The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, has approved the release of a sum of N797 million as take-off grant to the newly created Local Council Developments Areas, Area Councils, Administrative Offices in the state.
 

 
The funds approved by the Governor also included the Stabilisation Funds to the existing Local Government Areas of the state.
A statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, gave the breakdown of the funds released to each of the administrative units as follows:
*N15 million to each of the 31LCDAs;
*N9 million to each of the 3 Area Councils;
*N5 million to each of the 2 Administrative Offices
* N10million to each of the 30 LGs
According to the release, the Governor urged the leadership at each of these strata of local government administration in the state to ensure the realisation of the main objectives of the creation of the various administrative units the most paramount of which is the rapid development of the state.
He reminded the leadership to be conscious of the main targets which include pursuit of revenue generation, markets development, control and supervision, environmental sanitation, primary health care delivery and elementary education superintendence.

The Justice Now Foundation, JNF, a civil society organization based in Osogbo, has criticized  an editorial in a national daily, stating that Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola lavished billions on bullet proof cars for his personal use.
 

 
The group, which said it was not taken aback by the story, stated that the motive behind it is to portray the Aregbesola administration   in bad light. “We read the story with the above headline, `Re- Recession: Governors lavish billions of Naira on bulletproof cars for selves, wives’ on Saturday, September 24, with utter disbelief”, it said.
 
“Not that we were taken aback by the underlying motive to whip up negative sentiments against the government, portray it in bad light as wasteful and inconsiderate especially in the face of growing economic hardship, we are particularly miffed by the utter lack of depth displayed in the publication.
 
“It is particularly sickening and a show of editorial mishmash for a paper to list some of the vehicles personally owned and already in use by a governor far before he became a governor as instances of lavishing “billions on bulletproof cars.”

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development, Mr. Segun Olorunsogo has enjoined all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the State Government of Osun, as well as Tertiary Institutions in the state to submit their 2017 Draft Budget Estimates to the Computer Unit of the Ministry, Finance
Building on or before Friday, 7th October 2016.
 

 
This is contained in a press release from the Office ofPermanent Secretary, which stated that the 2017 budget formulation will be considered by both the Pre- Treasury and Treasury Board meetings as against the existing Bilateral Meetings.
He however added that the Pre- Treasury Board meeting will hold to consider the nitty-gritty of individual Agency’s budget. He therefore urged all political (where applicable) and career heads to be actively involved in the budget preparation exercise in order to achieve the desired result.
Meanwhile, Mr. Segun Olorunsogo has emphasized the fact that budget preparation and formulation is a serious exercise which should be accorded deserved seriousness and attention. Hence, agencies of government advised to adhere strictly to the deadline of 7th October, 2016 for the submission of their year 2017 Draft Estimates.

The Government Of the State of Osun has called on Youths and Farmers that have interest in Dry Season Farming  tagged “AKURO AREGBE’ to register their names with Quick Impact Intervention  office (QIIP), located within the Ministry Of Agriculture, Food Security and Youth Engagement, Abere or FADAMA Office at Iwo for Government to give them all necessary support .
 

 
This was disclosed in a press release signed by the Coordinating Director, Ministry of Food Security and Youth Engagement, Dr. Bukola Aluko
According to the release, the registration exercise is part of the effort of the Government to ensure abundant food production and to guard against hunger caused by shortage of food during dry season.
The release therefore enjoined all youths and farmers that have interest to participate in the Dry Season Farming to appear for registration at the two designated offices for registration, commencing from Tuesday, 4th October, 2016.

Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has identified the successful prosecution of the ongoing change agenda as the mark of Nigeria’s true independence.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has granted amnesty to six inmates serving various jail terms in Ilesha prison, Kirikiri maximum prison, Lagos and Ibara, Abeokuta Federal prison.

Information about the pardon is contained in a statement issued by Mr Adedapo Adeniji, the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions and Secretary to the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy on Thursday in Osogbo.

Adeniji stated that the governor granted the amnesty in commemoration of the 56th Independence Anniversary of the nation.

He noted that “pursuant to the advice and recommendations of the State Advisory Council on prerogative of mercy, Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, in exercising his powers under Section 212(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) has graciously granted amnesty to the following inmates.

