Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has congratulated awardees at the NUJ state information chapel press week, just as he charged journalists in the country to make professionalism their watchword in the discharge of their duties.
 

 
Ogbeni Aregbesola stated this while delivering a key note adress at the awards and family day ceremony of the on going press week of the NUJ state information chapel held at the SUBEB conference hall.
Awardees at the programme include: the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin Aroyinkeye 1, Special Adviser to the Governor on Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Olubisi Odewumi and Alhaji Ridwan Haussain popularly known as Yah Sallam.
Recipients of professional awards are: Mrs Toyin Adeoye who was awarded the best Information officer of the year, Mrs Martha Adebiyi, Studio Engineer of the year and Mr Sunday Omonijo was was awarded the best photographer  of the year.
Other professional awards include the visual editor of the year, Mr Olalekan Rasaq and Mr Francis Odejobi who was given the award of Graphic artist of the year.
Ogbeni Aregbesola who was represented at the occasion by the Commissioner for Information and strategy, Mr. Adelani  Baderinwa stressed that journalists must begin to portray themselves as the watchdog of the society which they are.
Speaking further at the programme which had the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrasheed Olabomi as the father of day, Aregbesola said his government will continue to create an enabling environment for journalists to work and practice their profession adding that a conducive environment is highly important for the job of a journalist.
Ogbeni Aregbesola ,who commended the efforts of state information officers on their efforts at propagating the activities of the present administration ,called on journalists in the country to help shape the country on the right path of development.
The state helmsman stressed that the efforts of journalists in national development can not be overemphasised .
In his remark, the Chairman ,House Committee on Information and Strategy, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye ,who was in company of Hon. Lekan Olatunji, while promising journalists in the state of total support of the House of Assembly, urged media practitioners to portray  the society in good light.
He said as the chairman of the House Committee on Information and Strategy , he owes it a duty to journalists in the state to always protect their interests, saying that the present administration in the state views journalists in high esteem.
Director General of the OSBC, Mr Wale Idowu ,while congratulating members of the state information chapel ,told the recipients of professional awards to rededicate themselves to their duties and professional calling.
He urged them to show commitment to their duties as a means of showing appreciation on being singled out for honour.
In his address, the state NUJ chairman, Comrade Abiodun Olalere, expressed gratitude to the governor if Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for always showing support  to journalists in the state.
While congratulating recipients of individual awards, Comrade Olalere urged them to see the awards as that of the Nigerian Union of Journalists  hence the need to always portray themselves as good ambassadors to the union.
He used the occasion to call on journalists in the state to take the opportunity of the on going biometric registration to get registered for them to continue to remain as journalists in the state.
Special guest of honour at the occasion, Mr Benedict Alabi encouraged journalists to be more proactive on the job, while urging them to endeavour to portray the country positively to the outside world.
He noted that Nigerian journalists have a role to play in the unity and progress of the nation, stressing that Nigerians can only tell their good story themselves.
Coordinating Director in the Ministry of Information and strategy, Mrs Femi Webster Esho ,while congratulating the awardees ,urged them to keep up the good job.
Highlights of the occasion was a special recognition award to the three departments in the chapel which include; Press  and Public Relations, Social Mobilisation and strategy as well as the Grassroots and Public Enlightment
Activities of the press week will be rounded up  today  with a Jumat service at the Abere central mosque after which members of the chapel will be hosted to a reception by the Permanent Secretary SUBEB, Mr Fatai Kolawole.

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has called on the Federal Government to assist state governments in the country to raise bonds to pay the the gratuities of state pensioners who voluntarily retired from the service to avoid contributory pension scheme.
 

 
 
Aregbesola also explained that the state government is incapacitated to pay pensioners in the state gratuity which is about N5bn stressing that the state government was not insensitive to their plight.
Aregbesola made the call while playing host to the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Mrs Sharon Ikiazor who paid him a courtesy visit at the state secretariat on Monday.
 
He explained that the mass retirement of workers from the state civil service at the end of 2012 because they did not want to join the Contributory Pension Scheme placed a gratuity burden of about N5bn on the state.
 
Aregbesola noted that the state has been struggling and managing to pay salaries and pension because of the continuous decline of the nation’s economy as a result of the instability in the crude oil market.
 
The governor said: “It’s a pity we have found ourselves in the situation we are. Because many of them (pensioners) chose to leave the service at the end of 2012 because they did not want to join the contributory pension scheme, the state has a gratuity burden of about N5bn.
 
“As at the time they were leaving, the state was already struggling to pay salaries as a result of the sharp drop in the revenue accruable to the federal government.
“It started with a drop of about N600 million and it later jumped toN1bn. If we could not meet up with their gratuity in 2012, how could we do it in 2013 or 2014 when it was getting tougher? Or is it going to be now when there is still a lot of instability in the crude oil market?
 
Aregbesola said the call for the FG’s intervention in the payment of gratuity for the state pensioners through provision of bonds became imperative because state governments in the country are under serious financial burdens.
 
According to Aregbesola, the bonds which will be paid back by the state government with ease will go a long way in relieving the states of financial burden, ensure prompt payment to pensioners and as well boosting the nation’s economy as money will be in circulation.
 
The governor disclosed that a lot of states across the federation who have joined the Contributory Pension Scheme are finding it difficult to offset the huge gratuity of pensioners accumulated as a result of the mass exodus from the service because they did not want to join the new pension regime.
 
He said:”Because many of the workers did not want to join the contributory pension scheme, a lot of them exited the service at the same time, thereby making state governments to have huge gratuity responsibilities upon them.
 
