the town and state as whole.
Waxing philosophical, the governor averred that any death at all reminds human beings of the ephemeral nature of their existence, adding that death is certainly an inevitable part of human existence.
He said: “The death of Hajia Ramotallahi is one occurrence that sits heavily on the heart, considering the consanguinity of mother and children. At the same time, we also have a cause to thank Allah that Mama lived a life of a true believer and her life is worthy of emulation.
Death, whenever one happens, is a reminder to us all that one day we shall all become history. We pray that Almighty Allah repose Hajia’s soul in Aljana Firdaus.”
THIS DAY

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coat of armsSpecial Adviser to the Osun State governor on Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Bade Adeshina, has urged state government-owned agencies to take appropriate measures to improve on their internally-generated revenue.
Adeshina made the call midweek in Osogbo during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN on the just-concluded discourse on the 2015 Osun Budget Estimates. “There is the need to improve on Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, so as to help the state to enhance its efforts to boost its socio-economic development.
“This has become imperative in view of the continuous dwindling in the revenue which accrues to the state from the Federation Account. “The need to grow the IGR has become non-negotiable because the state can no longer rely on its earnings from the Federation Account.
“The Federation Account is currently unstable as a result of the volatility in the international oil market,” he added.
NIGERIAN PILOT

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timthumbThe economy of the state of Osun has continued to match forward on all fronts in spite of the poor state of the national economy. This is as a result of the prudent financial engineering introduced into the system by the present administration in the state.
The Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola stated this at the 2014 Lagos International Trade Fair held at the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos.
Speaking through the Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Empowerment, Mr. Ismaila Jayeoba-Alagbada, the Governor said it is an open secret that, the global economy is facing huge challenges but in the state of Osun, the economic ship has remained afloat through divine providence and the sagacity, ingenuity and immense resource management adopted by his administration.
The trade fair with the theme: Promoting the Nigerian Economy as a Preferred Investment Destination” is to engender Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, global operators in commerce and industry to impact our national economy positively.
The Governor stressed that the present administration has provided some facilities such as construction and rehabilitation of roads, establishment of a mid-regional market, tagged O-Hub at Dagbolu, rehabilitation and modernization of the old railway station, establishment of modern and international markets to sustain commercial, industrial and overall economic development.
He further stated that, the efforts of the State Government in the area of industrial promotion is yielding fruitful results, as there have been an upsurge in the number of industrial investors who had indicated their intention to establish their businesses in the state.
The Commissioner therefore, on behalf of the Governor congratulated the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry for another successful fair. He later assured them of Osun cooperation in all efforts to place our dear country and her constituent States on a path of sustainable economic development.
OSUN DEFENDER

