Following his earlier promise to make the State of Osun a side attraction during the festive period, Governor Aregbesola has illuminated Osogbo the State  capital with  beautiful lights in preparation for 2013 Xmas and 2014 New year celebration.

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola is seeking the House of Assembly’s approval to create 27 local council development areas (LCDAs).
Presenting an executive bill for the creation of the councils to the Assembly yesterday, Aregbesola said more councils would accelerate development across the state.
He said the bill was to re-engineer the local government system to serve as a pace setter for other states.
The governor said he earlier set up a committee, headed by the former Speaker of the House, Mojeed Alabi, a Professor of Political Science, on the creation of more councils in line with Sections 7 and 8 of the 1999 Constitution.
He said the committee recommended the 27 councils to be created.
Aregbesola urged the House to give the bill positive consideration, adding that the new councils would operate a parliamentary system of government to avoid financial constraints.
The bill also seeks the Assembly’s approval for the creation of the office of council managers for the proposed councils.
Aregbesola said the council managers would be civil servants in the employment of the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) from Grade Level 14 and above. The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, said the House would give special consideration to the bill.
The State Chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Abdulhamid Hammed, in a statement, said more councils would bring development closer to the grassroots.
Hammed said: “We have seen what is happening in Lagos State. Lagosians are better for the creation of LCDAs by our great leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. What Aregbesola did today (yesterday) is good.”
He pledged to mobilise the people of his constituency to support the bill.
Youth Leader of the defunct CPC Majeed Yahaya said: “The creation of LCDAs will add value to the life of our people as it did to Lagosians. This is the beginning of a new dawn in our state.”
Secretary of the defunct CPC Garuba Hammed said the bill should be supported by everyone.
THE NATION

