Mr Najeem Salaam is the  Speaker of the House State House of Assembly. In this interview, Salaam maintains that the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election will not have any impact in Osun State. The Speaker also chided the Federal Government for allegedly stifling  the state by deducting it’s allocation. Excerpts:

How do you respond to President Goodluck Jonathan’s remarks that his party, the PDP, will reclaim Osun State?

Well, people are entitled to their opinions. As a politician and as president who belongs to a political party, he is entitled to his own opinion. He can say whatever he wants whichever way he wants to say it. But that is not the reality on ground in Osun state.

That will also lead me to react to what the Vice President, Namadi Sambo said that the man who came through the back door, will surely go through the back door. He was referring to the judgement of a competent court as a back door judgement. That is the implication of what he is saying. It is a bad signal he is sending to the judiciary and to the country.

President Jonathan has a right to speak on. Behalf of his party, but he should be mindful and careful of what his utterances in order not to cause chaos.

What effect do you think the Ekiti poll will have on Osun governorship election?

It does not have any serious impact in Osun State as far as we are concerned but it boosted the ego of the PDP. The PDP knows that Osun is unlike Ekiti State. What the governor has done so far will give our party victory on August 9. We know and the PDP knows that Ekiti and Osun states differ and the outcome will be in our favour.

Are you not worried over the growing level of attacks at the campaign rallies?

I am worried because of the violence that the PDP has introduced to the campaign rallies. I am also worried when the candidate of a political party is being guarded by masked persons. That is not democracy.

Look at the number of troops deployed to Ekiti State and from what we are hearing, they want to double the troops to be deployed to Osun state.

Are you kicking against the use of troops deployment for the August 9 elections?

Yes. We do not need it. What we are saying is that we have soldiers at Ede, they can make use of those rather than importing troops and security personnel into the state. If troops are imported, no one will detect real or fake soldiers.

In the constitution of our country, the only person who can declare curfew in a state is the governor unless there is a serious crisis. We are not at war, we are only preparing for elections. Why should they say people should not move from Friday, August 8 till Saturday night. Movement should not be restricted, they should not unnecessarily heat up the polity in Osun state.

But there have been insinuations that some members of your party have been using the State Boys to cause mayhem?

I have not seen where the State Boys were used to cause mayhem in the state.

But some members of the State Boys were arrested after a rally at Ilesha?

Those that were arrested were coming from a rally, they were not involved in any vice, they were stopped and picked up by the security agencies. Let me tell you that the plan of the PDP is to implicate some APC leaders in order to get them arrested.

Your party has raised an alarm over a plan to assassinate the governor.

In every rumour, there is an element of truth. Not only the governor, most of us have been listed.

Have you made any formal report to the Police?

We are waiting because we do not know what is wrong with the system. We do not know who to report to, we do not know who to trust or who can secure you. One is scared to report.

The government has been accused of not doing any new basic infrastructure?

People that are blind cannot see what we are doing. If one is blind, he or she will not see the development going on in Osun State. There is no local government in this state that does not have a tarred road inspite of the meagre resources we have.

Not minding the dwindling allocation to the state, we are moving on. We have managed to pay salaries and execute developmental projects. The federal government does not give us money because they do not want us to perform, all in the name of politics.

That is against the principle of true federalism. We have been denied funds to uplift our people. Some people are jittery because Aregbesola is performing.

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This is a poll conducted by TNS-RMS, a member of Gallup International and the image below breaks this down in an infographic manner. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook (Government of the State of Osun) or Twitter @stateofosun. To download, click here – A4-OsunOpinionPoll-info-1.

