The Governing Council, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, has directed all staff of the institution to resume for administrative and academic activities on Monday, May 19.

This is contained in a release signed by the registrar of the institution, Busari Salawu.

According to Salawu who is also the Secretary of the Council, all members of staff of the institution were enjoined to resume to their respective duty posts on Monday.

The release also directed all students of the institution who are on mid-semester break to resume for academic activities on the afore-mentioned date.

As the August election draws near, the governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday appealed to traditional rulers in the state to redouble their efforts at ensuring that peace prevails in the state.

This was even as traditional rulers at the end of the two-day conference were unanimous in their call for the unity of the Yoruba people as one indivisible entity.‎

The governor while delivering his address at ‎the closing ceremony of a two-day conference organised for frontline traditional rulers in the state held at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo held that election periods are always a defining moment in the polity of the country.

He described the role of traditional rulers as one that is vital to the effective governance of Nigeria.‎‎ Aregbesola held that traditional rulers have equal duty in ensuring that democracy does not fail in their time.

He said, “You owe it to your people to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections in your various domains. It behoves you all to mobilise the people not to allow enemies of democracy to subvert the will of the people in the oncoming polls through rigging and violence. The good people of Osun deserve freedom; freedom from want, poverty, unemployment, poor education and collapsed infrastructure. Our people deserve to have their aspirations for development and material betterment come to realisation,” he mentioned.

‎The governor pointed out that traditional rulers are complementary in keeping peace, ensuring social order and cohesion.

He averred that traditional rulers as eminent men who occupy leadership positions in society, carry an equally heavy burden of responsibility regarding the land and the people in their domains.

‎According to the governor, ” traditional rulers  must consequently exercise no doubt as to the fact that they bear as much responsibility for the peaceful and orderly governance of the State of Osun as we do, even though we occupy a higher level of authority in the modern governance arrangement. This is why we will always accord you the deserved honour and reverence in the scheme of things in the land. As a government therefore, contrary to the impression that some have tried to give, we have always held our royal fathers in high regard, with important priority accorded to them in our policy and governance. We will continue to place you on this high pedestal because it would amount to disrespect for our people and our customs to act in any contrary manner. This conference we have organised for you is partly aimed at confirming to you the kind of honourable position in which we place you”.

‎The paramount ruler and Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, in his remark, commended the governor for his monumental achievements in the last three and half years. The Ooni said for the Yoruba nation to move forward, Yoruba people must unite and forge a common front.

“We traditional rulers occupy a central position in our respective domains and we must make sure that we set a good example for the people to see. It is clear testimony that the present government has performed even beyond people’s expectation and I urge the people to support the government so as to be able to do more. Yoruba nation must progress: Yoruba nation must move forward and our people look up to us as their rulers to chat a way forward. And we must not fail to demonstrate our leadership role,” the Ooni said.

‎Chairman of Yoruba Council Oba’s Technical Committee, Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, in his speech said that the primary role of traditional rulers is the unification of Yoruba people.

The first class monarch opined that what the traditional rulers should be working assiduously towards is the good of the yoruba nation. He attributed the disaffection among obas in Yoruba land to lack of understanding of their traditional positions and hierarchy.

The monarch counselled his traditional ruler colleagues to shun partisan politics but must not fail to acknowledge any government in power, which has performed wonderfully well like Governor Aregbesola.

He said: “Unity is our strength. Traditional obas must unit for the progress of Yoruba land. Therefore, we the rulers must first unite among ourselves so that we can unit our people for the progress of Yoruba land.”

Photos from the Inauguration of the Commission Of Inquiry On Disturbance Of Public Peace In Osun, at Government House, Osogbo, State of Osun on Thursday 15-05-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); his
Deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori (2nd left); Representative, State of
Osun Chief Judge, Honourable Justice Adebisi Ogunlade (left); Newly
Sworn-in Chairman, Commission of Inquiry on Disturbance of Public
Peace, Justice Adekunle Adeigbe (right) and others, during the
Inauguration of the Commission, at Government House, Osogbo, State of
Osun on Thursday 15-05-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd right); his
Deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori (3rd left); Newly Sworn-in Chairman,
Commission of Inquiry on Disturbance of Public Peace, Justice Adekunle
Adeigbe (2nd right); Secretary of the Commission, Mr Bisi Babalola
(right); Members of the Commission, Retired Deputy Commissioner of
Police, Bose Dawodu (2nd right) and Barrister Ismail Ajibade (left),
during the Inauguration of the Commission at, Government House,
Osogbo, State of Osun on Thursday 15-05-2014