By now, very few people, except of course malicious political opponents, would refuse to acknowledge that the incumbent governor of the State of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is a man imbued with a class when it comes to the issue of leadership. However, I will leave his accomplishments for the state in general terms for the chroniclers of history, having decided to limit myself for what he has impacted on the administration of justice since he ascended to office three years ago.
To impugn the insinuation that this is just a routine hagiography of a popular public office holder, I would also refrain from making direct, positive evaluative remarks but would leave it to the readers to draw their own conclusions from the factual and well-documented performances of the Oranmiyan.
My real intention for writing this piece is to show how a ruler, convinced on his ideology and principled enough to make sacrifices for their actualisation, can bring about far-reaching changes.
I am a lawyer and being well-schooled in the philosophy that law is an instrument for positive social changes, I am always delighted whenever I perceive that any person, body or institution is making worthwhile contribution to help the cause of justice administration.  Accordingly, I want to place it on record that I have been so excited about the remarkable landmark achievements that Ogbeni Aregbesola has made to overhaul justice administration in the state. The governor had earlier promised that the revival of the justice sector would be a subset of his administration’s larger Osun Rebirth Project. He made this vow in his campaign brochure published as the Green Book- My pact with the people of Osun State, stating solemnly as follows: “My government will ensure speedy access to justice by all individuals in Osun State, by reforming the courts system and procedural rules, introducing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms and free legal services.”
That vow now seems to have turned prophetic!  While space may not permit wholesome recitation of the governor’s endeavours in this context, I would briefly mention those that I regard most remarkable.
Now, let us move down to the facts and figures. Prior to his ascension to office, there were only 18 magistrates holding sway throughout the expansive Osun state. Since the majority of the cases are invariably handled by magistrates, Aregbesola felt the inadequacy this limited number of judicial officers foisted on the Judiciary and its concomitant negative impact on efficient administration of justice, he therefore, appointed additional 19 magistrates to bring to 37 the number of this cadre of judicial officers.
The governor also appointed 18 more state counsel to boost the efficiency of service delivery at the state’s Ministry of Justice. He established the state’s Citizen’s Mediation Centre to settle disputes between citizens without the need to resort to litigation and thereby decongest the courts. He did not stop there; he appointed 309 presidents and members of the customary courts in the state to revive the court, which had become remarkably in-operational because of lack of quorum and failing to meet the objectives for which it was established.
Furthermore, to ensure that only quality persons are appointed into the judicial service, the governor tinkered with the body charged with the issue of appointment of judicial officers, the Judicial Service Commission. On June 9, last year, he appointed competent, fit and proper persons into Osun State Judicial Service Commission.
After the efforts to appoint a very brilliant and erudite judge of Osun State extraction, Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole, proved abortive, Aregbesola adhered strictly to the recommendations of the National Judicial Council (NJC), which culminated in the appointment of the unassuming and generally acceptable first female Chief Judge for the state.
To consolidate on all these appointments, the governor also made a lot of investment on human capacity building of judicial officers. For example, all legal practitioners in the government of the state and magistrates (which have become enlarged in size as noted above) were sponsored to this year’s Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Calabar. They were also sponsored to this year’s International Bar Association Conference, which held in Boston, United States. All magistrates in the state were also sponsored to Magistrates’ Association of Nigeria Annual Conference, which held in Lagos earlier this year, with the state recording the largest number of contingent at the conference among the 36 states.
Besides, judges of superior court are sponsored to overseas training periodically to sharpen their skills and equip them with modern ideas on justice delivery.
Aregbesola’s relationship with the bar has been excellent. All the five branches of the NBA in the state, namely Osogbo, Ikirun, Iwo, Ilesa and Ife, have, at one time or the other, become beneficiaries of the state governor’s largesse. For example, At the annual Sapara Williams Law week of the NBA Ilesa which held on November 26. Ogbeni announced the donation of three buses to the Ilesa, Ife and Iwo branches of NBA, which did not have buses of their own, unlike the remaining two other branches of Osogbo and Ikirin that have.
Under the vibrant leadership of Ogbeni, the state’s legislature has been proactive by passing many laws.  These include Osun State Agency For the Control of HIV/AIDS (O-SACA) Law, 2011; State of Osun Security Trust Fund Law, 2012; State of Osun Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (Amendment) Law, 2012; State of Osun Legitimacy (Repeal) Law, 2012; State of Osun Anthem, Crest and Flag Law, 2012; State Of Osun Debt Management Office Law, 2012 and The Osun Protection Against Domestic Violence Law, 2012.
In addition to these laws, there are also many bills at different stages of passage at the state’s legislature; these include justice-sector bills, such as the State of Osun Special Offences Court Bill, 2013.
In short, the legal/policy reform initiatives of Aregbesola’s administration cut across nine major sectoral areas. These include  (a) Public Finance Management; (b)Revenue Generation; (c)Education and Human Capacity Development; (d) Urban Renewal and Environment; (e)Governance and Security; (f) Judicial Sector Reform; (g) Health and Safety; (h) Agriculture and Food Security and (i) Institutionalisation of Social Welfare Schemes.
An objective reader may ponder on why a governor who is not himself a lawyer may embark on revolutionising the justice sector on such an expansive and ambitious scale. But, I am not surprised; having known that the governor is a beneficiary of a courageous and uncompromising judiciary, he will strive to fulfill on his promise to make the society better that he met it.
Though he is an engineer, Aregbesola somehow understands the great importance a good administration of justice system implies for harmonious co-existence, progress and sustainable development. This is easily shown in the way he handled the matter of his governorship election debacle in his state.
Having been cheated of his mandate through massive election rigging in the last governorship election in the state, the governor urged all his followers and supporters not to take law into their hands through violence. He assured them he would follow the unpredictable and expensive procedure of litigation. What a torturous path that proved to be!
For whopping three years, he fought a relentless legal battle, which would have exhausted the patience of men of lesser steely constitution. To claim back his stolen mandate, he called more than 100 witnesses and tendered 168 exhibits in his petition before the Election Petitions Tribunal, to prove the allegation of mass rigging of the election. Eventually, the judgment came on November 26, 2011, when the Court of Appeal declared Aregbesola the winner of the election and ordered he should be sworn-in the following day.
Furthermore, it is remarkable that all the above quoted achievements of Ogbeni were done for the Judiciary alone despite the fact that Osun State is the smallest economy in Nigeria. To make this objective and the larger dream realisable of Osun Rebirth Project, the governor embarked on major drive to increase phenomenally the internally generated revenues of the state. It is noteworthy that as at 2009, Osun  had a  meagre Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of N110 billion ($963 million) and internally generated revenue (IGR) of  N320million monthly,  but as of today, the state has an IGR of about N1.4 billion per month, also, the state’s  GDP is about N738 billion.
Commenting on the performance of Aregbesola after three years in office at the Ilesa Bar- organised Law week in honour of Christopher Alexander Sapara-Williams show case session, the guest speaker and Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties, Mr. Ajibola Bashiru, gave an overview of the governor’s justice sector initiatives as follows: “Aregbesola has led an administration  to modernise governance; institutionalise good governance practices; facilitate and support investment; improve security and social welfare; promote public good and realise the Six-point Integral Action Plan of the Administration.
“Governmental institutions and policies become more meaningful, achievable and sustainable when they are entrenched in the legal framework of society. The immense development being witnessed in various facets of life in the State of Osun is functions of not only purposeful leadership, but clear re-engineering of different aspects of the society including financial, legal, judicial and social sectors.”
In conclusion, I would like to state that the governor has erected a great foundation for dynamic and efficient justice administration which is solid enough to carry the weight of subsequent superstructure of legal reforms. This exemplary legacy would surely give him a place in history.
Abdul-Rasheed is a former National Publicity Secretary, Nigerian Bar Association
THE NATION