 
 

Photos of the Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola during the Official Launch of Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme-Technology (OYES-TECH) at Government House Lawn, Osogbo, State of Osun, during the weekend

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); Managing Director, Osun Investment Company Limited (OSICOL), Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji (2nd left); Regional Director West/Central Africa, RLG Communications, Mr Tosin Ilesanmi (left) and Mr Basiru Adewale, during the Official Launch of Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme-Technology (OYES-TECH) at Government House Lawn, Osogbo, State of Osun, during the weekend

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); Regional Director West/Central Africa, RLG Communications, Mr Tosin Ilesanmi (right); Managing Director, Osun Investment Company Limited (OSICOL), Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji (2nd left) and Mr Fakayode John (left), during the Official Launch of Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme-Technology (OYES-TECH) at Government House Lawn, Osogbo, State of Osun, during the weekend

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd left); Regional Director West/Central Africa, RLG Communications, Mr Tosin Ilesanmi (2nd right); Managing Director, Osun Investment Company Limited (OSICOL), Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji (left) and Mrs Lawal Rasidat (right), during the Official Launch of Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme-Technology (OYES-TECH) at Government House Lawn, Osogbo, State of Osun, during the weekend

From right, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Managing Director, Osun Investment Company Limited (OSICOL), Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji; Regional Director West/Central Africa, RLG Communications, Mr Tosin Ilesanmi and Head Commercial Unit, RLG Communications, Mr Emeka Nkpa, during the Official Launch of Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme-Technology (OYES-TECH) at Government House Lawn, Osogbo, State of Osun, during the weekend

Friday, May 24, 2013, thirty-five governors gathered to vote for the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). With the initial postponement and intrigues that surrounded it, it was going to be a night of long knives.

With the Presidency interested in the outcome and with Governor Rotimi Amaechi determined to give it another shot in spite of his open confron­tation with the President, it was going to take more than ordi­nary determination to navigate the treacherous waters. It would take grit, uncommon courage and the ability to outfox the henchmen of the Presidency. At the entrance of the venue of the election, all the Governors were mandated to submit all their mobile phones.

But one man particularly sus­pected there was going to be foul play so he sneaked in a pen cam­era. He recorded the vote count­ing surreptitiously until when Governor Godswill Akpabio no­ticed they were being secretly re­corded. When controversy sprang up on the actual winner of the contest, he released the video to the public. The man who exposed the lie was Ogbeni Rauf Aregbe­sola, the Governor of Osun State.

Controversy is his middle name. For nine months, he operat­ed solely without commissioners. He renamed Osun State and gave it a new nomenclature: ‘State of Osun.’ He fashioned a new educa­tional policy and called it reclas­sification of schools. In one fell swoop, schools were merged and bedlam ensued.

In spite of the unending contro­versies and despite the appoint­ment of an Osun State indigene, Jelili Adesiyan, as the Minister of Police Affairs, it is my carefully considered opinion that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola will win the Au­gust 9 election. Here’s why I think he will trump Otunba Iyiola Omi­sore, the PDP’s candidate.

Iyiola Omisore is not Peter Ayodele Fayose. He lacks the cha­risma of Fayose. He is not a Jimi Agbaje. He lacks the character of Agbaje. He doesn’t have the mass appeal. You cannot deny that he has a semblance of structure hav­ing been the Deputy Governor of the State and also a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In addition, his campaign is a poor caricature of Ayodele Fay­ose’s. Whoever is his campaign director needs to get fired as he has run one of the most bizarre and lacklustre campaigns ever. His efforts to align with the mass­es fell flat- his handling of two roasted corn cobs in both hands, his ride to a campaign venue on an ‘okada’ and his absurd combi­nation of two different ‘Ankara’ materials as cloth, are images that have defined his campaign. He has not successfully exploited Rauf Aregbesola’s obvious weak­nesses.

When it was time to debate Og­beni, he didn’t show up. That was an opportunity to redeem himself but he failed to utilize it. Ayo Fay­ose challenged Kayode Fayemi for a walk on the streets of Ado-Ekiti but Iyiola Omisore claimed he didn’t come for the debate be­cause he didn’t want Ogbeni to beat him up.

In fact, Ogbeni will be gifted this election not because of his superlative performance but pri­marily because of Omisore’s can­didature.

