The Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday highlighted not only the health but the the security challenges posed to any country by the scourge of Ebola virus.

The governor who conveyed a state security council and stakeholders meeting on the prevention of Ebola virus disease, at the Government House Banquet Hall held that any country under the threat of the epidemic risks loosing it’s sovereignty.

Aregbesola pointed out that all hands must be on deck on how to checkmate the disease ‎from entering the state, saying the state’s meagre resources should be concentrated on bringing about massive economic development.

The governor stressed that most of the countries affected are almost loosing their sovereignty because of the Ebola.

He said, “We should not see the disease as an ordinary health challenge but a situation that can be seen as a security problem for a state or a nation. That is why I have called all the security chiefs and all stakeholders to this meeting.

“I am happy that we now have a big relief in the state against the rumour of the virus in the state. God forbid it, I have been troubled ever since the news. HOw could we have coped with the little resources of the state? You should now go out to tell the world that there is no Ebola in Osun and that we will prevent it’s manifestation here at all cost.

“With all these countries around us, there are countries like Liberia, Sierra‎-Leone, Guinea and Congo that we need to support because they are too close for the comfort of our country. Our prayer is that the disease will not have place to stay in our land”. The governor prayed.

Speaking at the meeting, the Special Adviser to Governor Aregbesola on Health, Dr. Rafiu Isamotu noted that the state health ministry is prepared for the disease.

“We have set up various committee comprising 5 ministries meeting and sensitising peo‎ple on what to do and we have distributed personal protective equipment to  hospitals in the state.

“The ministry is not leaving any stone unturned on the issue of this Ebola virus. Personnel of our ministry are out to sensitize market ‎women, members of National Union of Road and Transport workers and other artisans. Jingle and enlightenment programmes are also on radio and television on how to prevent it”. Dr. Isamotu said

Also the representative of the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Olaniyi Onayemi said the university community is happy that the governor is interested in making the state Ebola-free.

The rumour that Ebola entered Osun through the university is false, “in OAU we have set up committee‎s on campus and also had a seminar on Ebola in school. We have forms for them to fill that will give a lead to where they have been before resumption.

“It was in the process that we got a lady who came out to say that she had contact will a victim in Porthacourt , she was taken to Lagos and the first test result showed that she is Ebola Negative.

“Foreign students have been asked to stay back for the session, those around who have not gone out of the country have been screened. As of now the reported lady is Ebola free.” The OAU don told the meeting.

The Government of the State of Osun under has categorically stated that the female student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) who was suspected to have the Ebola Virus Disease and evacuated to appropriate facility in Lagos State on, has tested negative to the virus.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr [Mrs] Temitope Ilori in a telephone interview with Bioreports on Thursday, September 11, 2014 said the student has been confirmed to be Ebola virus negative.

Ilori said there is no recorded case of Ebola in Osun, adding that, all machineries have been put in place to ensure that, the state is Ebola free.

According to the Commissioner, the OAU female student suspected to be a secondary contact of Ebola who was early Tuesday evacuated to appropriate facility in Lagos has been confirmed to be free of the virus.

She noted that Governor Rauf Aregbesola had met with State Committee on Ebola and Committee specially set up from the OAU to discuss on how to prevent the deadly disease from rearing its head in the state.

Ilori further stressed that the state government, in its quest to avert the spread of the viral disease in the state, her ministry would continue to work with management of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital as well as other stake holders in the state, in order to ensure that, Osun remain Ebola free.

It would be recalled that, OAU female student was said to have had primary contact with an EVD victim in Port Harcourt, and fell sick when she arrived the university and was rushed to OAUTHC.

There were rumours in most parts of state, on Tuesday, that a student of the OAU, Ile-Ife had contacted the virus and had been admitted at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital OAUTH, Ile-Ife.

BIOREPORT

Photos of the Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Managing Director, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor in his Office, Abere, State of Osun on Thursday 11-09-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) and Managing
Director, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, Mr Bode
Opadokun, during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor in his Office,
Abere, State of Osun on Thursday 11-09-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); Managing
Director, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Mr Bode
Opadokun (2nd left); Zonal Manager NAIC, Oyo State, Mr Rasheed
Ogunbiyi (left) and Branch Manager NAIC, Oyo State, Mrs Famodun Kemi,
during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor in his Office, Abere, State of
Osun on Thursday 11-09-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd right); Managing
Director, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Mr Bode
Opadokun (3rd left); Coordinator, Osun Quick Impact Intervention
Programme (QUIIP), Mr Dele Ogundipe (left); Osun Manager NAIC, Mr
Adelowo ‘Lekan (right); Zonal Manager NAIC, Oyo State, Mr Rasheed
Ogunbiyi (2nd left) and Branch Manager NAIC, Oyo State, Mrs Famodun
Kemi (2nd right), during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor in his
Office, Abere, State of Osun on Thursday 11-09-2014

The state of Osun contingent of the intending muslims pilgrims have been admonished to pray for the peace, progress and economic development of the state in the holy land of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola gave the admonition at the farewell ceremony for the 2014 muslim pilgrims.

