Photos from the 6th edition of an interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of Osun last week

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola acknowledging cheers
from Ijesha people while rejoicing with prayer of supports for his
Second Term in office immediately after the 6th edition of an interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal
Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa East and
Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of
Osun last week

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola acknowledging cheers
from Ijesha people while rejoicing with prayer of supports for his
Second Term in office immediately after the 6th edition of an
interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal
Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa East and
Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of
Osun last week

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola acknowledging cheers
from Ijesha people while rejoicing with prayer of supports for his
Second Term in office immediately after the 6th edition of an
interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal
Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa East and
Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of
Osun last week

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (standing) addressing
the people of Ijeshaland after their word of support for his Second Term in office, during the 6th edition of an interactive programme
tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of Osun last week

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (left) dancing with the State market women and People of Ijeshaland after their word of support for his Second Term in office, during the 6th edition of an
interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal
Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa East and
Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of
Osun last week

From left, Deputy Governor State of Osun, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; Winner Arewa Osun, Miss Adiatu Damilola; Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his wife, Sherifat and Chief Executive Officer, Miss Arewa Beauty Pageant, Mr Oludare Kolade, after words of support for
Aregbesola Second Term in office by people of Ijeshaland, during the
6th edition of an interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in
Ijesha South Federal Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa
East, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa
High School, Ilesa, State of Osun last week

From left, Deputy Governor State of Osun, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; Wife
of the Governor, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola; Governor, Ogbeni Rauf
Aregbesola; Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood
Adeoti and Member House of Representatives representing Atakunmosa East/West and Ilesa East/West, Honourable Ajibola Famurewa, after
words of support for Aregbesola Second Term in office by people of
Ijeshaland, during the 6th edition of an interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa East and Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of Osun last week

From left, Speaker State Assembly of Osun, Honourable Najeem Salam;
Deputy Governor State of Osun, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori; Governor, Ogbeni
Rauf Aregbesola; his Wife, Sherifat; Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti and Member House of Representatives representing Atakunmosa East/West and Ilesa East/West,
Honourable Ajibola Famurewa, after words of support for Aregbesola
Second Term in office by people of Ijeshaland, during the 6th edition of an interactive programme tagged, “Gban-gba Dekun” in Ijesha South Federal Constituency consisting of Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Atakumosa
East and Atakumosa West Local Governments at Ilesa High School, Ilesa, State of Osun last week

The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has assured the 157 Landlords whose structures were affected by the on-going road dualisation from Mosalasi=Gaji to Onisekere in Ayetoro, Osogbo road axis, of the payment of their compensation which is worth N750million.
The Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Arc. Muyiwa Ige made this disclosure during a visit by the affected Landlords and Tenants Association to the Minsitry.
Arc. Ige however, warned the Landlords to maintain the approved 6-metres as set back of their structures to the road which had earlier been agreed upon.
One of the Landlords, Elder Moshood Abayomi Oladejo, commended the Government of the State of Osun for the kind gesture and promised that the compensation as well as the special packages to the tenants will be optimally utilized.
Also speaking, Comrade Waheed Lawal, reiterated the commitment of the present administration to alleviating the sufferings of the citizenry.
OSUN DEFENDER

In fulfillment of one of the Six Points Integral action plan of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s administration, the Government of the State through the Ministry of Youths, Sports and Special Needs will organize a Two-Week Skill Acquisition for 100 nominated youths in the 30 Local Government Areas and Ife East Area Council of the State.
In a statement by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Akinyinka Esho, the Skill Acquisition Programme will be organised in collaboration with Ojenco Continuing Education and Training Institute, Ada. The statement affirmed that, the programme is part of the efforts of Ogbeni Aregbesola’s administration to create jobs for the youths and in the process banish hunger and poverty among the citizenry of the state.
The training which commences tomorrow Wednesday 11th December will end on Monday 23rd, December 2013. Training exercise is from 9am to 4pm each week day that the programme covers. The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Akinyinka Esho therefore enjoined all the participants to be punctual and utilize the best opportunity that the programme will offer.
Highlight of the training will be the distribution of trade materials to each of the participants on Monday 23rd, December, 2013 at the same venue.
OSUN DEFENDER

Nigeria and Britain have been enjoined to work towards deepening the existing cordial diplomatic relations, spanning decades.