As part of efforts to banish poverty, unemployment and hunger in Osun State, the state government has said that it spent N2 billion in the last three years on dredging.
The Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Mrs Olubukola Oyawoye who disclosed this to newsmen in Osogbo recently said that the dredging was part of the six-point Integral Action plan of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration.
She said “The aim of the plan is to banish poverty, unemployment and hunger from the state, as well as retore healthy living, enhance communal peace and promote functional education.”
Oyawoye recalled how at the inception of Aregbesola’s administration in 2010, the government introduced measures to curtail flooding in all flood-prone areas, adding that as at 2012, the dredging covered 123 kilometer in more than 100 communities.
She said that the dredging has paved way for better environment, and has enabled people to carry on their businesses without hindrance, stressing that businesses would have been hindered if there was flooding.
According to her, what the government had spent in three years cannot equal what can be lost to flood disaster in one year.
In Osogbo alone, no fewer than 15 rivers, streams and canals which include Okooko Ogbaagba, Akepe, Odigun, Arungbo and Nlekuwodo are being dredged and de-silted on a continuous basis.
THE TIDE

All over the world, organisations in both private and public sectors draw budget to attain specific goals and objectives. While budgeting in the private sector is market driven, and profit oriented, the contrary is the case in the public sector. The public sector is resource constrained as it is funded mostly by taxation.
Hence government at various levels often ensure that budget is well prepared in advance in order to render service to the people particularly in a democratic dispensation where citizens expect so much from elected leaders.
“Budget” as the name implies, “is a plan, quantified in monetary terms, prepared and approved prior to a defined period of time, usually showing planned income to be generated and/or expenditure to be incurred during that period and the capital to be employed to attain a given objective.”
In Osun State, which is a forward looking brand, the art of budget making has been taken to greater heights. Osun State under the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has not only touched lives, but with the execution and implementation of its six point agenda, it has also turned the economy of the state around.
The Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) under the Aregbesola regime increased by 100 percent. Yet this was achieved without necessarily foisting a higher tax regime on the people.
According to Dr. Wale Bolorunduro, Commissioner for Finance, who spoke at a workshop held for civil servants in the state, “The approach we adopted was to plug loopholes and stop the losses incurred through manual collection and manual processing.
VANGUARD

The Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam has charged the contractors handling the 10 kilometre road projects in Egbedore and Ejigbo local government areas of the state to work harder and complete the projects on schedule or face the wrath of the law.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd left); his Special Adviser on Federal Matters, Honourable Idiat Babalola; Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Research, Planning and Policy Implementation, Prince Olusegun Bada (left); Personal Assistant to State of Osun Governor on Political matters, Alhaji Bisi Oyoosun (right); Engineer Abdulkareem Ojutikun (2nd left) and Mr.S.J Samuel, during the unveiling of late Chief Awolowo’s statue at Osun Lodge, Abuja weekend.