“I believe the Federal government can assist the state governments in raising bonds which will be paid back with ease. With the bonds, the state governments can pay the gratuities of these pensioners, thereby injecting money into the economy and boost the economy in return.
 
“I believe we must do all we can to ease the sufferings of the people and this is a good avenue to inject money into the system. I urge the Federal government to assist in easing the burden of the states concerning this issue because I believe they have the capacity to do it”.
 
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, Mrs Sharon Ikiazor stated that the directorate is in the state for the continuous pension verification exercise of federal pensioners. “We are here to carry out the usual verification exercise of federal pensioners and we are satisfied with the hospitality we have received”, she said.
 

The Government of Osun has declared August 21 work free day to commemorate ‘Isese Day’ the annual festival of adherents of traditional religion in the state.
 

 
A statement issued by Adelani Baderinwa, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said that government declared the holiday to enable adherents of traditional religion celebrate their festival.
The statement was made available to journalists on Friday in Osogbo.
It quoted the commissioner as saying that Isese Day, also known as Traditional Worshipers Day, is the climax of festivities among adherents of traditional religion.
He urged adherents of traditional religion to celebrate the day in peace and avoid acts capable of breaching the peace.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the state government declared ‘Isese Day’ work free day in 2014.
The day is always fixed on Monday that precedes Friday of the grand finale of the annual UNESCO Osun-Osogbo Festival.

In a bid to boost food security, the Osun State government, in partnership with the World Bank has trained over 300 youths across the state on the FADAMA III programme.
Tagged FADAMA III AF Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Support (FADAMA GUYS), the programme was designed to educate the youths on both theory and practical procedures in getting the best from various agricultural enterprises. The programme also focused on building the participants’ knowledge and capacity in managing their farming businesses if supported by the government.
 

 
The training programme afforded the participants drawn all council areas of state the opportunity to get first-hand training from experts in the agriculture sector. The participants were taught the rudiments of soil, fish farming, crop production, animal husbandry and other practical trainings as well as research experiments.
The programme, which held from July 17 to 28, also provided the participants a platform to write examination and business plans to be sent to the national headquarters of the World Bank in Nigeria to ensure they benefitted from the agency’s $200 million grant facilitated by the Osun State government.

According to him, only 200 out of the 300 that participated in the programme will be shortlisted to benefit from the $200 million World Bank grant to begin their own businesses based on what they had learnt during the two-week capacity building programme.
Dr. Adediji urged the FADAMA GUYS to be proactive, resilient and put in good use the knowledge they had gained from the experts in order to make an impact in the society and be of benefit to themselves and their immediate families.
He, however, praised Governor Rauf Aregbesola for sustaining the programme, warning participants against sharp practices when utilising the funds to be given them as support grants.
The Programme Manager and Managing Director of Osun State Agricultural Development Corporation (OSSADEP), Alhaji Mukaila Omisore, who noted that the benefits of boosting national food security could not be understated, said  a nation that is not capable to feeding its citizens is a failed entity. He, therefore, said Governor Aregbesola is in a right direction for creating a vibrant agricultural sector in Osun State.
In his speech, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Prof A.A. Amusan, expressed his appreciation to the Federal Government for supporting unemployed graduates and for providing opportunities for them to create jobs and guarantee food security for the nation. He also urged participants to carefully optimise the gains of their training.

Prof. Duro Oyedele and Prof. Akeem Tijani were among the training facilitators at the programme.

Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Tuesday said if Nigeria wants a rapid economic development ,then there is the need to develop a rich data base that will contain the data and economic profile of every citizen.
 

 
 
He said part of the problem the nation is facing in its national life is the absence of an efficient data base or personality profile of every Nigerian.
 
Ogbeni Aregbesola stated these while playing host to the new state coordinator of the National Identity  Management Commission, NIMC, Mrs Omolara Idah who paid him a courtesy visit at the government house Osogbo.
 
He said the absence of a reliable data base for every Nigerian has made it difficult to effectively manage the financial transactions of Nigerians.
Aregbesola ,who explained that Nigerians are difficult to trace because of the absence of an harmonized data base, added that it has made it difficult for people to obtain loan facilities from banks and other financial institutions.
 
According to the Governor, “If we have an accurate information about Nigerians well stored that can be accesed at any time, then banks and other financial institutions that deal on trust will find it easy dealing with more Nigerians.
“Financial institutions will not be at a loss in trying to meet up with requests for facilities that people need to do business because they know that nobody can escape detection.
“Farmers and other artisans are mostly affected in this regard simply because most of them are not educated, they find it hard to access loans.
 
“If we want a rapid economic development of our economy as a nation ,then we need to develop and harmonize all data collection institutions in the country.
“Part of the predicament of our national life is the absence of an efficient data base personality profile of Nigerians both home and abroad”. He maintained.
The Governor then hinted the state coordinator of the NIMC that the state government is already doing something concerning collection of data of the people in Osun, explaining that it will be harmonized with that of the federal government so that people won’t need to carry too many identification cards around.
Earlier in her address, the state NIMC coordinator, Mrs Omolara Idah commended the state governor for the efforts taken on data gathering for inhabitants of the state.
While commending the governor on the infrastructural development of the state, Mrs Idah also lauded the state government in data gathering for its citizens.
“I commend you on efforts in trying to turn the fortunes of this state around, one can really see that you are in a hurry to develop the state.
“I also must commend you data gathering for citizens of this state, I want to use this medium to inform members of the public to come out and register their data so that they can have their numbers for identification.”. Mrs Idah stated.