No situation exacerbated the looming disunity in Osun State PDP than the statement credited to the Minister for Police Affairs that he will beat Senator Isiaka Adeleke when he leaves office. Adeleke claimed he was assaulted during a party meeting and he subsequently defected to APC. Fatai Akinbade, a former Chair­man of the State PDP and a man who served three different times as Commissioner under three dif­ferent military regimes, also de­fected to the Labour Party.

Former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola has not come out openly in support of Iyiola Omisore de­spite belonging to the same party. In fact, he was even courted by the top echelon of the APC. As a former National Secretary of the party and also a former Governor of the State, his body language speaks volumes. Oyinlola is a Prince of Okuku, the capital of Odo-Otin Local Government, one of the 30 Local Government areas in Osun State. It is instructive to note that Odo-Otin is one of the three local government council areas with the highest number of 15 wards in the state after Osogbo and Iwo.

In spite of his controversies, only a blind man will ignore Og­beni’s performance. He has built mega schools, many of them super infrastructures with com­mendable appurtenances. He has constructed over 20 intercity roads and more than 15 intra-city roads. This is apart from some very ambitious dualization proj­ects embarked upon. The free festive inter-city train ride from Lagos to Osogbo has become a constant feature of his administra­tion. I was informed that he has built 74 primary health Centres all over Osun State. He has increased IGR in Osun from N300m to N1.6b and has not been known to borrow from any financial insti­tution, save for the Islamic bond he took. His O’Meals project is laudable. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying the fact that he has improved the face of gover­nance in the state.

Ogbeni has embarked on a blitzkrieg of a campaign. Maybe due to the lessons learnt from Ekiti’s recent election, he has left no stone unturned. This is the first time I’m seeing an incumbent campaign as if he’s the underdog. He has run a very good campaign so far- both terrestrially and on so­cial media. Going by his student unionism antecedents, one is not too surprised that he has at least two former student leaders in his cabinet and they are both active in running his campaign. Most of the controversial issues raised have been either effectively addressed or well mitigated by this team.

When the issue of religious fundamentalism came up, they re­leased the video of Bishop David Oyedepo’s visit. Ogbeni has been photographed genuflecting to Pas­tor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. He attended a major night vigil orga­nized by a white garment church. He has been dancing ‘skelewu’ at all rallies to show he can connect with the populace.

He has run his campaign with­out Bola Tinubu being visible so the issue of the overbearing influ­ence of the APC leader has been largely well managed. Ogbeni runs the best propaganda machin­ery in the South West and the ef­fect can be seen in how he has successfully diverted attention from his controversies.

I therefore have no doubt that he is going to win the governor­ship election of August 9 in a landslide.

Adeyinka writes from Lagos.

SUNNEWS

S

The election on Saturday is a battle between good and evil. For those who think that the way to win is to seek violence, manipulate elections and turn the state into a platform for contagion, they should beware. The signs are bad. What is at stake is not Omisore, or Aregbesola. What is at stake is not PDP or APC, or stomach infrastructure.
What is at stake is the honour and survival of this democracy. Those who want to sacrifice their state and the high horse of integrity should not conflate their private estate with the vast and variegated behemoth of Nigeria. Power is an aphrodisiac. It elevates before it destroys. The tragedy is that when it destroys, it sometimes does not destroy the source of calamity. It throws its power on the innocent. The people of Osun must be ready to defend their votes and not yield to the intimidation of the military.
There is life after election. But to those who seek power by all means, they have no life if they don’t win. They have no right to impose that on the rest of us. The good is a free and fair poll. The evil is rigging. The choice is clear!
THE NATION

