Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been honoured with the Spirit of Emancipation Award of Excellence in Trinidad and Tobago by his host country’s Emancipation Support Committee.
The event held at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Village in Port of Spain, the capital city.
 

 
Aregbesola was accompanied by his wife, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, and top government officials, including the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Ajibola Bashiru; Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr Obawale Adebisi; the Special Adviser on Culture and Tourism, Mrs Taiwo Oluga; the Director General in the Office of Economic Development and Partnership (OEDP), Dr Charles Akinola and the Chairman of Osun State Tourism Board, Bimbola Daniyan.
Presenting the award to the governor, the Chair of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr Khafra Kambon, hailed Aregbesola for his commitment to the emancipation of the Black race in the tradition of the great pan-Africanists.

He thanked him for attending the Emancipation Day celebration and for identifying with the people of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbeans.
Kambon said: “We have decided to honour our brother, His Excellency Rauf Aregbesola, for his commitment to the emancipation of all black people in the rich tradition of the great pan-Africanists, like Dr Kwame Nkrumah, George Padmore, W. E. B. du Boise, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and others.
“We feel honoured for him to have attended this year’s Emancipation Day with a delegation from Osun State. We have, therefore, decided to honour him with this award, not just from Trinidad and Tobago, but also on behalf of all the people of the Caribbean.”
Aregbesola urged his hosts to carry on the torch of the emancipation of Black people so that the struggles of the past would not be in vain.
He said: “I feel at home, with my brethren here in Trinidad and Tobago. I can see that all black people are one. I share your aspirations and struggles and I urge you not to rest on your oars until there is freedom for all black people wherever they are found.
“I thank the Emancipation Support Committee and especially my brother, Khafra Kambon, for the honour done to me today. This award will spur me to greater commitment to fight for the freedom and emancipation of all black people.

“I look forward to greater cooperation between our two nations – economically, socially, culturally and spiritually. If the blacks in Diaspora are successful, it will lift the blacks on the continent. By the same token, if the blacks on the continent are poor and downtrodden, it will negatively affect the status of Diaspora blacks.
“I have had a good time here. My greatest joy is being able to connect socially, culturally and spiritually with our people. I will, therefore, take with me the happy and joyous memory of my stay in Trinidad and Tobago and the warmth of its people.”

The state of Osun House of Assembly has reiterated its commitment to enacting laws that would enhance the welfare of the people.
 

 
Speaker of the Assembly, Dr. Najeem Salaam made the remarks on Tuesday while presiding over the plenary of the house at the Assembly complex, Osogbo, as the parliament gave further consideration to the State of Osun Asset Management Agency Establishment Bill 2018.
The bill was considered at the committee of the whole where the lawmakers proceeded with further scrutiny of the document.
Areas of the bill meant for the attention of the legislators were thoroughly debated, as contributions were made towards effecting necessary corrections in clauses 31-42 of the bill.
The amendments made as agreed were included to form part of the original bill, just as the clerk at table was directed to prepare a clean copy of the document for third reading and passage.
Also, the report of joint House Committees on Health and Judiciary on the State Health Insurance Scheme bill 2018 was read on the floor.
Therefore, this elicited comments by the lawmakers in which they lauded the two committees for a job well done, just as the speaker stressed the need to compare the report alongside the original copy of the bill.
Similarly, the State of Osun Parks and Gardens Agency bill 2018 was also read for the first time at the plenary on the strength of the motion moved and seconded.
The speaker had earlier in a remark stressed the need to fast track the business of legislation, noting that the House would soon proceed on recess.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration has for the umpteenth time been commended for his unprecedented track record in youth employment and empowerment in the annals of the State of Osun.
 

