Abiodun Agboola, national coordinator, People’s Welfare League (PWL), has said that governments at all levels must ensure that their policies and programmes positively impact on the lives of citizens.
Agboola said that PWL was not interested in the claim by some state governments of fantastic figures and statistics of achievements that do not reflect on people’s lives.
Speaking with Business Day SUNDAY in Osogbo, Osun State capital, the PWL coordinator, said the group was made up of professionals who are concerned about impact of governance on citizens.
He explained that the organisation has been in existence for a long time now and that its focus was basically to make sure that there was good governance in the country.
Agboola told our correspondent that the recent two-day economic summit in Osogbo, the focus of which was on economic development was “for government to present the economic masterplan of the state.”
According to him, “They were able to showcase that during the sessions. We had government officials present to the whole world facts and figures about the economic development in the life of the current administration in the state of Osun. The second aspect is the academic angle to it, where eminent scholars told participants the economic theories as they affect the masterplan, and the most interesting aspect is the involvement of the beneficiaries- indigenes of the state of Osun. They formed the bulk of the panel of discussants. They also spoke on the impact of these economic masterplan in their lives.
We want to move away from mere paper work where we start to depend on figures and statistical claims by government; we want to actually see the direct impact of some of the ratings in the lives of the people of the state. That is why we decided to bring people from various sectors of the economy to speak.”
Assessing the performance of the current administration in the last three-and-half years, Agboola said: “This administration has really performed wonders because there have been witnesses to the clear differences between what has happened in the life of the present government and what transpired in the administrations before it. This is not the first time we are doing this. We have had time in the past to analyse different administrations’ performances, we found a lot of flaws we complained about, but such flaws were never rectified.
But when we now discovered that this administration in the last few years it came on board has been able to embark on projects that caught our attention. So, we said there’s a need for us to organise the summit to be able to hear from the direct beneficiaries. At the end of the day, government will be able to know the areas they have done well and where they need to cross their t(s) and dot their i(s).
“It is also afforded the indigenes of Osun to move closer to government because we have created a forum to come together to be able to ask government officials relevant questions that affect their lives.”
Reacting to question on how his group’s activities would help to shape the coming election in Osun, the PWL national coordinator said: “Having presented the situation of things in the state of Osun to the people, in terms of the quantum leap the administration has made, indigenes are now in a better position to make up their minds whether or not to return the administration in power. But we are saying that re-election is usually based on an administration’s achievements.
The people should decide what happens in terms of who to vote or otherwise.
“As the state enters the phase of electing a new chief executive on August 9 gubernatorial election, there is the need to showcase the level of transformation witnessed so far under the Aregbesola administration as benchmark for future rating of whoever will mount the saddle. That also informed the hosting of the summit this time around.”
Agboola further said: “Osun has been transformed from a backwater, agrarian state into one of Nigeria’s largest and most vibrant economies through a masterful plan that combines prudence, strategic focus and mass talent mobilisation. The latest testament to this fact is the Renaissance Capital’s recent description of Osun as Nigeria’s 7th largest economy even though the state is 34th on the revenue allocation table and there is need to discuss the merits and security of these outstanding economic gains. That was the crux of the summit.”
BUSINESSDAY

Alhaji Fatai Kolawole, the Permanent Secretary, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Osun, has described the Rural Education Scheme as a priority of the state government.
Kolawole made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Osogbo while speaking on government’s policy of taking qualitative education to  rural areas.
He said that the state government considered as a matter of priority  the need to encourage teachers to go to  rural areas and give qualitative education to rural dwellers.
According to him, government is motivating teachers to take more responsibilities in  the rural areas by giving them attractive rural allowances.
As we are promoting universal and qualitative education among our people irrespective of where they reside, we take the issue of rural education serious.
The state government is committed to equal access to quality education in all the nooks and crannies of the state. That is why the government is motivating the teachers by giving them special rural allowances.
“This will definitely go a long way in making qualitative education available to the rural dwellers as more and more teachers are jostling to teach in the rural settlements,’’ Kolawole said.
The permanent secretary, however, stressed the importance of training and re-training of teachers to meet up with global best practices.
Kolawole described as unfortunate the crisis in some schools after the re-classification policy where schools were categorised as Elementary, Middle, and Higher Schools.
He urged parents to monitor  their children in order not to expose them to some unscrupulous people who would use them to  cause havoc for cheap political gain.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday reiterated its commitment to assisting  the Osun government to develop  a  strategic approach which would  ensure  effective justice delivery.
The Deputy Coordinator of   UNDOC,  Mr  Edwin Berry, said this in Osogbo  during the opening ceremony of a three-day  workshop on justice sector reform.
Berry said the workshop was organised by UNODC in conjunction with the European Union  as a necessary means of enhancing good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law.
He said the workshop was also aimed at effective coordination and cooperation among justice sector institutions with an enhanced legal and policy frame work.
Berry, who noted that UNDOC was the United Nation agency entrusted with the mandate to assist member states tackle  corruption, illicit drugs, crime and terrorism.
“As part of the  mandate , UNDOC provides technical assistance in the area of justice sector reform globally, including several years in Nigeria, and has built up a knowledge base of successful practices in these areas,’’ he said.
Berry said Osun  was particularly important in the area of judicial reform,  adding that  it had set a national example in being the only state that already had a reform plan developed by the government.
He said the development of  an  action plan was timely, especially in terms of linking with activities from the reform plan, particularly those concerning  protection of the rights  of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Earlier in his remarks, the state’s  Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Ojo, said the workshop was necessary as a means of occasional review of strategy  as well as internal and external assessment of personnel and tools available to the judiciary for optimum service delivery.
Represented by Justice Jide Falola, Ojo said the workshop would  also expose participants to modern techniques  in order to sharpen their skills  and  motivate them to perform effectively.
He, however, said it was rather unfortunate that the judiciary was the most poorly  funded of the three arms of government nationwide.
While commending  the Osun government  for  providing  a conducive atmosphere for the judiciary, Ojo  lauded  UNDOC for making the state one of its seven focal states in the country.
Mr Wale Afolabi, the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice,  said government was passionate about  reforming the criminal justice system in the state.
Afolabi  said government was also improving  on the speedy acceleration of  justice as well as improve the welfare package  for judges and magistrates in the state.
Mr Ibrahim Lawal, the Senior Special Adviser to Gov. Rauf Aregbesola on Legal Matters, said progress was being made in the justice delivery system.
DAILY INDEPENDENT

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).