The Governor of Osun State, South West Nigeria, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, gave the advice when the British Deputy High Commissioner in the country, Mr. Peter Carter came on a courtesy visit to Osogbo.
While describing the relationship between the two Commonwealth countries as legendary and historic, Mr. Aregbesola said Nigeria is the image of Britain in Africa and therefore, needed to be accorded  top priority.
He said the administration was willing to partner with the British government in improving the educational sector, adding that great business opportunities abound in the tourism, hospitality, agro-allied and manufacturing sectors of the state economy.
Governor Aregbesola said the administration has invested heavily in education, health, security, transportation, housing   and other infrastructural development  to make it easy for investors to operate.
According to him, ”It is for the investors that we are working so hard to create a conducive environment for them to operate. We have earmarked nine towns for rapid urban renewal.
We are very serious about basic education, because that is the foundation for development. We take the issue of security very serious. We are constructing more roads to support investors, that also informed the construction of an Airport. Hopefully by May 2014, it will be completed”.
British input
The visiting British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Peter Carter, commended   the administration’s efforts at transforming  the state from a largely semi-urban town into a modern sophisticated city.
“Your administration is dynamic, forward looking and trying to achieve a great deal. Three years into your administration… to see what you have accomplishd in agriculture, education, infrastructure, housing and attracting investors, these is commendable”, the British envoy said.
Mr Carter said the British Council has been active in the state through the training of teachers in the teaching of the English subject, adding that the Department for International development (DFID) has also been working with the government on women empowerment.
“We will work with you with the development of your sugar industry. We have got great expertise in the development of eternal and Bio-Fuel. We want to partner with you in that area.
We have investors interested in hospitality business, education, mobile money. The more you have access to e-banking, the better for the economy. That is why we are here to partner with you, I look forward to real practical results to my first visit to Osun State”, he added.
Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960, after several years of colonial rule. Since then the country has continued to maintain a cordial relationship with the former colonialist.
The relationship has been quite symbiotic. Nigeria is Britain’s largest trade partner in Africa.
VOICE OF NIGERIA

AGAINST reports that the Osun state government’s fiscal responsibility is threatened, the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Wale Bolorunduro, has denied such reports saying that the state government is yet to take any multilateral loan (external debt) since it came to power.
According to Bolorunduro, there was a misinterpretation of a report on state’s borrowing, as published by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC).
He noted that against insinuations raised in a newspaper report, (not The Guardian), the state had published its financial statement for the year 2012 to prevent presumptions on the state’s financial status.
He said: “It is true Osun raised N30 billion and N11.4 billion from the capital market through issuance of bond and sukuk in 2012 and 2013 respectively. These are deliberate transparent approaches to raise funds from capital market. It is however scandalous to read that the state took N17.8billion from Infrastructure Bank.
“In the same vein, it is important to stress that the external debt being mentioned is part of the liabilities the current government inherited from the PDP administration. For avoidance of doubts, the current administration has not taken any multilateral loan (external debt) since it came to power.
He added: “Reference can be made to the full report of the Debt Management Office (DMO), which was recently circularised to all the states in the country. The report indicates states’ average solvency (a ratio of total debt to total revenue) to be 42.34 per cent, while Osun’s figure is 14.68 per cent.”
“In the same vein, state’s average liquidity ratio (ratio of debt service to FAAC allocation) according to the report is 12.3 per cent, while Osun’s ratio is 1.45 per cent. This is against a threshold of 40 per cent. Thus indicating Osun to be very solvent and liquid, a further indication of the state’s debt sustainability.”
THE GUARDIAN