The same way it was set up in Ekiti State ahead of June 21 governorship election, a dark cloud has again started looming over Yorubaland ahead of the gubernatorial election in Osun State this Saturday.
With similar technique the political desperadoes used to truncate realities that tactically shoved Dr. Kayode Fayemi, a man of integrity out of governorship office by hook or by crook, efforts are on again to steal and kill the true will of the people of Osun as was done in Ekiti.
This season, election rigging strategy in Nigeria is changing from the way it used to be. What the managerial manipulators are now doing is beyond taking good performers out of office, it is more about butchering democracy to revert the nation to a one-party territory as was under the excruciating military era. Where election is not being technically rigged via technology, resources meant for crucial needs of the masses are being shared to charade legislators for impeachment of governors in any of the states desperately hunted to sustain presidential position.
Please, be reminded that whatever allegations were asserted to push Admiral Murtala Nyako (Rtd) out of Adamawa State governorship seat was an old tale of when he was on the side of the ruling political party. Shifting to the opposition party brought the challenge of his old “sins.” Currently going on is the desperate efforts to delete Nassarawa State from the opposition kingdom. Chitchats on desires to extract Edo, Oyo, Borno, Imo and Rivers states governors through legislative hara-kiri are no odd news.
Nothing would be wrong for a governor or any elected officer to be voted out by the people or impeached for abusing his office. But everything becomes wrong when people are misleadingly lobbied with what is now called ‘stomach infrastructure’ or legislators get desperate to impeach because they were bribed with massive public fund to attain self-centered political aspiration by all means. Indeed, if democracy is to have impactful reward, such corrupt people are the ones eligible for elimination from their elected seats.
Fact: Impeachment plots are being prompted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the aim of crushing opposition parties ahead of 2015 general elections. Watch NTA and AIT, move around Abuja and see billboards, President Goodluck Jonathan is already rapidly campaigning for his re-election even as he is yet to publicly declare his intention or chosen democratically by his party.
With the gubernatorial election in Osun State now at hand, one of the strategies used to pilfer Ekiti has commenced. As was the case in June, the massive militarisation of Osun ahead of Saturday had already started. Last week, Osun people were being intimidated to see their environment as war zone. More than 5,000 operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) have been deployed, with abundant military and policemen, fallaciously showcasing an assignment to maintain law and order before and during the election. The pretension became reality when a group of the operatives that were masked, with others wearing black T-shirts stormed the streets of Osogbo, shooting sporadically into the air, causing panic in the state capital.
Not that the authority in power that mandated the armed forces was unaware of the right step for the protection of people of the state. They know that under the Electoral Act, troops are not supposed to be deployed to polling stations, just as police personnel deployed to polling booths are not expected to carry arms. But since the illegal deployments for militarization and harassment made all manner of ignorant commentators to see the Ekiti election as “peaceful,” “free and fair,” why not capture Osun through such means to the hand of the clueless headship that wants to remain in power at all costs? Or isn’t it astonishing that Boko Haram is not being militarized with such massive forces as being done for elections in states that “must be won?” After all, Ondo and Anambra states were not as embattled with security forces as we are now seeing.
It is only genuine leadership that can know that for a nation to move forward, stipulated procedure cannot be compromised. Let there be realization that whenever the contrary is done, the eventual consequence will be catastrophic. When law is set aside, illegality is perpetrated and grave injury is inflicted on the spirit of the nation. This is to say that jeopardy to democracy becomes potent when those who are supposed to stand by the dictates of the law are the very ones used to desecrate the same law.
Without spinning politics to tribalism, the certainty is that South-west has been a target for political attack. Apart from the few egocentric individuals with self-interests, Yoruba masses have hardly benefitted federal dividends since 1999. In 2009, the new Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi lambasted the Yoruba nation as “the problem with Nigeria.” He wrote: “In sum, the Yoruba political leadership, as mentioned by Balarabe Musa, has shown itself over the years to be incapable of rising above narrow tribal interests and reciprocating goodwill from other sections of the country by treating other groups with respect. Practically every crisis in Nigeria since independence has its roots in this attitude.”
Some of the Sanusi details might be factual, there are many minuses. He could not understand the way Yoruba people are being used as damaging tools against their land. He failed to recount the likes of S.L Akintola, Remi Fani-Kayode, Richard Akinjide’s stalling Pa Obafemi Awolowo’s sincere potentials to develop the nation as he did to his people. He also didn’t remember that when Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was in power, none of his terms was ever assigned to benefit his own people. After all, it was under him that Senator Rashidi Ladoja was debased as Oyo State Governor because of personal variance with him. Sanusi couldn’t appreciate that there is no political gain for Obasanjo who is not even honoured in his ward today. A president who thought all was well because he was in power and did not work for legacy, must be realizing now that the power of man cannot last forever.
Those who really know who Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is will appreciate his humility, creativity and commitment to establish a legacy of good efforts. This is a man who can work 24 hours a day to achieve a purpose beneficial to his people. His assigned grassroots politics is dissimilar to Ekiti’s Ayo Fayose and Osun’s Iyiola Omisore kangaroo tactics. He is a proven devoted politician with agenda which he works to fulfill – just as Fayemi in Ekiti, Adams Oshiomhole in Edo, Babatunde Fashola in Lagos and all his other South-west colleagues attain whatever they pledge to do.
Today, many Yorubas are being used against the goodness of their own land. A generation desperate for money is unmindful of their future with alignment to political party that is not of viable interest to their people. If indeed there is love for the populace, why should PDP choose cantankerous stuffs like Fayose, and Omisore in a Yorubaland of numerous men of value? How much care about the real roles Musiliu Obanikoro and Jelili Adesiyan played in the Ekiti election – with recollection that they pierced into the state when some governors coming in to support Fayemi were barred by the military troops acting on nebulous “order from above.”
Isn’t it time for Yoruba people to recollect their past and see where they are and where their adversary want to lead them to? Just as late Bob Marley sang in Exodus, “Look within; are you satisfied with the life you’re living?” Should the antagonists of Yoruba progress again be allowed to be raised from the land to frustrate the true will of Osun people?
Will the good people of Osun by intimidation consent to the downgrading of their state which Ogbeni is restructuring credibly – in deed and in truth? Just like late maestro Hubert Ogunde demanded: Yoruba ro’nu, how I wish Osun electorates will think deep of their tomorrow and allow good works to continue by rising for the good performer to complete the remarkables he has started; let the untrustworthy politician who has nothing to offer be cast away. Nothing can stop dedicated people from defending their votes – not even being tricked to partake in voters’ falsification.
NATION

