Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has restated his readiness to ensure transformation of rural communities across the state.

The governor stated this during the commissioning of projects executed under the second phase of replication of UNICEF Community Development Initiative Programme, UCDIP, and Osun State government in conjunction with local government across the state.

Aregbesola, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Water Resources Rural Development and Community Affairs, Mr Kunle Ige, at the commissioning of the twenty five projects out of sixty projects executed for rural communities in the thirty local government area and Modakeke Area office of the state, noted that the projects have potentials of improving the standard of living of rural dwellers, urging residents to guide the project jealously.

Inaugurating electrification project in Anarun and a modern palace in Agberire communities in Iwo Local Government area of the state, Aregbesola maintained that his administration would continue to make welfare of his people a priority, adding that the state had witnessed unprecedented transformation in all facets of human life under his administration.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, Iwo Local Government, Alhaji kamorudeen Alao, said the present administration in the state had resolved to position rural communities for economic development through provision of basic facilities in rural areas.

Speaking on behalf of the benefiting communities, the Baale of Anarun, Chief Samuel Oyewole and Olukotun of Agberire, Chief Waliu Adekunle, lauded the state government for the gesture and promised effective utilisation of the projects.

NATIONAL MIRROR

Ahead the conduct of 2015 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Osun, on Wednesday, commenced the display of election notices in all the 30 local government areas in the state, including its secretariat, situated along Gbongan-Ibadan Expressway.

The election notice was pasted at the headquarters of all the 30 local government councils, without the exception of the only area office in Modakeke.

It explained that provision of section 30 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act 2010 states that “notice of 2015 General Elections should be published not later than ninety (90) days before the day appointed for holding of an election.

Under this Act notice is hereby given that election to the following offices shall hold as follows”,

According to the notice, “the Presidential andNational Assembly Election would hold on the 14th February, 2015, while the State House of Assembly Election comes up on the 28th February, 2015”.

“To this end, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Osun State on Wednesday 1st October, 2014, has displayed at the State Office of the Commission and thirty (30) Local Government Offices and Area Office , Modakeke notice of 2015 General Elections”, the release added.

TRIBUNE

The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has identified peoples’ freedom to willingly choose their leaders as a hallmark of democracy.

Aregbesola, in a message by the Director, the Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, observed this in a message to mark the nation’s 54th independence anniversary.

The governor said independence, in the true sense of the word, will only make meaning if people of the nation have unrestricted free will to elect their leaders at all tiers of government.

According to him, a refusal to allow peoples’ will and aspirations to be freely expressed most of the time results in chaos and confusion.

He called on leaders and people of the country to come to terms with the reality of what democracy means, which is the unfettered freedom of expression, of choice of those whom the people want to rule them.

Through this alone, Aregbesola said, will independence benefit the nation and propel its people towards positive contributions.

“Democracy as a system of government only has meaning in an atmosphere of freedom

“Our nation stands to benefit immensely if the will of the people supersedes the individual leader’s ambition.

“We, as a nation, must put our acts together as from now on and remain focused on how to move this country to greater heights.

“This should be the lesson as well as the primary message we should spread around as the nation clocks 54 years,” Aregbesola said

Adding that Nigeria’s independence will be meaningless unless there is absolute respect for democratic ethos, Aregbesola said “Today, our country witnesses blatant cases of abuse of human rights and total disregard for the rights of the people to choose those who lead them.

“Relentlessly, we have campaigned for a true federation which takes into account all the freedom of the federating units to conduct their affairs in the most suitable manner according to their respective circumstances.

“It is regrettable that many of the institutions of the state which ought to be in place for the enthronement of acceptable federalism and democracy have been weakened deliberately to achieve some personal political and economic advantages of those who had worked over the years against the happiness of our people.”

Aregbesola said collectively all Nigerians could make independence work by compelling leaders to act with total respect for the rule of law adding, “Our country stands the chance of covering the lost grounds if only we realize the need to act in the best interest of the people.”

As Muslims in the State of Osun set to join their counterparts across the globe to celebrate this year Ileya festival on Saturday, the State government has vowed to redouble its effort at averting the spread of deadly Ebola diseases during and after the Salah.

The State Government, through the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mrs Temitope Ilori made the pledge during the Ebola Virus Infection and Prevention sensitization programme organized for the Joint National Association of People with Disabilities (JONAPWD) at Abere.

Ilori said efforts are on the top gear to ensure that the indigenes of Osun who will be coming home for the celebration, including the sojourning ones in the state are well protected from the deadly disease.

Ilori added that, the state government in its quest to ensure safety for all across the state, has commenced steps to put in place screening centres in strategic motor parks within the state as a measure to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease as an influx of people would be expected.

