The Osun sector command of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said on Tuesday that it issued 268 new number plates to motorists in the state in the month of October.
The Sector Commander, Mr Muhammad Husaini, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo.
Husaini said the figure was submitted to the commission by the state revenue board, the department responsible for number plates production.
He added that the figure covered number plates for cars, buses, articulated vehicles and motorcycles.
The sector commander said “the FRSC works in partnership with the state revenue board in registration and production of new number plates or upgrading of old ones by motorists.’’
He added that the FRSC was not a revenue generating body, so the duty of number plates production lied on the state under the supervision and co-ordination of the commission.
He, therefore, urged motorists to follow due process in number plate procurement and upgrading, noting that they could visit the command/commission for guidelines.
(NAN)

Comrade Waheed Lawal is the National Deputy Chairman (South West) of the National Conscience Party (NCP). The party was founded by the late legal icon, Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Lawal is also the Chairman of Alliance of Collaborating Political Parties in Osun State. In an interview, he spoke about the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun State, lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the people of Osun State. Lawal restated his party’s decision not to join the All Progressives Congress (APC). Excerpts:

Your party, National Conscience Party (NCP) took part in the August 9, 2014 Osun State governorship election, and you were the party agent, but you did not go to the electoral tribunal to challenge your loss. Why?
Well, if you see that a process is free, fair and credible as well as transparent enough, there is no need to go to court to challenge the result. As the party agent of my party, we don’t need to embark on a fruitless exercise using our limited resources to pursue an ignoble cause. My party has congratulated the winner of that election, Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola as we saw that the election was credible.
But the leading political opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) approached the electoral tribunal alleging irregularities, what do you have to say to this?
They are entitled to their opinion. At least 20 political parties and their candidates participated in the election and 12 out of the candidates and their parties have congratulated the winner. You may be doing some things to keep your followers. Another election is around the corner and there is need to prepare for it. If the party is using the electoral tribunal to keep their followers busy and longing for hope, it means that they have more resources to waste. All the political parties witnessed all the processes from the distribution of non-sensitive and sensitive materials with all the party agents carried along at every stage.
How would you rate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in view of the August 9, governorship election in Osun State?
On the August 9 governorship election, INEC performed creditably well in Osun State. From the voters list, INEC gave all the political parties the soft and hard copies of the voters register. They even gave us three different times because when NCP wrote to complain about repetition of some names in Ife area, INEC corrected it and sent back the list to us to verify before the election.
There was no violence anywhere across the state except the one orchestrated in Ile-Ife.
The security was about to mar the election. They caused panic, pandemonium as the Department of State Security Service (DSSS) personnel’s who are supposed to be undercover entered Osun masked and they started shooting sporadically into the air to cause commotion and scare the populace from coming out. However, the people of Osun State are determined and they came out en mass to vote for Aregbesola as their Governor.
What is your take on the Minister of Police Affairs? Some people have accused him of partiality in the election.
The Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan is supposed to be non-partisan but he showed clearly that he is partisan. He was seen following the governorship candidate of a party all over the town. The Minister of State for Defence Mr. Musuliu Obanikoro and himself were guilty of this.
As the Chairman of Alliance of Collaborating Political Parties in Osun State, what is the position of your group?
Having reviewed the whole process, the parties have congratulated the winner of the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun State, Governor Rauf Aregbesola as the process was free, fair, transparent and credible. The association have paid congratulatory visit to the winner promising to respect the wishes of the people of Osun. Whichever party we belong to, we are stakeholders in Osun project and we must ensure that the state progress. So, at the level of Alliance of Collaborating political parties, we have agreed that the election is free, fair and credible.
There are accusations in some quarters that political office holders, especially, legislators did not help the cause of Aregbesola in the build up to the election which made the PDP attack more vociferous. Some would not want their re-election, do you support this?
Don’t let us belabour the issue. We all know the role of the legislature. They are law makers. Whatever successes recorded today by Aregbesola’s administration was because the Legislators gave him an unflinching support. We should give them kudos as there were no crisis that could divert the attention of the man from providing the dividends of democracy to the people.
The National Assembly members from Osun State were bringing their resources from constituency projects together for the state development like the mega schools project being funded with their resources. It is not as business as before when members of the National Assembly would give money meant for the constituency project to their friends. The Assembly members now give attention to state development.
PDP did not rely on the performance or loyalty but as stated by the Vice President , Namadi Sambo that they want to capture Osun. This is not a military era when might or force is the solution. This is a signal that they want to harass them and take over but the people of Osun are resolutely with Aregbesola. PDP has their own agenda but we give glory to God for disgracing them in that election.
What are your expectations from Aregbesola after his inauguration on November 27, 2014?
Aregbesola has shown us that governance is a serious business. He has promised to work harder and performed the work of about 20 years ahead within the remaining four years of his tenure. I believe him and we believe he would take Osun State to a higher pedestal.
OSUN DEFENDER