The Director-General of the Osun APC Campaign Organisation, Professor Olusola Adeyeye, has said that the Governor of the State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, has shown, with his performances, that he is the best thing ever to happen to the state.

He was on Politics Today on Channels Television, where he enumerated several developments in the state as it prepares for its governorship election slated for August 9, 2014.

He said that the evidence of a serious governor had become noticeable right from the boundary of Osun with Oyo State, as the quality of life has generally improved for the citizens of the state.

With emphasis on the youths of the state, he noted that as regards employment, the Governor has been able to create a scheme that is better than the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) by engaging the youths in jobs that are beneficial to the environment and by paying attention to training and development.

‘State of Osun’

In response to critics, Prof. Adeyeye also defended the Governor’s decision to change the nomenclature of the state from the regular Osun State to ‘The State of Osun’, claiming that the decision to stand out was the beauty of federalism.

There had been the impression that the citizens of the state were not consulted in the decision to rearrange the name the state, but he debunked the claim, insisting that the people of Osun were overwhelmingly in support of their Governor. He added that those criticizing the re-branding move were only chasing shadows.

Having recalled that the launch of the Osun flag was also criticized for having a cowrie, he said that any criticism of the ideas of the Governor, or a demand for change would only be valid if it came from the citizens and not from mischief makers, who while covering their own acts of idolatry, have decided to “demonise” the Governor, who is a devoted Muslim promoting the state’s culture.

Adeyeye believes that based on his performance in the State of Osun, Governor Aregbesola deserves to be scored 95% . “You judge a man for what he has done by the magnitude of his resources”, he said, explaining that without being an oil producing state, the development in the state has been unprecedented.

He also took a swipe at President Jonathan for promising during campaigns to help states when they vote for his party. He condemned the statement which he said implied that he (President) would only develop states governed by the PDP.

