The beneficiaries of the free train ride organised by Osun State government for peopled travelling from Lagos to Osogbo, Osun State capital have commended the state government for the gesture.

 

 
Speaking with newsmen when they arrived in Osogbo on Wednesday evening, the train passengers said the free train ride afforded them the opportunity to come to celebrate the Eid-El-Kabir with their relations.
Mrs Kadijatu Ibrahim, Mr Ramoni Ajisefini and Miss Wulemot Sulaimon who came to Osun with the free train ride lauded the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola for the gesture.
The train passengers including the indigenes of neighbouring states took the advantage of the train provided by the Osun State government to celebrate the Sallah with their relatives.
The passengers boarded the train from the Ido Terminus in Lagos and the travellers had fun from Lagos to Osogbo. The train stopped at terminus along routes such as Abeokuta, Ogun State and Ibadan in Oyo State.
Some indigenes of Kwara state who also boarded the Osun free train alighted at the Osogbo Terminus and took vehicle to their various hometowns including Offa and Erin-Ile.
After dropping the passengers in Osogbo, the train returned to Lagos to bring another set of people to Osogbo on Thursday. Meanwhile, the train will also take the passengers back to Lagos from Osogbo on after the Sallah.
The passenger of another Ilorin bound train that stopped briefly in Osogbo on Wednesday morning said they paid N1,200 for the trip. Majority of the passengers of the train who were going to Ilorin for Sallah urged the governor of Kwara State, Mr Abdul-Fatah Ahameed to emulated Aregbesola by providing free train for them in the next festive period.

The Triangular Group of Pensioners in Osun State has expressed dismay over what it described as politically motivated attacks on Governor Rauf Aregbesola by the 2011/2012 group of retirees.
 

 
They urged the group, led by Omoniyi Ilesanmi, to desist from actions and utterances capable of breaching the peace in the state.They said this in a statement by its Chairman, Rotimi Adelugba, who confirmed the group’s position on the true state of finances and its resolve to champion the plight of the pensioners.
In his words: “We are not the mouthpiece of the government but we are in constant touch with the Osun State government on its financial status, hence we consider it necessary to inform members of the public.

“As responsible senior citizens, we have been demoralised by the lies, unguarded utterances and malicious statements by the Ilesanmi group that the Aregbesola administration paid each political office holder who served between November 2010 and November 2014 N50 million each as severance allowance.”
He said the group also alleged that the government refused to pay their gratuities but instead spend the state’s lean resources on frivolities, “adding these allegations are baseless and unfounded.
“Available evidence shows that the severance allowances given to former commissioners and special advisers were in the range of N2.8 million-N4million and these were only paid to those who are entitled to such payment as gazetted in the state Public/Political Office Holders and Revised Remuneration Package Law of 2007, which is in consonance with the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Act.”
The group said it was disturbed that the 2011/2012 pensioners have turned themselves into a weapon of destruction in the hands of the opposition party and have now resorted to cheap blackmail against the government, which has been responsible towards the welfare of the people in spite of the paucity of funds.
“We, however, appeal to Aregbesola to continue to offset the pensions and gratuities of our members as and when due, notwithstanding the cheap blackmail by Ilesanmi and his group,” he stated.

Osun governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has been described as the best governor that continues to be a reference point of human capital development by the international community.

A United States’ economic consultant made this assertion on Wednesday, August 24, 2017, while speaking on “Media and Diversity Reporting” organized by journalists in Lagos.

“Osun and Lagos states remain the most cited examples of good and quality leadership among the 36 states of the federation in international economic and political circles in terms of management of human and material resources in West Africa.

“Osun is of particular importance because it is an agrarian state with little resources, dwindling national income but yet has been able to provide enviable records in terms of human development index,” Chief Segun Ajibulu, a tax consultant with the United States and President of South West Professional Forum (SOWPROF) wrote in an address sent to the organisers.

The address was read on his behalf by Mr Victor Fatunla, an official of the SOWPROF and the Managing Director of Factors Insurance Brokers, who represented the group at the event held at M Square Hotel in Lagos.

In the address, he said he was impressed that international community continue to show interests in what is going on in Osun state for various reasons.

According to him, the media needs to probe deep into what he described as a “revolution in politics and economy” that has taken place in Osun in the past seven years.