She revealed that motor parks that were designated for such screening centres included Iwo, Ejigbo, Ikirun, Osogbo and Ede where it is presumed that there would be influx of people from outside Nigeria especially the West African sub-region.

“Many of our indigenes work in Ivory Coast, among other neighboring African countries would like to travel down to Nigeria to celebrate with their relatives and that is why as a state government we are hyping awareness creation and sensitization programme on Ebola and other related disease”.

“We noticed that, during the festival a lot of diseases do come up like cholera, diarrhea among others, so we are hyping on our hygiene”, Ilori added.

The Health Commissioner also encouraged relatives of people that would be traveling back home for the festivity to be vigilant and report any unusual symptoms to the health authorities.

Ilori noted that, reporting unusual symptoms to the health authorities would help in complementing the effort of the state government to curb the spread of the lethal disease as there have not been any cases of Ebola in the state.

According to her, “Thank God that, there has not been any case of Ebola in the State of Osun, and even in Nigeria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently announced that, there is no case of Ebola in Nigeria again as all people that were under surveillance have been discharged, nobody is still undergoing treatment in Nigeria”.

She maintained that JONAPWD was a vital aspect of society that the government needed to carry along because they were unique.

Meanwhile, Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation; Professor (Mrs.) Olubukola Oyawoye has stated that the best solution to wage war on the Ebola Virus Disease currently ravaging some West African countries was cleanliness.

She maintained that even with the use of hand sanitizers, soap and water was still the best method of keeping germs at bay.

Oyawoye stressed that the message of cleanliness should be preached by all as there were different types of diseases in the society.

Earlier, the Director of Primary Health and Disease Control in the Health Ministry, Dr. Kayode Ogunniyi in his enlightenment talk traced the first outbreak of the disease in 1976 to the Congo village where the Ebola stream was located.

He revealed that the vector was the African fruit bats with transmits to other animals like Gorillas and Monkeys who eat remnants of fruit which would have been eaten by these bats hence the discouraging of bush meat consumption as one of the preventive measures.

“The virus is found in all body fluids like saliva, tears, urine, sweat, semen, faeces and vomitus and the incubation period is 2 through 21 days and presentable symptoms include fever, headaches, cough, weak body, diarrhoea and blood oozing out of all the body openings.”

Oginni added that the disease did not start from Nigeria but rather the first case was imported from Liberia by Patrick Sawyer

He noted that out of the 19 suspected cases of the disease in Nigeria, 7 died including Patrick Sayer and Dr. Adadevoh while 12 recovered.

He advised people to be very careful in the way they handled corpses stating that the World Health Organisation found out from research that in every 10 Ebola cases, 6-7 of them had contacts with corpse of victims of the disease.

“That was what informed the government decision to stop interstate conveying of corpses.”

He explained that before conveying of such corpses if there was need, proper autopsy result should be obtained.

On treatment of the disease, Dr. Oguniyi stated that there was no specific treatment but it was the symptoms that were treated because it presented many.

Representatives of the Health Ministry and JONAPWD took turns to demonstrated proper hand washing techniques.

Emergency numbers to call include: 08032394921, 08035638608 and 08034175852.

Osun State Government has once again provided free train services to its citizens before, during and after the 2014 Eid-il-Kabir festival.
A statement issued and signed by the Osun State Commissioner for Commerce, Co-operatives, Industry and Empowerment, Ismail Jayeoba Alagbada, said the free train service would be offered between Thurdsay and Friday, October 2 and 3.
Alagbada said the train would by 11 a.m. convey people from Lagos to Osogbo on Thursday and Friday.
The return journey to Lagos would start by 11 a.m. on October 6 and October 7, the commissioner added.
He said the gesture was aimed at facilitating stress-free homecoming for the people during the Muslim festival.
The state government had since 2011 been making such similar arrangements for people of the state to travel home during festive seasons as part of efforts to promote tourism, boost the economy.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on Tuesday said the state had put mechanisms in place to boost the production of honey.
He made this known in Osogbo when he declared open a national beekeeping workshop organised by the National Board of Technology Incubation (NBTI), in collaboration with the state’s Modern Bee Keeping Association.
The workshop was tagged: “Phase II, Knowledge Transfer Initiative.’’
Represented by Mr Wale Adedoyin, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Aregbesola said “the Osun government is making efforts to make the state one of the highest producers of honey in the world.’’
The governor said that the state had established an apiary in Ashi in Odo-otin Local Government Area to boost honey production.
He added that industrial grade honey extractors were installed at the project site for the benefit of bee keepers within and outside the state.
“The state has the potential to compete with top honey producers in the world and the state government has laid a foundation by providing bee keeping facilities to help beekeepers to fulfil their potential,’’ he said.
Aregbesola urged beekeepers from within and outside the state to make good use of the facilities put in place by government to boost honey production.
Earlier, the President of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Mr Bayo Ajibade, thanked the government for the facilities put in place to boost honey production in the state.
Present at the workshop were special advisers to the governor on agriculture and food security, Quick Impact Intervention, as well as federal and state agriculture directors, agric officers, among others.
(NAN)

AS a result of the closure of major refuse dump sites serving Osogbo and other adjoining communities, residents in Osun State, on Monday, expressed fear over imminent outbreak of epidemic in the state.