A total of eight hundred and sixty-eight intending pilgrims which include self and government sponsored will attend this year’s Hajj operation from the state of Osun.

The first batch of the contingent will leave Osogbo for Lagos on Saturday and will finally depart the shore of this country in the evening of Sunday.

Previous Hajj operations since the inception of the present administration has been successful according to governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Expressing hope that this year’s Hajj operation will be better in terms of coordination, conduct and performance of the spiritual duties by the intending pilgrims, Governor Aregbesola enjoined them to consider Hajj as a call to duty in the ways of Allah.

He admonished them to make use of the exercise to seek spiritual rebirth and come back a new born who will submit themselves to the total will of Allah, while also charging them to be of good conduct and be clean at all times.

The Governor also demanded that the pilgrims while in the holy land should thank Allah on his behalf for his success at the just concluded gubernatorial elections in the state.

“Performing the hajj will make you as clean as a newborn. Anybody going to meet with God at the holy land has no business with filthy things. I urge you to make sure you present yourself holy before God.

“If you take your hajj operations very seriously you will get everything you desire before you leave this earth because God can do anything you ask from Him except He doesn’t want to do it.

“The hajj operations is very important aspect of Islam which should not be handled with kid gloves. So I urge you to take the exercise seriously and pray for the peace and economic development of the state of our”, Aregbesola stressed.

OSUN DEFENDER

With a meagre monthly allocation of an average of less than one billion naira from the Federation Account and an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of less than N1bn naira a month, Governor Rauf Aregbesola has maintained a motivated workforce paid as at when due; built, renovated and reconstructed primary and secondary school building across the state; rehabilitated, reconstructed and constructed health facilities; built and reconstructed roads and streets designed and completed with covered drains, walk ways and street lights; provided communities across the 30 local government areas in the state with potable water and electricity as well as flood control, environmental sanitation and beautification. Osogbo, the Osun State capital, is undoubtedly a cleaner, safer, orderly and beautiful city compared to the decay of the past. Compared with some Niger-Delta oil producing states’ huge monthly allocation of an average of N20bn and IGR receipt of N8bn, Governor Aregbesola by all standards qualifies to be termed a genius in financial management, prudence, accountability and transparency.

Governor Aregbesola introduced Sukuk Bond to fasttrack the state’s economic development. He knows that Sukuk, commonly referred to as the Islamic equivalent of bond, is opposed to conventional bonds, which merely confer ownership of a debt. Aregbesola knows that Sukuk grants the investors a share of an asset, along with the commensurate cash flows and risk. As such, Sukuk securities adhere to Islamic laws sometimes referred to as Shari’ah principles, which prohibit the charging or payment of interest. Governor Aregbesola wants to achieve rapid economic development for the people of the state and other Nigerians by catalysing both national and international trading infrastructure, product innovation and information flow within strong, transparent and well regulated standards and guidelines. The governor wants to promote acceptance and integration with mainstream markets.

According to the issuing houses, Governor Aregbesola’s sukuk initiative was said to be the first Islamic bond in sub-Saharan Africa. The Sukuk bond was issued in accordance with enactment of the Osun State Bonds, Notes and Other Securities Law 2012 and setting up the Osun Sukuk Company Plc. Though the governor knows that Sukuk is Islamic in nomenclature, the Sukuk bond is a conventional bond and coordinated by the regular investors in the nation’s capital and money market. The bond was issued in accordance with the Security and Exchange Commission’s rules and regulations. The N14. 4 billion sukuk (14. 75 percent) fixed return tranche 2 has 42 investors with Lotus Capital Limited as the leading issuing house and Augusto and co, one of Nigeria’s leading rating agencies, as the rating agent. The bond, which is being used to finance roads and school constructions across the state, is due in 2020. While authorising and approving the offer at the board meeting for the Sukuk Company, Aregbesola said his government took the sukuk bond as an opportunity for the development of the state. “In name, the bond is Islamic but it has the conventional bonds’ characteristics and is coordinated by the regular capital and money market investors.Out of the 42 investors, only one of them (Jaiz Bank) is Islamic and the name sukuk is just a nomenclature. The investors are regular Nigerians,” the governor said.