The Osun State Election Petitions Tribunal on Monday rejected the application of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the August election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, to move a motion to call additional witnesses without reply by Governor Rauf Aregbesola and other respondents.
This is just as the petitioners tendered more documents with discrepancies before the tribunal.
Omisore and the PDP are challenging the election of Aregbesola and All Progressives Congress (APC) before the Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime-led tribunal, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is joined as the third respondent in the matter.
At the hearing of the petition yesterday, counsel to the petitioners, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), informed the tribunal that he had filed a motion concerning his intention to call additional witness, whom he described as an expert.
He conceded that though respondents have right to reply to the motion, but he had informed the tribunal before, he should be allowed to move the motion.
Counsel to Aregbesola, Mr. Segun Ajibola (SAN), wondered why the petitioners’ counsel was prompting the tribunal to deny his client’s right to fair hearing on the application.
He remarked that he had seven days under the law to respond to the application before the tribunal could take it.
Also, counsel to the APC, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), said it was unfortunate that the petitioners’ counsel was trying to deny him his right of reply. He supported his argument with points of law and cases.
He stressed that there was nothing in the prayers of the petitioners’ application that the respondents should be restricted or curtailed from replying to the application, as against the law.
According to him, the application is seeking the discretion of the court and in such situation; parties must be given the opportunity to lay their grounds before the court.
Counsel to the INEC, Mr. Ayotunde Ogunleye, noted that there was no need for urgency in the application, arguing that parties must be allowed to respond to the application.
However, the petitioners’ counsel and the tribunal chairman appealed to the respondents to abridge the time they have to respond to the application.
Also, the respondents’ counsel agreed to file their reply within four days instead of seven day and the tribunal fixed Thursday, November 20, for the hearing of the application.
Earlier, Omisore and the PDP counsel had continued the tendering of CTCs of form EC25B for Irepodun, Irewole, Iwo, Obokun, Ola-Oluwa, Olorunda, Oriade and Osogbo Local Government with discrepancies.
In the course of tendering the documents, the respondents’ counsels observed that some of them have inscription on the reverse side without certification, some have no inscription to show that they are form EC25B, some were altered without endorsement, some mutilated, while some were detached and replaced with the ones that are not EC25B.
Consequently, the tribunal has also deferred ruling on the admissibility of the purported duplicate of form EC8A tendered by the first witness of the petitioners, Prince Bola Ajao, who is the State Secretary of the PDP, claiming that the results were submitted to him by PDP agents.
The deference of the ruling was sequel to the objections raised by the respondents’ counsel that the documents were not admissible, because the witness was not the maker of the document, who can answer questions on them.
Also, the INEC counsel observed that in some of the documents, there are alterations without endorsement, there is mutilation, and some were blank, while some were not legible.
The hearing continued as at the time of filing this report.
THIS DAY 