He urged journalists to engage Osun state constructively so as to rediscover the real story of the state’s success instead of depending on press statements from the opposition.

He said, “Beyond the false narrative that Osun has not been paying workers’ salaries, it is important for journalists to understand how the state manages to pay workers on levels seven downwards full salary till date inspite of the lean resources.

“We should find out how the state manages to pay 75 percent of workers’ salary for those on grades seven and below.

“We should find out how political office holders including the members of the State House of Assembly decide to earn only 50 percent of their pay, how the governor decides not to be paid any salary since assumption of office and above all how the state was able to build secondary and primary schools of international standards in the face of lean resources.”

He said the media has been concentrating on press releases by the opposition figures who take delight in demonising the state saying that independent observers and members of the international community continue to do independent reports on the state of Osun which puts the state ahead of many of her peers in terms of sustainable development.

“It should interest journalists to know why UNESCO, the world bank and various international institutions continue to partner with the State of Osun. It shows the moral integrity of the leadership of the state.”

He continued, “It amazes many in the global world how 150,000 computers were given to students, how 500 rural roads were constructed and how the state political leaders make sacrifices for the utilitarian good of the greater society.”

He also said diversity reporting means that journalists should deal with substance instead of allowing shadows to assume lives of their own.

He said, “This man won the most difficult election in modern Nigerian history. He was the first progressive government to stop the advance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the build up to the 2015 Presidential election.

“The most vicious military and security machines were deployed against him, having identified him as the leading icon of the incoming goverment. There were security reports that the Federal Government led by PDP needed to demolish Ekiti and Osun states in order to clear the hurdle for 2015 presidential election.

“Ekiti fell like a pack of cards. But in Osun, it dazzled the PDP and their agents how Aregbesola fought literally with his blood to bring the PDP on her knees. What led to the victory was the conviction of Osun people that Aregbesola and his team was a better alternative.”

He said the defeat of the PDP in Osun paved the way for the eventual loss of the Federal government by the PDP machine.

Ajibulu said, “The Federal Government decided to borrow the school-feed programme from Osun. This is remarkable. If the National Assembly can make sacrifices by taking half of their salary as the political leaders in Osun do, Nigeria will be able to save about 50 billion every month.”

No fewer than 35 journalists from the print, electronic and social media attended the event.

Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola  has called on Nigerians to condemn all forms or utterances and acts capable of disintegrating the country.
 
 

 
Governor Aregbesola spoke against the backdrop of hate speeches coming from different parts of the country, especially with regards to the notices to quit being served Nigerians by ethnic groups in different regions of the country.
 
Aregbesola made this call in his address entitled We have overcome, to mark the 26th anniversary of the creation of Osun State on August 27, 1991.
 
He enjoined citizens of the state in particular and Nigerians in general to eschew all forms of anti-social behaviours and discriminations based on faith and ethnicity, for the nation to move forward as a united entity.
 
He also issued a wakeup call to Nigerians to prepare for an impending economic revolution, which wind was blowing across the world in the form of recession and the ongoing global efforts to discover a “new world economic order without crude oil.”
 
Governor Aregbesola urged the people to be prepared both intellectually and spiritually to be able to stand up to the new development.
 
He averred that if the people unite, work assiduously, harness their God-given potentialities and pray fervently, the nation would overcome any challenge— economic, political or social.
 
He said: “We should practice tolerance in religion, ethnicity and ideology and abhor any form of hatred or discrimination against anyone different from us in any social category.
 
“We should remain strong, united, unbroken and unbreakable, in the spirit of togetherness. “We should show kindness, love and generosity of spirit and of our substance to others’ needs. We must love our neighbours just like ourselves.
 
“An economic transition is in the horizon in which our national dependence on oil will end as we know it. We should all brace up for this development by preparing spiritually and intellectually, using our God-given endowment.
 
”Our faith in God and responsible use of our endowments will see us through. We will overcome any challenge we face. Our best is yet to come.”
 
He noted that the state must not depart from the path of greatness and development it was currently treading, stressing that people of the state should demonstrate virtues in all their dealings.

Governor of Osun, Ogbeni  Rauf Aregbesola has recalled five officials of the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun, who were disengaged from the institution in 2015.
 

 
This was announced by the Provost of the institution, Prof. Isaac Oyewole, in a statement on Saturday by the Public Relations Officer of the school, Mr. Niyi Kolawole.
The provost lauded the governor for his gesture and called on the reinstated workers to reciprocate the love shown them by being more dedicated to their duties.