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I have been eagerly awaiting a critique of  my paper of last week titled ‘Osun Election: A Pathway to Nigeria’s Democratic Growth’. At last, I got one in the reaction of my friend, Segun Ayobolu, on the last page of The Nation, Saturday, November 8, 2014 edition. As usual of such reactions (some patronage here and there before the slicing knife is applied), Segun introduced his discussions of my paper with some pejoratives and later took a descent into his opinion of what is right.
His allegation that “Banire treads treacherous and slippery analytic terrain” (whatever that means!) was supported by what he thought did not make sense in making a distinction between a party and his candidate. I am sorry to say that while that assertion might appeal to ordinary consciousness, a good understanding of politics would prove otherwise. In any political clime where a party fields an unpopular candidate, there is no assurance that the electorate would gullibly buy into the party’s craze. A good understanding of Osun politics reveals that Aregbesola’s emergence in the first term was kindled by his political records in Lagos and the declining popularity of the government then in power whose policies the people were clamouring against.
It is to that extent that the fate of a party and his candidate may roll into each other. If the Action Congress had produced a candidate of less public approval in 2007 in Osun, the story could have been different as the people would not see any difference between the government in power and our offer of redemption. There, I believe my friend did not get the purport of our analysis. If in 2014, we had presented in Osun a candidate not better than the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, the outcome would probably not worth the celebration of today. That emphasizes the need for our political party to be more pragmatic in its choice of candidature.
Segun queried what would have been the incentive for the electorate to vote against our party in Osun. What was the incentive for the electorate when they voted against our party and candidate in Ekiti on June 21 (not August 9 mistakenly stated by Segun in his article)? Whether the party and its candidate are gnashing their teeth now is not the issue but that our party would have been out of power just as happened in Ekiti. The fact remains that popular programmes of Aregbesola largely retained political patronage from the masses in favour of our party and no emergency gospel of ‘stomach infrastructure’ recklessly flaunted by the PDP would have dissuaded the masses.
Segun did not seem to follow the opinion poll conducted by some reputable organizations before the election which justified my assertion that the popularity of the candidate overwhelmed the rating of the party in Osun. The politics of today requires every candidate to organize direct grassroots interaction with the people which we did on the basis of door-to-door campaigns by which we distilled our facts and got better acquainted with the feelings of the people. It was a direct practical approach we adopted and not an armchair analysis of events. We practically learnt from the less-privileged who did not seek any political appointment and are not in any vantage position to seek political appointments. They are political followers of many aspirants at the grassroots level who felt disappointed by the pranks of such leaders and a fortiori, the party, but expressed great satisfaction about the policies of Ogbeni. Segun’s stance that probably those who condemned the party were political appointment seekers did not come out of reality but mere conjectures. Such conjectures would not align with the factual situation which we encountered during the preparations for the election.
The reference to Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Lateef Jakande is greatly misplaced. If those leaders had failed in their performances, they would not have secured the eminent and glorious positions they retained today in history.
Segun also asserted that why Aregbesola was able to contest in the first term was because the party fielded him. This contention smirks of childish historical conclusion as the process by which the party fielded Aregbesola in the first term is what we are concerned with and not merely that the party fielded him. Is Segun suggesting that Aregbesola was imposed on the Osun people in his first term? Far from that! Aregbesola won the primaries of the party in 2007 fair and square. So many candidates came up and a credible primary election was organized in which he emerged winner. The same process was embarked upon in 2014 even when Aregbesola was the only one who purchased nomination form on the platform of All Progressives Congress. He was not imposed on the people and nobody hid the form from any other aspirant and neither was anybody prevented from aspiring for the job. The party still ensured that a primary election was organized in line with the Constitution in which Aregbesola was given the party’s banner following a popular affirmation process.
The reference to Babatunde Fashola is grossly misplaced. The fact that the party gave a credible candidate an opportunity to run in the first place does not mean that where the party is engaging in political suicide, we must all remain complacent or coldly indifferent. Such attitude would only be a mark of sycophancy or political indolence. This we eschew, as we are loyalists of the party and not sycophants.
Interestingly my friend said that “it is difficult for one to scientifically determine the meaning of imposition in a situation in which, for instance, over 20 aspirants are gunning for a given position and each believes that if he does not win, it is because the winning candidate has been imposed on the party!” this is a completely naïve appraisal of our paper and the political situation in our party. One would not expect such a political conclusion from Segun since we both served in Asiwaju and Fashola’s governments. I recall that Segun was press secretary to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and he ought to know better notwithstanding that he would claim livelihood in journalism and not politics.
The allegation of imposition in our party is not as jejune in nature as Segun tried to paint same. Our understanding and definition of imposition is more scientifically determined than Segun’s understanding of it. Where in a primary election, an aspirant scored the majority votes and the loser was rather imposed by an overlord, can Segun give us a worse instance of scientific imposition than that? As a leader of the party, I received petitions against imposition on a daily basis during any electioneering process and yet some people would prefer that we must keep quiet. What is the usefulness of featuring candidates rejected by the members of the party only to satisfy the political gusto of some few individuals? This menace has wiped away the needed sense of political responsibility among our office holders and now people have been comparing us negatively with our political opponents.
The need to project the party in favourable light to the people has made some us compulsory advocates of the truth. If Segun’s analysis of what transpired between Awolowo and Akintola in the First Republic is actually correct, must we still promote the politics of self interest at all costs which Segun has pretended not to see its negative impacts? If, as argued by Segun, that development brought the crisis that engulfed the West and reverberated all over Nigeria leading to catastrophic consequences, must we now perpetuate same simply because it is not the same characters of the past that are in the saddle today?
It is this kind of attitude among followers that destroys leaders and glorious institutions they profess to build but which over time they tried to pattern along their personal ego. How on earth can Segun justify zoning and religious considerations above merit? Reference to federal character in the Constitution does not justify Segun’s argument as the approach we condemn in Lagos State does not fall in line with theories that dictate progress in plural societies. If such balancing as argued by Segun is a necessity, then today our party must not be celebrating Tambuwal whom we identify as a great asset and align with against the zoning arrangement. Would Segun rather have preferred the PDP-sponsored Speaker? Why must we give fillip to negative sentiments by quoting redundant political theories rather than project the best interest of the people?
Pandering to suggestions such as made by Segun would only justify the negative aspects of our living. We all must endeavour to save our party and even our political overlord from self-destruction as we are loyalists and not sycophants.
By the volatile nature of this issue, I expect further discussions, dissensions and distended dissertations. If telling the truth could be regarded as treachery, then I admit otherwise as always said, truth is bitter and change is usually resisted but constant. The earlier we jettison the unfashionable practices in our party, the better for us.
Dr. Muiz Adeyemi Banire
Principal and Founding Partner,
M. A. Banire & Associates and
National Legal Adviser, APC.
THE NATION