Osun Head of Service,Mr Olayinka Owoeye will on Monday morning (16th December,2013) declare open a 3-day orientation workshop for the newly recruited 337 officers in the state civil service.
Venue is Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding,Abere.
A release from the office of the Head of Service explains that the workshop will explore topics which include Basic Communication Techniques in the Public Service,Civil Service Rules and Regulations as well as Principles of Human Relations.
The release then enjoined all Heads of Government Agencies to release the affected officers to attend the workshop dutifully.
 

Nigerians from all works of life have been advised to engage themselves in regular exercise and other sporting activities so as to be develop completely.
Deputy Governor of the state of Osun, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, gave this advice while laying the foundation stone of the Sports Complex at the Achievers’ University, Owo, Ondo State.
In her speech titled: Towards The Development of a Complete Man, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori said education system that neglects human development through their kinetic body and regular physical exercise has moved away from attaining its expected level.
Applauding the decision of the Senate and Management of the institution for the building of the sports complex, state of Osun Deputy Governor urged them to put the sports complex to use saying foundation determines social relevance of any structure but its proper usage determines its importance.
She however said the importance placed on human development propelled governor of the state of Osun, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to introduce the monthly Walk to Live in the state.
In his remark, Pro-Chancellor of the Achievers’ University, Senator Bode Olajumoke, said any institution of learning without complementing sporting facilities is not complete in its quest of building a complete person.
Also speaking, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), urged governments at all levels to invest more on sports most especially at the school level so as to develop Nigerian youths to an appreciable level.
OSUN DEFENDER

Subject: LETTER OF APPRECIATION
Mr. Governor,
 

 
We herein use this opportunity to personally thank you for sending us to Germany for a 3-month agricultural training programme.
We sincerely appreciate this kind gesture of yours and must note that this is indeed the first time an African head of government would invest so much in the human capacity development of youths in the area of agriculture and that it would never be an understatement each time you are addressed as the “first among your equals”.
During our 3-month sojourn in Germany, we learnt quite a lot of innovative and useful things in the field of modern agriculture which we believe if given a chance to replicate would greatly assist your Government in its passionate drive to banish hunger, eradicate poverty and banish unemployment.
We assure you that with our newly acquired knowledge and skills being put into practice we can:
1. Drastically reduce the percentage which an average Osun citizen spends on food to approximately 5% and;
2. also help in massively increasing the Internally Generated Revenue of the State of Osun.
3. These and many more are we ready to do in order to uplift and develop the state to the level that you passionately and compassionately wish to take her and its citizens to through agriculture.
We seek to achieve all these and many more through ”a platform of an independent, innovative and enterprising agricultural agency”.
We would like to seek your assistance” in terms of some upkeep money starting from this month of December while we patiently wait on your graciousness to grant us this productive platform”.
Once again, we want to appreciate you for this opportunity you have given us and also assure you that we will always be at your disposal to help develop the agricultural sector of the State of Osun.
Thank you in anticipation of your favourable response.
Best,
SIGNED:
Your German trained Osun youths
(Batch A)
1. BELLO A. T.
2. ALADESANMI A. Y.
3. FADARE T.
4. ADEWOLE A.
5. KEHINDE T.J.
6. ADEJUWON A.J.
7. AKILAPA O. E.
8. OLUWAFEMI B. O.
9. JIMOH W. A.
10. ADEGOKE N. A.
11. AKINGBADE M. O.
12. WILLIAMS I. V.
13. OLUFESO M. O.
14. IDOWU S. O.
15. MAKINDE I. O.
16. BABATUNDE O. T.
17. OMOBOYEJE O. O.
18. MAKANJU M. O.
19. ADETUNJI K. A.
20. OJO O.
 
OSUN DEFENDER