The All Progressives Congress in the State of Osun has called on security services within the state to beef up their presence in heightened alert to forestall violence that some people are reported to be planning in order to create chaos in the state capital ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for the governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, coming up later this month.
Information making the rounds from events at the State Governorship Election Tribunal in Osogbo spoke of some suspicious movements which created security concern amongst spectators and party supporters.
According to information from usually reliable sources, some political elements are planning to use the tribunal venue as the starting point for confusion that will run into the inauguration ceremony of Ogbeni Aregbesola slated for November 27, in an attempt to abort the ceremony.
To assist in ensuring that the existing peace in the state is not disturbed in any way, henceforth security operatives posted to the tribunal should check all vehicles coming to the premises of the High Court (venue of the sitting of the tribunal) without exception.
This will help check the plans of these unscrupulous human beings who go about bragging that there is nothing they cannot bring to the venue as no security operative can stop their vehicle for checking.
The APC is therefore, calling on the security forces to stay alert to nip such evil plan in the bud.
Osun is peaceful and the security forces have a duty to keep it peaceful, the Osun APC remarked.
OSUN DEFENDER

Transformation of Ijesa land in Osun State has the potential of bringing about massive development of not just Osun State but the nation at large.
This was made known in a recent summit on Industrialisation of Ijesaland, organised by the Ijesaland Development Foundation (IDF) in Lagos.
President of IDF, Dideolu Falobi, said it was no coincidence that IDF was founded at this time, called on the governor of Osun State, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, to lead the entire people of Ijesaland to industrialise the area.
In his reaction, Mr Aregbesola, who was represented at the event, restated the commitment of the state government to the development of Ijesaland by enhancing timely processing of Certificate of Occupancy for investors as well as providing farm equipment at subsidised rates for farmers of Ijesaland, among others.
Aside agriculture, he also identified the ‘specified opportunities’ in Ijesaland to include mining of solid minerals as well as culture and tourism.
In his lecture entitled: “Industrialisation of Ijesaland: Prospects and Opportunities,” Professor Ayo Fatubarin, called attention to the agricultural potential of Ijesaland, which he said if well harnessed, could make the land the cynosure of all eyes.
TRIBUNE

Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has said the objective of promoting communal peace and harmony is the basic reason his administration has been committed to funding community development projects across the state.
He spoke on Saturday at the 2014 Imesi-Ile celebration, held at Imesi-Ile, Obokun Local Government Area of the state, saying the government would work harder and reach out more to improve the human condition in every way possible at the grassroot level.
Represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Community Forum, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, the governor said, “the greatness of Osun is the sum of the greatness of all its communities”, adding,
“If we improve on the infrastructure here, there will be no need for youths to migrate to big cities again and this will foster rapid development”.
According to him, “As we prepare to begin another term in office, I like to assure Imesi-Ile and Osun in general that you will witness rapid development in terms of infrastructural like roads and many others.
“There will be jobs for the unemployed. The High School under construction here will be completed for the use of our children. No child from this town will be denied their rights to quality education in a conducive environment.   While thanking the people of Imesi-Ile for voting for hi second term,
The governor of the state of osun noted that ‘you have done this because you are convinced that we can make changes happen along various socio-economic lines. You will not be disappointed” “Much more than you witnessed in our first term, there will be greater progress in the life of our second term of office”, he assured.
The governor assured that he was not making an ordinary promise, but they would be fulfilled, adding that one thing that stands his administration out is faithfulness to promises, especially those made during electioneering. Aregbesola then charged residents of various communities to embrace unity of purpose and spirit of selfless service for the growth of their respective communities.
This, according to him, should include citizens faithfulness to paying taxes and supporting government in every way, noting, “this implies that all of us in this town must be ready always to contribute whatever we can and in any capacity to the development of Imesi-Ile”.  He then charged the people of the community to see the occasion as another opportunity to increase their depth of harmonious and peaceful coexistence.
Speaking, the Owa-Ooye of Imesi-Ile, Oba Enoch Akinyemi charged the sons and daughters of the ancient town to ensure that there is love among them and contribute to the development of the town.
The National President, Imesi-Ile Progressive Association (IPA), Mr Babalola Fasesin also called for unity and peaceful coexistence among the people to take the town to a greater height.
WORLD STAGE

 …says it restored healthy living among citizens

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

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

Osun 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

Special 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