Besides, private refuse collectors licensed by the government to manage waste had failed to collect refuse from residents, owing to closure of the dump sites, a development, which had culminated in heap of refuse dotting major streets and neighbourhoods.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, said there was no cause for alarm, assuring that “the refuse dump site would be opened in the next 24 hours.”

According to him, “I want to allay the fear of our people over the outbreak of any epidemic. We are only trying to put some critical facilities in place at the refuse dump and it would be re-opened for use in the next 24 hours.

TRIBUNE

WITH less than six days to the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, the Osun State government has concluded arrangements to provide free train services for its citizens.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Industry and Empowerment, Mr Ismail Alagbada, on Monday, the free train service would be offered between Thursday and Friday.
Alagbada said the train would, by 11.00 a.m convey people from Lagos to Osogbo onThursday and Friday, while the return journey to Lagos would start by 11.00 a.m on October 6 and 7.
While contending that the gesture was aimed at facilitating stress-free homecoming for the people during the festival, the commissioner recalled that the state government had, since 2011, been making such similar arrangements for people of the state, to travel home during festive seasons.

Osun State House of Assembly is set to pass into law a bill that will prohibit roaming of animals in streets across the state.

Introducing the bill titled “State of Osun Livestock Roaming Bill, 2014” at the plenary, its sponsor, Mr. Afolabi Atolagbe, member representing Ifedayo state constituency, said it was necessary to outlaw roaming of animals on streets in the state to curb environmental problem and diseases that may arise from the faeces of such animals.

He further argued that the bill was not seeking to prohibit rearing of animals, but to ensure that they are properly reared and kept to ensure that they do not constitute nuisance to environment.

He added that there were instances, when roaming animals have caused accidents on roads in the state, saying that if the animals are reared in confined places, such occurrences would be reduced.

Speaking in similar vein, Hon. Ipoola Binuyo, representing Ife North and Kamardeen Akanbi, representing Ede South, expressed opposition to the passage of the bill on the ground that it would block the means of livelihood for those engaging business of such animals, with no means to confine them, especially the old ones.

Other lawmakers, including Mohammed Ibrahim representing Oriade, Dejo Osuolale representing Boripe/Boluwaduro and Razak Adeyemi representing Odo-Otin state constituncies supported the passage of the bill, saying it would prevent public health hazard that might be caused by animals.

Also, during the proceedings, the bill tagged “Hotel and Other Tourism Industries Enterprise Licensing Authority Establishment bill” scaled through first reading.

Reading the bill’s policy trust, its sponsor, Hon Adetilewa Sijuwade, said it was aimed at controlling the activities of hoteliers and other related businesses, adding that, if passed into law, it would add to sources of Internally Generated Revenue for the state.

Supporting the passage of the bill, other lawmakers in their submissions, said it would boost the economy of the state.

NATIONAL MIRROR

Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has joined well-meaning Nigerians in commiserating with the family of late Remi Olowude, who passed on Sunday morning.

In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, Aregbesola described the death of Olowude as a big blow to the insurance world, the State of Osun and Nigeria as a whole.

The governor said the late insurance guru was an invaluable asset in the insurance sector.

Aregbesola said Olowude’s death has undoubtedly robbed the nation and insurance sector of another great personality.

“The death of Chief Remi Olowude is a sad one to us in Osun. Here is a man of immense qualities, which he had employed to promote everything ideal in his lifetime.

“Olowude, unarguably, distinguished himself in the insurance and business sector to the extent that his name became a household name across the country.

“Throughout his sojourn on the earthly surface, he distinguished himself as a man of immense wealth, a perfect gentle man and an Omoluabi per excellence, which is what Osun epitomises.

“There is therefore, no gainsaying the fact that Olowude’s exit would create a huge gap in the business and insurance sector in Nigeria.

“I, on behalf of the government and people of Osun offer our heartfelt condolences to the immediate and extended families of deceased as well as the insurance family.

“We pray that the Almighty God repose his gentle soul in paradise,” Aregbesola said.