From left, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Attorney
General and Commissioner for Justice, Adewale Afolabi and Newly
Sworn-in Chairman, Commission of Inquiry on Disturbance of Public
Peace, Honourable Justice Adekunle Adeigbe, during the Inauguration of
the Commission, at Government House, Osogbo, State of Osun on Thursday 15-05-2014

The President of Yoruba Foundation and former Nigerian ambassador to Ghana and Zimbabwe, Ambassador Olu Otunla, has commended the total transformation of the State of Osun by Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola.
Ambassador Otunla, the Chairman at the maiden State of Osun Schools Literary and Debate grand finale, made this disclosure on Tuesday at the Centre for Black, Culture and International Understanding, Abere, Osogbo,
The former envoy said before Aregbesola’s coming to power, the state neither enjoyed peace, progress nor prosperity.
He noted that the developmental stride of Aregbesola in just a single term is worthy of commendation.
Otunla pointed out that the zeal with which he commence the development left no one in doubt that Osun is being piloted into an enviable height among comity of state’s in Nigeria.
According to the former Ghanian  envoy “Before Aregbesola came to power the state did not know peace, progress or prosperity.
“When he became governor, the doors totally opened for all these virtues.
“Now, we are seeing and a witness to numerous signs of prosperity. And I make bold to say that in just a single term of four years in office, the state has been totally transformed.”
Otunla lamented that African continent has remained behind as countries across the world jostle to beat themselves in developing their nations.
He therefore, charged the school children to work assiduously to become the nation’s generation of problem solvers so as to move the country forward.
In his response, Governor Aregbesola he embarked on the education polices so as to make tomorrow of the children better than today.
He averred that all a leader needs to do is to bring a positive change to his domain where he is a leader.
He added that any government that fails to secure the tomorrow of his younger ones is destined fail.
He said: “our interest in the students is not for them alone but also for ourselves.
“What you see today in us as leaders is the effort made by some people long time ago.
“So, if we fail to provide a platform for our youth today, we are doomed.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiyi, who was represented by Hon. Ipoola Omisore, said that one of the many responsibilities of any government is discovering early childhood talents and the mentoring of such talents appropriately.
He stressed that the debate will not only educate the public on the governor’s monumental philosophy on education but will also enlighten the students and other stakeholders on the various political religious intrigues being introduced by mischief makers to tarnish the education policy of Aregbesola’s administration.
In his words: “This debate being organised by the Omlouabi Support Group/Oranmiyan Worldwide in conjunction the the state’s Ministry of Education, will show the quality of the policy being introduced into education by the present government.
“It will also educate stakeholders on the result of the reclassification exercise given the state’s huge investment on education.
“We must congratulate Aregbesola on the numerous achievements of his government this far.”
In her own remark, the Deputy Governor, who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Otunba Titi Laoye-Tomori, the turnaround being witnessed today is as a result of government’s successive revolution in the education sector.
The Deputy Governor said the inter-school debate is one of the efforts at developing the school children in the state.
“What we are witnessing today is the result of the revolution, planted and nurtured in the state’s education sector.'” she said.
A student of Osogbo High School, Ayodele Habeeb, scored 222 points beating five other contestants to became the overall winner and state champion of the maiden edition of the debate.