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f16c3089012335af8414b146795098dc_MThe Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in South West Nigeria has pledged to support any candidate that emerges as its flag bearer in the 2015 Presidential election.
State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, gave this assurance when a former Vice President and Presidential aspirant of the party, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku came on a courtesy visit to the state.
Represented by the deputy governor, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, the governor assured the aspirant that as a strong APC state, all necessary supports will be extended to him if he emerges as the party’s candidate.
While describing Alhaji Atiku as one of the most respected politicians in the country, the governor urged the aspirant to work with whoever might emerge after the party primaries.
According to the governor, “We will rise up and support whoever is put forward by our party. As we did in 2011 when we deliver the state to our party, so we are going to do come 2015”.
Other aspirants eying the party presidential ticket are the Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwanso, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state, publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Mr. Dannis Issaih and former Head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari.
Addressing party leaders, youth and women group at the APC party secretariat Osogbo, Alhaji Atiku said of all the aspirants, he is the most qualified and experienced, having held the second most powerful position in the country.
“I have the longest political experience among all of them and I belief in the party supremacy. I served as a democratically elected vice president for 8 years, none of them can stand my link with all the parts of Nigeria. I was born in the North, most of my civil service career was in Lagos. I served in the East and back to the North to retire”, he said.
Readiness to work
The former Vice president while promising to maintain decorum during the primaries assured the people of Osun state of his readiness to work for the success of the party in next year presidential poll.
The APC state chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodu, urged Alhaji Atiku to work with other aspirants to ensure the emergence of a strong leader that will give victory to the party.
Emergence of their candidates
As the election draws closer all the 26 political parties in the country have been strategising to conduct national convention and primaries that will see the emergence of their candidates for the polls.
The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has fixed the 14th ofFebruary, 2015 for the Presidential and National Assembly polls.
Other elections like that of the Governorship, State Assembly and Council elections will follow later.
VOICE OF NIGERIA

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World-Bank

World-BankThe World Bank is to support the Osun State government with an interest-free loan to enhance basic education delivery.
Dr Tunde Adekola, a representative of the bank, who visited the Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, said the bank would support basic education by providing financial intervention to the government to train and re-orientate teachers, and provide Information Comunication Technology (ICT) and instructional materials  for schools – like it did in Ekiti and Lagos states.
Though Adekola did not disclose the amount involved, he said the Osun State government would get a moratorium of between 10 and 50 years to repay the loan.
Adekola said the problem confronting basic education in the country was that of accessibility and how to keep children in schools. He added that basic education must be free and compulsory for every child in order for them to learn to read and write.
Responding, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori said the collaboration with the World Bank would facilitate the noble objective of the government at both basic and post basic sectors. She described basic education as a critical stage in the educational development of Nigeria.
She disclosed that the Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O’MEALS) were designed to prepare pupils in elementary schools for mental and physical alertness so they can compete favourably anywhere in the world.
Mrs. Laoye-Tomori also informed Adekola of plans to teach basic school pupils in Yoruba Language to enhance understanding and assimilation.
In his welcome address, the Chairman, Osun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prince Felix Awofisayo, praised the the global bank’s management for their contributions to basic education in the country, and also their interests to complement the efforts of the state government in the provision of functional and qualitative education.
THE NATION

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scales-of-justiceDefense counsel devoted yesterday to vetting, sorting and verification of Certified True Copies of documents tendered before the Osun Election Petition Tribunal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the August 9 governorship election, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
The legal team of the respondent, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who won the election, clinically went through all the documents presented by the petitioner, who was challenging results in 17 local governments.
Kemi Pinheiro was later joined by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and later Femi Falana on the side of the respondent. Alex Izinyon led Titus Ashaolu, and Nathaniel Oke for Omisore.
Akin Olujinmi and Oluwarotimi Akeredolu later arrived to join Aregbesola’s legal team.
The exercise, which was typified by lighter moments and exchange of banters between petitioners and respondents lawyers, moved rapidly to Ola-Oluwa Local Government.
Security was tight as only lawyers and reporters were allowed to come to the tribunal; politicians were kept at bay.
It was learnt that this followed a directive by the tribunal through the registrars.
Anti-bomb and metal detectors were deployed at the venue by a special police unit; cars were screened while lawyers were made to go through metal detector screening.
THE NATION

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timthumb (1)The Special Adviser to the Osun Governor on Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Bade Adeshina, has urged state government-owned agencies to take appropriate measures to improve on their internally-generated revenue.
Adeshina made the call in Osogbo on Wednesday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the just-concluded discourse on the 2015 Osun Budget Estimates.
“There is the need to improve on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) so as to help the state to enhance its efforts to boost its socio-economic development.
“This has become imperative in view of the continuous dwindling in the revenue which accrues to the state from the Federation Account.
“The need to grow the IGR has become non-negotiable because the state can no longer rely on its earnings from the Federation Account.
“The Federation Account is currently unstable as a result of the volatility in the international oil market,” he added.
(NAN)

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