Education Policy

On education, he noted that prior to the governorship of Aregbesola, Osun State had been in the last position in the country based on the performances of its students in NECO exams, but by 2012, one year into his leadership, Osun placed 18th, and in addition to this, he has also achieved a 62% increase in primary school enrolment in the state.

The Professor of Biology also provided explanations for the state’s widely criticized inability to pay its workers’ salaries at some point. He gave an insight into the financial challenges of the state and how the Governor was able to resolve the challenges.

Opon Imo, which is the state’s attempt to use Information and Communication Technology to enhance the learning process in its schools, has been alleged to be a scam for having an 80% error rate, leading to its withdrawal, and Prof Adeyeye said that this was a lie.

He revealed that the tablet, which was given the indigenous name, Opon Imo, was a digital device that contained a compilation of educational books by Evans Publishers and if there were errors in the printed version of those books they would be carried into the digital form and this should not be blamed on the State Government’s idea.

He went ahead to explain the rationale behind the Governor’s efforts in the education sector, especially the restructuring of schools in the state, which included the nonavailability of enough teachers for important subjects and this necessitated some mergers.

He also debunked allegations that the contract for the Osun schools uniforms was executed by the wife of the Governor. He explained that a Lagos based company, Sam and Sarah, handled the contract because they provided the best bid and showed the capacity to do a good job.

He revealed that the company also got some funding from the Bank of Industry to execute the project and this led to a branch of the company being built in Osun State based on the Governor’s insistence that the project must benefit the state by way of creating jobs for the citizens. He added that the company remained 100% owned by its original owners and has nothing to do with the wife of the Governor.

He maintained that the allegations against the Governor were baseless as all he had done was in the interest of the people.

On Governor Aregbesola’s manifesto for his re-election bid, Professor Adeyeye stated that the Governor’s vision for the second term was a complete transformation of the education sector, the development of a new Ile-Ife town and more infrastructural development for the people.

He promised that by the time the Aregbesola leadership rounds off its second term, the state would have experienced a total transformation.