The emergence of Sukuk in Osun and indeed Nigeria has been one of the most significant developments in Islamic capital markets in recent years. Put simply, Sukuk instruments act as a bridge. They link their issuers, primarily sovereigns and corporations in Osun State,, Nigeria, Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, with a wide pool of investors, many of whom are seeking to diversify their holdings beyond traditional asset classes. In this way, funds raised through Sukuk can be allocated in an efficient and transparent way to infrastructure initiatives and other deserving projects in the 56 member countries of IDB, as well as communities in over 100 non-member countries.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) in Abuja has said that Osun’s debt profile is a sustainable one which is healthy for its economic development. Dr Abraham Nwankwo who is the Director General of DMO in the Presidency has said that Osun State is one of the best states in the federation with public debt management, describing the claims that Osun was heavily indebted as mere propaganda and hoax. Nigeria wants to make sure that all segments of the society is captured in the bond market because there are some groups of people or individuals who do not want to participate in ordinary bond because of interest. Osun took the initiative and helped in introducing Sukuk in Nigeria. This is Governor Aregbesola’s vision for the people of Osun and the rest of Nigeria by introducing Sukuk bond to sub Sahara Africa.

The governor understands how domestic and foreign investors buy Sukuk which have various structures approved by Shari’ah boards of Islamic scholars. He knows that Sukuk issuance has proven its resilience during recent periods of turbulence in global capital markets.

Governor Aregbesola understands that Sukuk will play a major role in the development of infrastructure and this is crucial to his vision of establishing Osun as a commercial hub for the South West of Nigeria.

Donald is the Director of Justice Research Centre, Benin City

TRIBUNE

It was a triumphant entry for the Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola when the Osun workforce literally “layed ambush” as he enters the Bola Ige House in Abere- where they welcomed him to office.

Trade Union Congress TUC Chairman Comrade Francis Adetunji said the gathering was a demonstration of their love for governor Aregbesola. His NLC counterpart Comrade Saka Adesiyan said “workers trooped out as a demonstration of natural support for our governor. This is just to show that we are unrelenting in our support for this man who has done so many good things for us- workers of Osun”

The head of service, Sunday Owoeye dedcribed the ocassion as unprecedented. “No governor has ever been welcomed to office by workers. This shows that for every action, there is reaction. This is a show of workers’ reaction to the numerous good things that Osun workers have enjoyed under your administration.”

Addressing the mammoth crowd of workers, Governor Rauf Aregbesola thanked them for standing by him during the last election.

He racalled how efforts were made by the opposition to fraudulently win the election. “They tried everything within their powers. They officially deployed 73 thousand security men to our state. That is minus the over 20 thousand impersonators in DSS uniform.

“They even have the guts to attempt entrance into my official residence on August 9. Led by the “election AIG”, Police Commissioner, and the one in charge of the Army. They claimed that they got intelligence that election rigging was underway in government house. They tried but they met the right resistance”, said governor Aregbesola.

He stressed that there was nothing within the powers of members of the opposition to “cause the longest civilian coup in the last election” that was not done.
Aregbesola added that God however showed that He was with Osun people during the last election when he was returned after all.

Against the rumours that there would be backlash on some workers who brazenly joined the frail of the opposition’s machinations to take over government, the Osun governor asured the workers that there will he no backlash whatsoever.

“I say it here openly that we will not carry out any reprisal on any worker for not voting for us in the last election”, Aregbesola said.

He added that it is the right of any Nigerian to support anybody through the ballot; including workers. He explained that it is however criminal that amy civil servant who pledged allegiance to the service and still went all out to openly express support for the opposition party on election day.

“Any worker who went partisan during the last election should please desist. Though we know some of them. We will not take any step against them but we plead with them to repent and let’s build our state togather. What happened last August 9 was God’s doing. And we are sure that whoever tries to cross God’s path will fail woefully”, Aregbesola said.

BIOREPORT

Semiu Okanlawon is the Director of Press to the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. In this interview with, he bares his mind on the last governorship election in the state, the on-going projects of the APC-led government, issues surrounding the Opon-Imo tablets and other issues. Excerpts…

What’s your observation on the outcome of the August 9, 2014, governorship election in the state?

What are some of the projects you inaugurated during that time?We never had doubts about victory. Up till two weeks before the election, we were still beginning new projects. We were so convinced of victory. It is not possible for people to drop what is good for what is bad.  People had tasted performance, they had tasted a kind of government that had elevated them and provided for them. So, we did not expect the people to jettison that for what was not good.