He listed the names to include Ayodeji Olatunbosun (Ilesha Prison), Alfa Mukaila Salawu, Dayo Ilesanmi and Ojo Adeye (Kirikiri maximum Prison, Lagos). thers are Tunde Adegoke and Sgt. Adam Baruwa (Ibara prison, Abeokuta).

A pardon is a government decision to allow a person who has been convicted of a crime, to be free and absolved of that conviction, as if never convicted.

Today, pardons are granted in many countries when individuals have demonstrated that they have fulfilled their debt to society, or are otherwise considered to be deserving.

Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who are wrongfully convicted or who claim they have been wrongfully convicted.

In some jurisdictions, accepting such a pardon implicitly constitutes an admission of guilt even though cases of wrongful conviction are nowadays more often dealt with by appeal than by pardon.

However, a pardon is sometimes offered when innocence is undisputed to avoid the cost of  retrial and clemency plays an important role when capital punishment is applied.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Thursday in Abuja thanked Edo electorate for voting Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying “thank you for not changing the change’’ .
 

 
Aregbesola said this when he broke the news of Obaseki’s victory as Edo governor-elect to newsmen at the “National Day of Solidarity with Cuba’’.
 
The event is a roundtable discussion on strengthening International Struggle against all forms of Blockade and Isolation against Cuba.
 
“I am happy that my party has won in Edo. I thank the Edo people for not changing the change. This change is here to stay,’’ he said.
 
He appealed to Nigerians to continue to bear with the administration in the face of economy recession. “Please bear with us, it will soon be over and the nation will come out in victory,’’ he said.
 
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, earlier in the day in Benin, declared Obaseki winner of the governorship election in the state.
 
Obaseki polled 319,483 votes to defeat his closest rival, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 253,173 votes. It will be recalled that the slogan for the PDP campaigns in the state was “change the change’’.
 

Osun State House of Assembly has insisted that there was no going back on the joint ownership of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) by Osun and Oyo states which started since the institution was established in 1990 during the then old Oyo State.
A member of the House representing Ife South and Chairman, Committee on Education, Folorunso Bamisayemi told LAUTECH staff at a House of Assembly session in Osogbo, yesterday, that the attempt by Oyo to disengage Osun from the joint ownership of the institution, following allegation of the state’s failure to pay its counterpart funding, was tantamount to a betrayal of the spirit of communal relationionship that gave birth to the joint ownership.
 

 
Bamisayemi warned against violation of the judgment of the Supreme court of March 26, 2012 and recalled that the apex court had held that the university was and would always be jointly owned by both states.
He insisted that Oyo alone could not unilaterally lay claim to sole ownership of the institution.
On Tuesday, thugs allegedly attacked Osun indigenes in LAUTECH and asked them “to vacate” the institution until security agencies later restored peace to the school.
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ibadan Zone, on Wednesday condemned invasion of LAUTECHby suspected thugs.
One Dr. Osunbade, said to be a lecturer in the institution and a native of Oyo was reportedly attacked by the thugs who mistook him for a native of Osun State because of ‘Osun’ prefix in his name.
Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Dr Ade Adejumo, however, asked the police to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to book, warning politicians against politicising the LAUTECH crisis.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State Command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Superintendent of Police (SP), told Daily Sun that the command has restored normalcy to the campus, while police have started investigation into the incident.
“We have provided adequate security around the university to forestall any breakdown of law and order. There is no cause for alarm,” he said.
In a related development, the Yoruba social-cultural and political organisation, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), has called for caution over the crisis at LAUTECH jointly owned by Oyo and Osun.
ARG’s publicity secretary, Kunle Famoriyo, said “ARG is particularly worried by the reported violent attack on some officials of the university by some unknown persons. We believe that such barbaric and insensate act has no root in our society and should not be allowed. We therefore call for calm and understanding among all the stakeholders of the university. The significant financial challenges facing LAUTECH does not and must not translate to enmity between the indigenes of the States as this is against the spirit of peace and unity of our leaders.”
In a statement, Famoriyo, however, urged governors of the two states, Senator Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), to quickly come to a round-table on the matter and resolve all agitations in the overall interest of the larger community that the university serves.
“They both must quickly bring to bear their leadership acumen to contain this festering sore that may become gangrenous if not awarded the adequate and deserving attention required,” he stated.
The ARG also enjoined the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Oba Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi, Ajagungbade III, to assist in nipping this crisis in the bud.