Osun government has reiterated its commitment to physical and mental fitness of elementary school pupils through the school feeding programme called O-Meal and its de-worming exercise.
The Deputy Governor, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, told newsmen that the programme was to facilitate the growth of the children for excellent performance in school.
Laoye-Tomori said the government had recently flagged off the second phase of the ”de-worming exercise” for school pupils at the Government Elementary School, Isale Osun, Osogbo.
According to her, the deworming exercise will complement the feeding programme to facilitate a healthy growth in the pupils.
She said that a report that put the percentage of retarded growth in school pupils at 40 per cent was worrisome.
The deputy governor, however, noted that the administration of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola had successfully fought retarded growth in school pupils with the O-meal in place.
She said that the government would make de-worming exercise a bi-annual programme and would not relent in the feeding programme.
She said that the government annually spent N3.6 billion on 300,000 elementary school pupils across the state under the school feeding programme.
NIGERIAN OBSERVER

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has approved the establishment of a base for the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) in Ejigbo

Aregbesola, who made this disclosure while receiving a team from NAPTIP, who came to make a formal presentation of the research report on impact of constant migration of people in Ejigbo to neighbouring countries, posited that, “the main reason the present administration is working assiduously hard to provide basic needs for the people of the state, is to ensure they are comfortable and don’t have any reason to migrate out of the state in search of a better life.”
According to him, “when there is no commitment by the government to the provision of the basic needs of the people, the people will want to look elsewhere. But it is a well known fact that there is no place like home for one to succeed.”
Aregbesola further emphasised that his administration would continue to impact positively on the citizenry.
“We want our people to be comfortable and to settle down in the state so, we have decided to always assist the aged through the ‘Agba Osun’ programme. We are also providing employment opportunities for our youths to give them hope. We are feeding our elementary pupils to assist their parents in giving them quality education,” he remarked.
Presenting the report, the Executive Secretary of NAPTIP, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, stated that Ejigbo was chosen for the research because it had all the features of a border town despite not being a border town, while the people had, over the years, engaged in illegal migration.
She said the trend used to be an advantage to the people in the area but recent research had shown that over the past 20 years, it had now become a huge disadvantage to the people of the town and the state as a whole.
TRIBUNE

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said the only way to stop insurgency is to create jobs for youths. He spoke at the weekend in Ilesa while receiving the BusinessWorld’s Most Innovative Governor Award. Aregbesola urged those in authority to create jobs for youths, adding that power is meaningful only when it is used to better people’s lives.
Explaining that power is nothing but responsibility, he said: “A sure way out of our national instability is the provision of jobs for youths, such as the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES). “Engaging alienated youths as we did in Osun will end the insecurity and terror unleashed on the nation by Boko Haram. This is why we made education our number one priority in Osun, as this is our passport to a secure future.” He hailed BusinessWorld for monitoring his administration’s programmes, adding that the award will motivate him to do more.
Economist and Founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership Prof. Pat Utomi said Nigeria needs strong institutions, rather than strong personalities. Utomi, who was the guest speaker, said only strong institutions can ensure good governance.
In his speech, titled: “Innovation in Governance: Regarding Good Government”, he said until a government serves the interest of the common man, it is not a good government.
Utomi said the country needs the kind of governance delivered by the Aregbesola administration, adding: “What Africa and, indeed, Nigeria need are strong institutions and not strong men. A strong institution has the capacity to provide good governance for the people. Lack of strong institutions is contributing to the stagnation of the nation’s fortune, both politically and economically.
“Therefore, our country is in bad shape because our leaders are not told the truth about their performance. Government has a primary duty of creating an enabling environment for the realisation of people’s dreams. A government that fails in this regard has no business being in power and does not deserve to be honoured.”
He described Aregbesola as a leader with a strong commitment to serve his people, hence his people-centred policies. Utomi identified the introduction of the e-learning device, Opon Imo, as a solution to poor teaching. He said: “We are impressed enough by Osun’s work to draw a Delta State development plan called ‘Aregbe x20’. If there are only two things a government must do, it will be education and health.”
The All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) Interim National Chairman and Chairman of the occasion, Chief Bisi Akande, said: “This award does not surprise me because you deserve it. I am only waiting to come to Osogbo for the celebration of your victory at the August 9 election. Your work is a clear testimony that your victory is certain. It is an election we have won before the contest.”
Business World’s Chairman Daisi Omidiji said 12 states were considered in the Innovation Award Initiative, adding that two states in each of the six geo-political zones were closely examined for three months.
On how Osun emerged the overall winner, Omidiji said: “We came to this conclusion because of the turn-around projects embarked upon by the Aregbesola administration, which represent a tremendous improvement on what he met on ground about four years ago.”
OSUN DEFENDER