Shortly before the election, the Governor did the turning-of-the-sod of the assembly plant of small buses we called Korope. The assembling plant is at Dagbolu in Osogbo. If we were not so confident of victory, we would not be doing that. So, the issues of abandoning projects did not arise. Though we had some hitches financially before the election, and it was not only in Osun State – it was caused by unforeseen circumstances by the Federal Government. We had a 40 percent reduction in allocation and this was not a joke. It affected us badly but thanks to the foresightedness of our governor, Rauf Aregbesola. We had anticipated such things and we were able to pay salaries. Our opponents did not expect us to pay salaries but we were able to pay without borrowing. They did not expect us to pay salary and tried to turn the people against and thank God we scaled through the turbulent water. If you go round the state, you will see that the road projects, building projects are ongoing. We have assured people that at the end of this year we are going tom have mega class rooms that will contain not less than one hundred thousand pupils. So, if we are assuring people of that, we know what we are saying.

So far, we have constructed not less than 900 kilometers of road all over the state and more and still ongoing. We have so many other projects on health, security, agriculture and other infrastructure spread across the state. Just a few weeks before the election, we distributed state-of-the-art equipment and armored personnel carriers (APC) to the Police. This is to tell you that we were never bothered.  Our opponents are so good at propaganda and they were able to change the mind of some people but they were not able to do that for the majority of our people because they know them. Election came and it has gone, we have fought a battle and now we are concerned with how we will make life more meaningful to the people of the state. The government is a continuum and we will continue with our good works. Of course, if a government knows that the only reason why the people are so personate about it and so adamant that this is the kind of government they want, then the only thing you can do is to keep on doing what endeared you to them.

There is this fear that most governments and governors who won second term don’t perform the way they did in their first term. What is your take on this?

Let me tell you one thing: this government of Rauf Aregbesola is a government that put people at the centre of all that it is doing and I tell you it can never falter, whether first term or second term. I don’t see the reason that will make Governor Rauf Aregbesola not to perform more than what he did in the first term. The first four years was like when a plane was trying to take off, which was the most turbulent time, now that it has reached the cruising level, it has stabilized. The rate at which people will see development will even be faster than before. When we came, we met a rotten state, now – after removing all the obstacles to development – is it now that we have solved all the problems we met on the ground that we will not be  able to perform? When we came, we met a terrible situation and thank God we have put an end to those problems and the people of the state are beginning to see developments like they had never seen before. If you have seen anything like governors not performing in second term in other states, that cannot happen in this state. I assure you that in four years’ time, the people of the state will tell you that the first term was just a stepping stone. The real construction in the state has just begun.

What is the assurance that developments going on in the state will get to the nooks and crannies of the state?

Let me tell you this, I can beat my chest anywhere that what is being witnessed in the state has never been seen before now. There is no part of the state that is not experiencing developments.  Places were there are no schools now have schools, places without hospitals now have it, in most places where hospitals have collapsed, the Rauf Aregbesola’s government has rebuilt them with drugs, school pupils are not been well fed. In Osun of today, everywhere is witnessing developments.

You said hospitals have been rebuilt, but when I was coming into the state, I saw an abandoned general hospital at Ikire, what is the state doing about rehabilitating it, or is there any other hospital in the town?

There is another hospital in the town. It was relocated several years ago when they people said the place was been regularly attacked by armed robbers. The place has been like that long time ago, it even preceded Oyinlola’s regime.

On Opon-Imo tablets, Prof Adeyeye spoke on a Televeison programme before the election that the Opon Imo has some issues. How soon will those issues be resolved?

There are no serious issues surrounding Opon-Imo. The opposition just tried to make an issue out of the collection of the tablets back from the pupils.  They made it looked to then people that the collection was because of any fault. The agreement was that when you are passing out of school, you are going to drop it. There was a case of a few of them who failed to return those tablets and we have to retrieve it from them.

What I learnt was that the tablets have technical issues from Evans Publishers, which owns the copyright for the e-book used for the tablets. How true is this?

It was from Evans that we got the e-book and if there is no problem with the hard book, there cannot be any problem with the Opon-Imo tablet. There is no issue whatsoever with the tablets. Currently, theOpon-Imo is being revised. Let me tell you, is there any device that doesn’t need upgrading? Look at ipad by Apple; they keep upgrading it with several innovations. I don’t know why some people are afraid of innovations. The question we should ask those who are making noise about the tablet is that, did they come close to this innovation? The answer is no; and I don’t understand why they are making noise about it. They said it is Ibo made. Even if it is Hausa made or China made, the fact is that we are doing something. If we do not attempt to do something, will there be an Opon-Imo tablet? Let them also begin to think of what they can do and not to pull down and innovation like this. Nobody can destroy Opon-Imo and it has come to stay. Subsequent governments after us will only build on it. It has become our educational standard. Nobody, no matter how wicked a government it is, will tell the people that it can not continue with Opon-Imo. The people will revolt, parents will revolt and students will stone such person. You can only come and improve on it.