The race to the Osun State Government House is fully on. JOSHUA DADA in this report takes a look at the gladiators and their preparations towards the poll. 
As the governorship election draws near in Osun State, more candidates and aspirants have continued to emerge for the contest regarded in many quarters as a major determinant with the capacity to alter the political power balance in the South-West part of the country.
Before now, the two prominent aspirants who have emerged as candidates of their various political parties following the conduct of the mandatory primaries are the incumbent governor, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator Christopher Iyiola Omisore of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
First to emerge was Senator Omisore, the candidate of PDP following a primary conducted by the party and supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on 5th April, 2014.
That of the APC which produced Governor Aregbesola was ratified on 12th April, 2014 following the ward congress/ primary that gave the incumbent governor100% votes.
Expectedly, the Labour Party, another vibrant political party in the state is warming up for its own primary even as the emergence of a grassroots politician and former secretary to the state government, Alhaji Fatai Akinade Akinbade as an aspirant from the party has made the party more relevant in Osun politics.
Also, though not yet confirmed through a primary, the appearance of Senator Sunday Fajimi as Alliance for Democracy (AD) candidate has brought to the fore, the relevance of the party that made the current Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Adebisi Akande governor of the state between 1999 and 2003.
The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) lost the immediate past Head of Service in the State, Mr Segun Akinwusi to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) following the failure of INEC to register the party as at that time.
He had initially opted for UPN because of his belief in the late sage’s (Chief Obafemi Awolowo) ideology for which the party stands. He however switched to the SDP which he claimed to be the reincarnation of the party on which platform Chief MKO Abiola who died in the process of fighting for the actualization of his election won a popular mandate in 1993.
Now that INEC has registered UPN, a party that shares the ideology and name of the great sage, it is expected that the ex-HoS will now make a choice whether to stick to Abiola or return to Awolowo’s fold.
Though some green horns in politics are also touted to be flying the flags of other less visible political parties, their successes are not near the catch gambit unless the miraculous circumstances that produced Late Michael Otedola as the Governor of Lagos State rear their heads in Osun State. Indeed, such are far away from the corridors of power.
It is obvious that the battle is likely to be between the PDP and the APC, the parties that have tasted the Bola Ige Governors office, Abere, Osogbo from 2003 to date.
As a matter of fact, if what the APC claimed, when the battle over the PDP flag bearer among aspirants is anything to go by, the party should be sleeping by now. This is because the party had boasted that should Omisore emerge as PDP candidate, it (APC) will go to sleep.
But now that Omisore has emerged, the APC cannot go to sleep because the former Chairman of Appropriation in the upper chamber of the National Assembly is a factor anybody cannot ignore in the politics of Osun State. This is by virtue of his contribution to what Osun State is today as a Deputy Governor and a Senator of the Federal Republic.
The APC based their decision to go to sleep on their belief that the people have identified Senator Omisore with the toga of violence put on him by his political adversaries.
While Omisore has been accusing the ruling APC of planning violence following alleged utterances of the party’s flag bearer, he has consistently described Aregbesola’s administration as oppressive and promised to change most of the transformation policies of the government to meet the need of the people.
But the APC is rest assured that with the positive impact of the Aregbesola’s administration on the people, the governor deserved a second term in office.
Admittedly, Aregbesola has touched the lives of every family in Osun State with his programmes and projects that have qualified him for awards nationally and internationally. This is to the extent that the Interim National Chairman of his party said recently at a public forum that the election of Aregbesola is a foregone issue because the people will vote massively for him.
Since no good thing comes without a prize, the PDP is ready to use into advantage those areas where changes have brought hardship to individuals and corporate bodies to tackle Governor Aregbesola at the poll.
Another underrated party is the Labour Party (LP) because it has never been at the corridor of power in the state. But with the emergence of Alhaji Akinbade who is known to have touched lives of individuals.
He is known to have practiced his politics within the confine of the state as commissioner in various ministries during the military era, chairman of PDP under whom Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola became governor and the secretary to the state government for over seven years. The LP, with Akinbade as candidate, cannot also be wished away as a factor in Osun politics.
Akinbade has told other parties that he stands a better chance of winning the election because he is well-known by the people unlike his opponents that are either rooted in Lagos or Abuja.
He claimed that by virtue of his accessibility to the people, he knows where the shoes pinch more than any other candidate adding that he can as well provide solution to their problems.
The technocrat among them, Elder Segun Akinwusi has served the state in various capacities until he got to the pick of his career as Head of Service.
By virtue of his knowledge of the operational structure of the state, while tackling the administration of Aregbesola, he has presented himself as one that has been the brain behind the successes of successive governments in the state. He insists that he is better positioned to tackle headlong the problem of the people and take them to the promise land.
Other aspirants are also lending their voices probably to be noticed, heard, bargaining factor or seriously committed to emerge as the governor of Osun State miraculously.
In all these, one cannot but think about the potency and quality both Chief Akande and erstwhile national secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola might bring to bear on the race.
Both are former governors; once adversaries but now seemingly aligning to forge front with no thanks to the internal national crises that have rocked the PDP, forcing some governors, other leaders, including Oyinlola to make a forced exit.
Only recently, during the Easter period precisely, Governor Aregbesola paid an understandably strategic visit to Oyinlola. Indeed, this development, laced with possible balancing factors, has led to a hushed curiousity on the part of political watchers.
The ball is in the court of the electorates of Osun State to decide who controls the affairs of the State from November, 2014 through the August 9 governorship election in the State of the virtuous.
LEADERSHIP