Eminent Economist and Founder, Centre for Values in Leadership, Prof. Pat Utomi has said that Nigeria is in dire need of strong institutions such as those being built in Osun under the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola rather than strong personalities.
This was even as the governor of the state suggested that engaging the alienated youths as done in Osun will end the scourge of insecurity in the country.
Both Utomi and Aregbesola spoke at the weekend in Ilesa, Osun at the BusinessWorld newspaper Award presentation to the governor as the Most Innovative Nigerian Governor in First Term.
Utomi who was a Guest Speaker at the event observed that what the nation need are strong institutions and not strong men, saying only a strong institution can provide good governance for the people of the country.
The Don who titled his speech “Innovation in Governance: Regarding Good Government” said until government serves the interest of the common man, it is not a good government.
He pointed out that the kind of government the country need to progress is what Governor Aregbesola is offering the people of the state.
He said Aregbesola’s commitment and excellence in governance is not in doubt as the performance on group bear clear testimony to his focused administration.
According to him, “What Africa and indeed Nigeria need are strong institutions and not strong men. A strong institution has the capacity to provide good governance for the people.
“Lack of strong institution is what is contributing to the stagnation of the nation’s fortune both politically and economically.
“Therefore our country is in bad shape because our leaders are not told the truth they need to know about their performance in government. Government has a primary duty of creating conducive and enabling environment for the realisation of people’s dreams and aspirations.
“Government that fails in this regard has no business being in power and it doesn’t deserve to be honoured to continue in power. Prof. Utomi stressed.
He described Aregbesola as a leader with strong commitment to serve his people hence the people-oriented and people-centred policies he introduced in the area of education, health, infrastructure development.
He identified the introduction of the innovative e-learning device, “Opon Imo” as solution to poor teacher quality which has hitherto contributed to the slow growth of education, noting that the tablet has thus contributed to rise in enrolment figures in the state as well as eradicating deficiency in teaching method.
We are impressed in Osun’s Work enough to draw a Delta State development Plan called ‘Aregbe x20’. If there are only two things a Government must do, it will be education and health. This is why I am impressed in what Governor Aregbesola is doing in education in Osun.
In his own remarks, the Interim Chairman of The All Progressives Congress (APC), Chairman of the occasion, Chief Bisi Akande, said that the Award actually demonstrated that Aregbesola is one of the best governors in the country.
He noted that the Award is not coming as a surprise because the positive transformation of Osun under the administration of Aregbesola is visible for all to see.
According to him, “This award in no way surprises me because you deserve it. I am only waiting to come to Osogbo for the celebration of your victory at the coming August 9 election, your works in the state is a clear testimony that your victory is certain. It is an election which we have won before the contest,” The chairman stressed.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of BusinessWorld Newspaper, Mr. Daisi Omidiji, pointed out that a total of 12 states were considered in the innovation Award Initiative, two states in each of the 6 geo-political Zones of the country were closely examined over a period of three months.
Omidiji added that it was from this effort that the State of Osun emerged as the overall winner, saying some of the factors tha‎t enhanced the decision was the turn-around projects embarked upon by the governor.
“We came to this conclusion because of the turn-around projects embarked upon by the Aregbesola administration which represents a tremendous improvement on what he met on ground about four years ago,” The chairman of the newspaper said.
In his appreciation remarks, Governor Aregbesola charged people in authority to create jobs for youths, saying this is the only sure way of ending insurgency and terrorism currently unleashed on the nation by Boko Haram.
The governor said power is meaningful only when it is used to change the life of the people, adding that power is nothing but responsibility.
In his words, “A sure way out of our national instability is the provision of jobs to the youths along the OYES scheme in Osun.
“Engaging the alienated youths as we did in Osun will end the insecurity and terror unleashed on the nation by Boko Haram.
“This is why we made education our number one priority in the state as this is our passport to that secured future”. The governor pointed out.
He commended Businessworld for its careful monitoring of his administration’s people-oriented and people-centred policies and programmes.
Aregbesola added that the award will serve as elixir for his government to do more for the people of his state.