At the launch of Opon-Imo, the Governor said the state will build a factory where the tablets will be manufactured. How far has the state gone with that?

Yes, the factory is on-going and it is one of the ways the governor want to create employment for the people. The Governor said out of the 1,500 units of the tablets, 50,000 will be imported and that the rest 100,000 units will be manufactured by the company.

Will the 50,000 units be enough for the SS1 to SS3 in the state?

When we first took delivery of the first batch, we prioritized it and we first gave them to those students in the final year. I mean students that are about to write their West African Examination Council exams. We were giving them out as we collect them. We collected them in batches. There was no student who did not get his tablet.

DAILY INDEPENDENT

Students of Osun State University, UNIOSUN, in Faculty of Humanities and Culture, Ikire, have called on the state deputy governor who doubles as Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Titi-Laoye Tomori, to wade into crisis rocking the university.

In a press release which was jointly signed by the faculty students’ association outgoing president, Siji Samson and the president elect, Abubakar Basit, the students made the call and prayed the deputy governor to facilitate reopening of their campus to enable them complete their course works and sit for exams.

The faculty was on Saturday, 16th of August, 2014, closed indefinitely owing to violent protest by students of the institution over an ugly accident which occurred when the vehicle conveying some students on excursion to Oke-Ila, a town in Ifedayo local government area of the state, had an accident.

Siji and Basit said further that the ugly news of the unpleasant accident was received with shock and its aftermath; violent protest which led to indefinite closure of Ikire campus on 16th of August, 2014, was regrettable.

The press statement read in part: “With the compromise reached by our parents on 6th of September, 2014, concerning the closure of our campus, we pray your Excellency to facilitate reopening of our classes to enable us complete our course works and sit for our exams.”

“The current reality of this critical matter and threats posed by the indefinite closure of the campus stopping us from writing our second semester examination, has already put us behind our colleagues, who had on 8th of September, 2014, commenced rain semester examination in other campuses of our reputable institution.”

“While we appreciate the management’s concern, we appeal to them to bury the hatchet. It is enough that the unique opportunity to display our civility in such a matter that could have marked the end of our frustration was misused.”

“We do not share the position and sentiments of those justifying the vandalisation of school properties, but we charge the school management to address students’ grievances and resolve whatever issue that arose from the incident with fairness and not by throwing out the baby with birthing water.”

BIOREPORT

COMMITTED to checkmating any incidence of Ebola Disease Virus (EVD) in Osun State, the state government’s committee on the monitoring and prevention of the scourge, on Tuesday, organised a sensitisation workshop for leaders of transport unions in Osogbo.
Addressing participants at the workshop, the Director of Primary Health Care (PHC) and Disease Control in the Ministry of Health, Dr Kayode Ogunniyi, warned commercial drivers against movement of corpses from outside the state to Osun, stressing that such practice was capable of aiding the spread of EVD to the state.
He charged members of National Union of Roads and Transport Workers (NURTW) to request for death certificate of any corpse, with a view to ascertain the cause of death as a precautionary measure to prevent Ebola disease.
Ogunniyi, who underscored the need for effective hygiene among all stakeholders in combating Ebola disease, described the transport unions as key integral parts of the society, stressing that it was imperative for them to collaborate with government and relevant agencies in the fight against the EVD.
According to him, “the virus is more contagious among dead bodies than the living being,” saying that the people should desist from moving close to corpses.
In her remark, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Temitope Ilori, said the essence of the workshop was to teach the officers of the union how to prevent the scourge from getting into the state.
Participants at the workshop included leaders of the NURTW, RTEAN, Cooperative Transport owners, ACOMORON and others.
SCANNEWS
 

The Osun Rural and Mobility Project (O’RAMP) is to begin repair work on rural roads in the state.

The coordinator of O’ RAMP, Mr Adelere Oriolowo, told NAN in Osogbo on Tuesday that the state government was committed to maintenance of rural roads in order to boost agricultural production.

The initiative, according to him, would facilitate easy transportation of agricultural produce from rural areas to urban centres.

He also said government would carry out the exercise through direct labour with the use of road maintenance gangs made up of youths.

Oriolowo said an agreement on the initiative had already been signed, adding that, government would ensure quality work through effective monitoring.

The project coordinator also said females would be involved in the project.

PM NEWS