The statement read, “The Provost of the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun, Prof. Isaac Oyewole, has lauded the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for magnanimously reinstating five officials of the institution earlier disengaged by the college.”

As Osun State celebrates its 26th anniversary on Sunday, Governor Rauf Aregbesola has urged Nigerians to eschew acts, capable of jeopardizing the corporate existence of the country.

 

 
 
He said that in the midst of hate speeches and threats of evacuation by ethnic groups and heightened political unrest across the geo-political zones, Nigerians must be united to condemn all forms of utterances and acts that are capable of ripping the country a party.
In a special broadcast to commemorate 26th anniversary of Osun, which was created on the on 27th of August, 1991, Aregbesola underscored the need for indigenes of Osun and Nigeria in general to shun all forms of anti-social behaviours and discriminations based on faith and ethnicity, for the nation to move forward as a united entity.
He averred that if the people unite, work assiduously, harness their God-given potentialities and pray fervently, the nation will overcome any challenges that come its way be it in mode of economic, political or social problems.
According to Aregbesola, “we should practice tolerance in religion, ethnicity and ideology and abhor any form of hatred or discrimination against anyone different from us in any social category. We should remain strong, united, unbroken and unbreakable, in the spirit of togetherness.
“An economic transition is in the horizon in which our national dependence on oil will end as we know it. We should all brace up for this development by preparing spiritually and intellectually, using our God given endowment. Our faith in God and responsible use of our endowment will see us through. We will overcome any challenge we face. Our best is yet to come”, he posited
While recalling that the creation of Osun in 1991 was the realisation of the demand of the people for a state of their own, Aregbesola described  the birth of the state as ‘a dream come true,’ as it brought government closer to them and through which they have been experiencing human and infrastructure development and life more abundant.
He stated that his administration, building on the achievements of the past successive governments, had positioned the people to realise their greatest potentials by bringing them to the consciousness of who they are as the virtuous people.
Aregbesola further contended that “under our watch in nearly seven years, we have worked hard to establish a people-friendly government whose resources have been judiciously used for the development of the people in every area. Though we went through a daunting financial challenge occasioned by tumbling oil price, but we have steadied the ship of state, ushered in unprecedented peace, prosperity and human development”.
“We have made agriculture to be important and assisted farmers to excel in their vocation and banish hunger as we promised during our campaign. We have invested huge sum in education and our brand new state-of-the-art schools are now the reference in quality and standard for others. Our social protection programmes like youth engagement and empowerment, women development and empowerment, care for the aged and care and rehabilitation of the destitute have won laurels and hoisted for others to duplicate”, he added.

Few days to the festival, the Government of Osun on Sunday announced that it has concluded arrangements for 2017 eid-il-Kabir free train ride from Lagos to Osogbo.
 

 
The state government, through a statement signed by the Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives Hon. Ismail Adekunle Jayeoba-Alagbada, said the gesture is in furtherance of Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration’s commitment to the welfare of the ordinary people who deserve this form of support from the government.
Jayeoba-Alagbada’s statement explained that the free train is expected to move from Lagos twice to Osogbo and will operate only one trip for the post-sallah return journey.
“The first train moves from Lagos on Wednesday August 30th, 2017 at exactly 10amfrom the Iddo Terminus, Lagos enroute our usual Ikeja, through Ogun and Oyo State to end the journey in Osogbo. Another one leaves at the same time on Thursday August 31st, 2017 through the same route down to Osogbo. 
“After the Eil-il-kabir celebration, the train leaves Osogbo on Sunday September 3rd, 2017 for Lagos. This we have concluded as the plan for this year’s eid-il-kabir festival,” the statement said.
Jayeoba-Alagbada expressed the hope that the free train provided by the government would give Osun indigenes in particular the opportunities to return home in order to savor the joy of the festival with their relatives. 
“This is one of the social protection projects of the Aregbesola administration and since we commenced this more than six years ago, we have not looked back. Even in the face of very harsh financial constraints, we have strived to keep this offer going convinced that it has offered great opportunities for our people and helped their finances as well,” Jayeoba-Alagbada
Signed By:
Hon. Ismail Adekunle Jayeoba-Alagbada
Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives
State of Osun
Date: Sunday August 27, 2017