Ahead of the gubernatorial election slated for August 9 in Osun State, a group of professionals under the aegis of People’s Welfare League (PWL), organised a two-day economic summit in Osogbo, capital of the state to appraise the performance of the incumbent administration and to chart a way forward for government for the good of the indigenes of the state.
The summit drew together representatives of key civil societies, trade unions, cottage industry owners, community-based organisations, business promoters, banks and allied organisations, the academia as well as other professionals.
The event also afforded indigenes the opportunity to tell their stories on the impact of government on their individual lives.
In his keynote address on the first day of the summit, Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun State, said it was unnecessary for him to blow his own trumpet, stating that indigenes of the state are in a better position to do the trumpeting for him.
However, brandishing a publication of BusinessDay, where the Research Unit of the newspaper had skillfully captured the exploits of the administration in line with the ratings by some credible institutions, Aregbesola pointed out that Osun came second after Lagos State in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in 2012.
It was also disclosed that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had also put the unemployment rate in the state at 3 percent. The governor said his administration met an unemployment rate percentage of over 12, but that through vision, focus and hard work, the ugly trend has been reversed for the good of the people, adding that the state has the lowest poverty index in Nigeria today.
The governor announced to his audience that if “you match our low unemployment rate and crystal poverty rate; we are simply the best governed state in Nigeria”.
BUSINESS DAY

Photos from the BusinessWorld Newspaper Award where Governor  Aregbesola was awarded the Most Innovative Governor in his First Term Tenure

From left, Chairman of the Occasion/Interim National Chairman, All
Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande; Governor State of
Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his Wife, Mrs Sherifat and Guest
Speaker, Professor Pat Utomi, during the Presentation of BusinessWorld
Newspaper Award to Aregbesola as the Most Innovative Governor in his
First Term Tenure at Zenababs Hotels and Resort, Ilesa, State of Osun
on Saturday 03-05-2014.

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd left) receiving
the BusinessWorld Newspaper Award as the Most Innovative Governor in
his First Term Tenure from Chairman of the Occasion/Interim National
Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande (left),
during the Award Presentation at Zenababs Hotels and Resort, Ilesa,
State of Osun on Saturday 03-05-2014. With them are, Wife of the
Governor, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola (3rd right); Chairman, BusinessWorld
Newspaper, Mr Daisi Omidiji (2nd left); Speaker, State House of
Assembly of Osun, Honourable Najeem Salam (2nd right) and Guest
Speaker, Professor Pat Utomi (right).

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right) receiving
the BusinessWorld Newspaper Award as the Most Innovative Governor in
his First Term Tenure from Chairman of the Occasion/Interim National
Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande (left),
during the Award Presentation at Zenababs Hotels and Resort, Ilesa,
State of Osun on Saturday 03-05-2014. With them are, Wife of the
Governor, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola (right) and Chairman, BusinessWorld
Newspaper, Mr Daisi Omidiji (2nd left).