CHANNELS TV

For me, the APC couldn’t have a better ambassador. The man is the personification of the APC Roadmap. All his programmes are sustainable and impact on every layer of the society. Everyone is taken care of; the civil servants, farmers, youth, women, politicians etc.
I have been privileged to work closely with some people within the All Progressives Congress and I must say, it is always an honour to hear them talk. Of course, not everyone  in the APC illuminates the room with their wisdom or does the most impressive things. We have dumb people too, corrupt ones as well. But, I have seen some of the smartest people work their magic with brilliant ideas and amazing work and I feel so proud knowing we have them on our side.
For a long time, I always considered Governor Raji Fashola as Nigeria’s best performing public office holder. Who could you blame me? Lagos speaks for itself. When I first arrived in this city in the latter part of 2008, I never experienced the horror show everyone threatened Lagos would be. Oshodi was cleared and made motorable before my very eyes, as I reported all the happenings as a journalist working for NEXT. I also love the man’s style. I looked up to him and still do. But, I think someone else is taking his spot in my heart and that person is none other than the incumbent governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
I believe Ogbeni’s style of leadership, which I have heard being called “Government Unusual”, is the kind Africa needs today. It is a style that is aggressive and passionate at the same time. It is one that seeks to comfort the grassroots and satisfy the political class simultaneously. Ogbeni is using all the machinery of governance to energise his people to excellence. No single household in the state hasn’t been touched in more ways than one by the many sustainable projects the man has embarked on. And the branding – Osun’s and Ogbeni’s – is near-perfect.
I have told the story of my first personal contact with Ogbeni so many times but I’ll do so again here. It was the in September 2010 at Camp Ribadu in Abuja and Ogbeni was giving us a pep talk. He said so many things but the one that I would never forget was his promise to give Osun students an e-tablet. At the time, the election tribunal sitting on his case was in its third year and there was little hope of him winning. What audacity did he have to be making such plans?
I found out later that Ogbeni’s plan for his dear state had been ready many years before he sought the mandate to lead it. He was well prepared for the task of governance; leadership didn’t come to him by chance. Honestly, leadership shouldn’t come to anyone by chance. Our present president is an easy example of a headship calamity.
When you consider what Ogbeni has achieved in Osun state as a whole in the time he has been governor, you will agree that it is amazing. Here is a man, who while recognizing the limitations of the funds that would be available to him, refused to allow said limitations to hinder his dreams. By blocking most of the leakages through which funds disappear, exponentially increasing the money generated internally, structuring payments for contractors in a manner beneficial to the state and uncovering innovative ways to get almost interest-free loans, the man has been able to do the impossible. Today, all six of the governor’s agendas are being met; Banish Hunger, Banish Poverty, Banish Unemployment Promote Functional Education, Restore Healthy Living, Enhance Communal Peace and Progress.
When a governor designs and implements a programme that takes 40, 000 youths off the streets, simultaneously injecting N2.4b into the grassroots economy over the space of three years, you must applaud the genius in him. When he also launches a scheme that sees all 750,000 children in public schools clothed, while 3,000 tailors are empowered, you must doff your hat. When you see hundreds of kilometers of intra-state roads being built, alongside superhighway interstate roads, with the payments phased to suit a small state, you should marvel. And when you discover that the state has been surviving on no more than N3.2b per month this year, you should scream.
That is the governance Ogbeni is putting out there. A government that is responsible and caring. A government where the masses are at its core.
It is crucial to note that in spite of the 34th position of Osun on the Federal Allocation table, Ogbeni’s developmental programmes have never taken a pause. Osun has never, in its 19 years of existence, generated no more than N300 million as IGR. Today, it is generating about N1.6 billion. The 433 per cent upsurge in IGR in about three years was achieved without any increase in tax. From the latest figures released, Osun has the seventh largest GDP in the country. And growing.
How Ogbeni does this and still retains his humility and lean frame is astonishing. His energy is boundless and his vision is sure. His control of Osun politics is not in doubt. Even the children know the symbol of the party and scream “Change!” each time the word APC echoes.
For me, the APC couldn’t have a better ambassador. The man is the personification of the APC Roadmap. All his programmes are sustainable and impact on every layer of the society. Everyone is taken care of; the civil servants, farmers, youth, women, politicians etc.
The style of governance that blends welfarism with a firm eye on the economic and intellectual emancipation of the people is what I hope the APC will imbibe at all levels of government. In Ogbeni, they have the symbol of what needs to be done. With a broom in his hand, and God by his side, he is leading his people out of poverty and into prosperity. His four more years is a done deal!
YNAIJA

Ahead of the August 9 governorship election, Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has reaffirmed that total transformation of the state remains his top priority.

Aregbesola was speaking while rendering account of his stewardship during a programme organised by All Christian Leaders and Ministers Forum (ACLMF) at the auditorium of Olorunda Local Government Secretariat, Oshogbo, Osun State.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Laoye Tomori, declared that his administration was determined and focused on ensuring total transformation of the state to a modern mega city.

Aregbesola maintained that his government’s resolve to turn around the fortunes of the state has redefined governance in the state and thus has given democracy its real meaning as a government of the people.

He noted that about 20,000 youth were employed by the state within his first month in office through the Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme (O’YES) as a result of his devotion to constructive engagement of the youth.

In addition, he said, his administration has showed commitment to education with the on-going overhauling of school infrastructure, training and development of teachers, encouraging basic school enrolment through free meals and uniforms, and lately the launch of the “Opon Imo” or “Tablet of Knowledge”, mini computers consisting over 65 textbooks covering various subjects, to be distributed free to all secondary school students in the state.

Earlier in his address, the National President of ACLMF, Rev. Sam Ogedengbe, explained that it has been the practice of the group to invite candidates to reel out their plans and manifestos to the people before being elected and at the same time, after being elected, to render account of their stewardship to members of the public.

DAILY INDEPENDENT