 
The commendation came from the State Coordinator, Osun Youth Employment and Social Support Operation (YESSO), Mr. Olufemi Ifaturoti while delivering his remarks at the orientation of 1278 beneficiaries of the Public Work-Fare (PWF) component of Osun YESSO held recently in Osogbo, the state capital.
Mr. Ifaturoti who was represented by the Communication Officer, State Operation Coordinating Unit, Osun YESSO, Mr. Oluwamayowa Fagbohungbe maintained that, YESSO is an offshoot of the highly successful Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) Initiative of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s administration which he said had received several accolades, laurels and awards.
The State Coordinator, who equally enjoined the beneficiaries to count themselves lucky to have been part of the laudable programme, admonished them to make the best use of the golden opportunity.
The Commissioner for Empowerment and Youth Engagement, Mrs. Mofolake Adegboyega equally harped on the need for the beneficiaries to allow the globally lauded programme to be a success by giving it 100% commitment.
Mrs. Adegboyega who was represented by Mrs. Omobola Odediji maintained that to whom much is given much is expected, adding that they should endeavour to constantly give the programme their best with a view to coming out very strong at the end of it.
In his address at the event, the Head, Project Implementation Unit (PIU)- PWF, Osun YESSO, Mr. Olugbenga Odulaja congratulated the beneficiaries for being part of the programme, enjoining them not to leave any stone unturned at ensuring that the objective of the support operation is constantly upheld by embracing diligence, responsibility and commitment which are pivotal to the success of the initiative.
Each of the beneficiaries who will be earning the sum of Seven Thousand Five Hundred Naira (N7,500) at the end of every month will be deployed to identified sub-projects across their communities which include cutting of grass verges on roads and footpaths in the communities, proper waste disposal and filling of potholes. They will equally enjoy skill acquisition training once a week for them to be self reliant at the end of the programme.
The objective of the public workfare program is to provide immediate labor-intensive work opportunities for unskilled youths from poor households.

State of Osun has taken refuge in technology to nip potential farmers/herders clash that has claimed millions of lives in some parts of the country in the bud.
Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Oluremi Omowaye, who spoke in an interview with The Nationin Lagos, said the government has put in place an inquiry call centre and invested heavily in unmanned aerial vehicles that would gather data and relay same to the centre which would be analysed for action.
 

 
According to Omowaye, the response of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s government to the menace of herder/farmers incessant clashes was to think out of the box for a technological solution that would allow seamless flow of information about the movement of livestocks and their owners across the state.
He said: “We needed to set up an inquiry call centre and we needed a short code so that it will be easy for people to reach us.  We approached the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which granted us the code after detailed presentation by our team.
“This technology will be deployed this week using unmanned aerial vehicles that would interface with the call centre. We want a scenario whereby all livestock in Osun would have a unique individual identity so that when a livestock strays into your farm, all you need to do is text the first three digits to the short code issued by the NCC and once you do that you will get a response from the call centre to check the owner.

“From the call centre too, the owner would be called. Aside that, we are also going to use it for other services such as ambulance services because in the call centre, you have the security operatives too so, we thank the NCC for quick response.
‘’I know the NCC is trying to establish a call centre at in Osun so we have an agreement that when they come up with their own, we will.’’
On supportive infrastructure on which the technology would ride, he said the state is one of the leading states in the federation in terms of the providing infrastructure.
He said:  “Osun is one of the leading infrastructure states in Nigeria. Governor Aregbesola has opened up a lot of roads, health and educational infrastructure. The government is even working in the area of electricity since it is the major challenge IT has. We are working on boosting power generation in the state but one thing that is unfortunate is that companies do not pay tax.
“There is no government that can function well without paying tax. What is coming from Abuja cannot pay salaries so we enjoin the companies to cooperate with the state government and pay tax. I am sure with the level of investment in infrastructure so far, Osun is the place to be for investors, both local and foreign.
“We are deploying IT solutions to ease tax collection but no matter the solution you deploy, computer is garbage; garbage out, if they do not cooperate, it won’t work. But we have deployed a lot of solutions that will enhance tax collection. There is always this allegation of multiple taxation by state governments too. We have also deployed solution that would end the regime of multiple taxation in the state.”
On the monthly internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state, he said it is less than N1billion while the wage bill for both employees of the state and local governments is above N5billion, stressing that a lot needed to be done in the area of increasing the state’s IGR so that the monthly wait for Abuja would become a thing of the past.
On the state of the art infrastructure put in place in the state, he said: “What Governor Aregbesola has done Osun is a world-class design, world class standard. The government encourages that the two ducts were built so that not only fibre optics would fly. The government is also thinking of building an industrial park so that the infrastructure would not be scattered all over the state. We are working on the industrial park. We are also talking to some Chinese investors for the industrial park and in the park, there will be a segment for IICT park,” Omowaye said.