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd left), displaying
his BusinessWorld Newspaper Award as the Most Innovative Governor in
his First Term Tenure, during the Award Presentation at Zenababs
Hotels and Resort, Ilesa, State of Osun on Saturday 03-05-2014. With
him are, Chairman of the Occasion/Interim National Chairman, All
Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande (left), Wife of the
Governor, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola (3rd right); Chairman, BusinessWorld
Newspaper, Mr Daisi Omidiji (2nd left); Speaker, State House of
Assembly of Osun, Honourable Najeem Salam (2nd right) and Guest
Speaker, Professor Pat Utomi (right).

Prime Football Club lifted the Osun FA Cup, as they overcame Ajiroba Ooni Football Club of Ile-Ife, at the National Youth Development Centre, Ode Omu.

The Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Jos, at the weekend commended the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for his focused leadership and the positive transformation of the state.
Speaking on behalf of NIPSS, Air Commodore Ademola Onitiju at a Dinner organised by the state government, for members of Course 36 Batch 5 NIPSS who are on the tour of the country, noted that Aregbesola’s style of leadership should be copied by other states.
‎Onituju pointed out that Aregbesola’s administrations’ programmes is one of the best in the country in the area of youth empowerment.
He stated that this empowerment is enhancing productivity in the state and reducing the level of insecurity.
According to the Air commodore, “In our tour of Osun, we found focused leadership. The state Anthem is more than promotion of the “Omoluabi” concept‎. The introduction of a unique selection of the leadership of the civil service in the state is a thing that should be copied by other state.
“We also noted the aggressive effort by the governor in opening up Osun through road networks. What actually amuses us most was when we followed the governor for the commissioning of roads in Osogbo and people were coming out in their thousands to appreciate the governor, that showed that he is loved by his people.
“We also found out the bold effort of the administration on the Airport project and the improvement and the beatification of the Railway ‎station in Osogbo,” Onitiju told audience at the dinner.
He also commended the feeding programme of the government, saying a nourishing food once a day round the week is capable of developing the pupils mentally and physically and prepare them for later years’ challenges.
“Your school feeding programme which has attracted more children of school age to enroll themselves back to school has positively impacted on the educational development of the state with high nutritional value for the building of the young minds into robust adulthood.
“The state’s school re-classification policy which is in tandem with the UNESCO educational standard – though criticised by those who didn’t take time to study the policy – is a model for Nigeria educational development.
“We only hope that Governor Rauf Aregbesola stays focused and committed towards the actualisation of all his policies and programmes for the good people of Osun,” Onitiju said.
In his response, Governor Aregbesola commended the vision of the founders of NIPSS and acknowledged the guiding philosophy of the institute, which is hinged on course participants going round the country to have total knowledge of what the nation looks like.
He however lamented that the country has not seized the opportunity of its diversity to build a strong and virile nation.
“We have not used our diversity to the best advantage. Our diversity should be a major advantage for us because most great nations of the world converted their diversity to strength and greatness.
“Our own diversity too should form the basis for our growth, strength and development rather than for it to retard our progress,” Aregbesola said.
He urged NIPSS management to also extend its knowledge of the country in all spheres of governance with the state as it does to the Federal Government.
He admonished NIPSS to use the opportunity of tour around the country to assess the performance of any government it visits so that such state would have the opportunity of getting feedback and make amends where necessary.
Aregbesola added that his government is striving to provide what its people need to set the state apart from others, saying with the way the state is being upgraded in terms of infrastructure, the state will be a reference point in the next ten years.

Photos from the visit of the Director General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Professor Tijani Mohammed, to the Governor, after their assessment tour of the State,  Osogbo, at the weekend

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (left) and Director General,
National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Professor
Tijani Mohammed, during a visit to the Governor, after thier
assessment tour of the State, Osogbo, at the weekend

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Director General, National Institute for Policy and
Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Professor Tijani Mohammed and Secretary to the
State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, during a visit to the
Governor, after an assessment tour of the State Osogbo, at the weekend

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); his Deputy, Mrs
Titi Laoye-Tomori (2nd left); Director General, National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Professor Tijani Mohammed (right );
Directing Staff, NIPSS, Air Commodore Ademola Onitiju (left) and others,
during a visit to the Governor, after an assessment on the State,
Osogbo, at the weekend