An empowerment programme for 500 unemployed youths was recently unveiled by Hon. Adeyinka Ajayi of Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo-Otin Federal Constituency, in conjunction with Ojenco Training Institute, to provide over 3,000 jobs for youths in the state through the garment industry. 
The Federal legislator, representing Ifelodun, Boripe, and Odo-otin Federal Constituency Hon, Adeyinka Ajayi, recently started a training programme within the nine centres across the constituency. There are two centres in Boripe LGA (Iree and Ada), three centres in Ifelodun LGA (Ikirun, Eko’nde and Iba), and four centres in Odo-Otin LGA (Okuku, Inisha, Oyan and Eekosin). However, the youths are being trained in eight different courses: fashion designing, hairdressing, shoe making, barbing, event decorating, soap making, small chops catering, and tie & dye. The aim of the programme is to support and complement the effort of Governor Rauf Aregbesola to eradicate poverty in the state of Osun, particularly in the Ifelodun/ Boripe/ Odo-Otin Federal Constituency.
Worthy Venture
Ajayi is of the opinion that if youths are properly trained and empowered, they would not only be useful to themselves but also contribute meaningfully to the development of the community, State of Osun, and Nigeria in general.
Speaking at the event, which cut across the nine centres, the Senior Special Adviser to Hon. Ajayi, Mr. Gold Adedayo, said the participants across the three LGAs would benefit in no small measure to assist in their day-to-day activities and to enhance their self-reliance in all the trades involved.
According to him, all the 500 youths are to be given adequate support after the training programmes, as equipment worth over N100 million had been set aside for distribution across the three local council areas.
Adedayo also noted that the main agenda of Ajayi is to increase the economic activities in the area and to make people become employers of labour so as to assist other less-privileged ones in the training programme.
The Special Adviser however commended the youths involved in the training for their commitment and urged them to focus more on the training in order to benefit maximally during and after the programme.
State Intervention
Meanwhile, the Osun state government has also disclosed that it is willing to provide an enabling environment in infrastructure and security needed for thriving economic activities in the state.
The Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, stated this at a formal unveiling of the Omoluabi Garment Factory at the state capital, Osogbo. Aregbesola also noted that the establishment of the factory became necessary as part of the overall effort to transform the state.
He said the garment factory was one testimony of his administration’s investment drive and commitment to attracting investors to Osun, adding that the state has the market and the human and material resources.
According to him, the decision to give the student a common uniform was made with the aim of giving them a common identity and purpose, as well as a sense of unity and pride, which had been lost in the decay that set in public schools in Osun before his administration.
“Through this alone, we have provided job opportunities for our market women who supplied the materials for the uniform and about 3,000 tailors, who sewed them. This Omoluabi Garment Factory that we are launching today is a product of the policy to reap the economic benefits of the production of the school uniform.
“This factory will henceforth produce the school uniform here; it will employ our people here; it will buy its inputs from here, and the batik it will produce will be sewn by our tailors here. All of these, among other gains, will have numerous spin-offs that will rebound to the advantage of the people of the State of Osun. The uniform material will be sold and sewn at control prices so as to make it affordable for our people. You are not only assured of quality, you will get it at good prices,” Aregbesola said.
The governor further revealed that Omoluabi Garment is one of the factories that have been brought into existence through revitalisation of the education project. He said soon, another factory would begin the production of the e-learning tablet, Opon-Imo, and other electronic gadgets in Ilesha.
He admonished the managers of the factory to be innovative and uncompromisingly committed to quality, saying “This might appear to be a small beginning, but what I am seeing is the onset of a giant clothing industry that will take the nation and West Africa by storm in the foreseeable future.” He added that his government remains resolutely focused on the implementation of its policies, assuring listeners that the people of the state would be the better for it.
Cash Boost
In a goodwill message, the General Manager, Operations, Bank of Industry, Mr. Joseph Babatunde, commended the governor for his visionary leadership. He said his bank provides financial supports for capacity building and the training of fashion designers whose products would not only be consumed locally but also exported abroad.
He noted that the support BoI renders was in tandem with what the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) preaches. He appealed for an expansion of the counterpart funds between government and the bank so as to be able to accommodate more trainees and reduce the population of youths roaming the streets.
Factory Impact
Earlier in her remark, the Managing Director of Omoluabi Garment Factory, Mrs. Folake Oyemade, said with the garment factory in place there has been a drastic reduction in unemployment rate in the state. Oyemade, who is also the Managing Director of Sam and Sara, said by the end of the year, the factory would have trained over 3,000 tailors.
“Today’s ceremony is a demonstration of one of your campaign promises. You promised to make the State of Osun an industrial haven in which youths as leaders of tomorrow would be catered for in the area of skill acquisition, job creation, poverty alleviation and wealth creation. This is just the beginning of better things to come. Your second term is a foregone conclusion,” Oyemade said.
Osun state is striving to empower unemployed and restive youths and the factory and training are vital to the process. The state is thus taking giant strides to resolve one of the main problems besetting Nigeria’s development process, which is youth unemployment; a worthwhile process.
THISDAY NEWSPAPER