The state Government of Osun would spend N710m on the purchase of assorted fertiliser for the 2014 planting season.
The Commissioner for Information for the state, Mr. Sunday Akere comfirmed this, in Osogbo on Friday. He said that the State Agricultural Development Programme (OSSADEP) had requested for 6,000 tonnes of fertiliser.
He added that, the fertilizer will be made available and distributed earlier before the commencement of the planting season.
Mr. Sunday Akere, further stated that the consignment would be delivered the Sunshine Oil Chemical Development Limited, and be inspected by the state Tenders’ Board and the state Planning Committee before payment.
OSUN DEFENDER

From another PDP stalwart came a message of ‘well done a good ambassador’ to the workaholic and result-oriented Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola over the weekend.
The pat on the back given to Mr. Aregbesola by a former Governor of Abia state, Dr. Uzor Orji Kalu who was on tour of South-West with his team is quite notable. And it reminds us of that very important quote from that great thinker, Jerome K. Jerome; “It’s always the best policy to speak the truth unless, of course, one is exceptionally a liar”.
Truth, they say, is bitter. But no policy surpasses speaking the truth. To possess the courage to call a spade a spade is really edifying. And this is the reason why our society must not hesitate to recognise a few men of honour who have chosen to follow the path of honesty by being able to speak the truth when the need arises irrespective of their political, religious and other ideological beliefs.
The positive comment by Dr. Kalu about the performance of Ogbeni Aregbesola in the state of Osun shows that there still exist among our leaders, those who prefer to say things as they see it irrespective of whose ox is gored. We believe this to be the hallmark of honourable people. Even as a member of opposing political party Dr. Kalu would not close his eyes to the reality he found on ground in Osun apropos the sterling performance of Ogbeni Aregbesola.
With his objective assessment of Ogbeni’s performance in the state the former number one citizen of Abia state has identified himself as a person who would not see white and call it black and vice-versa. In his words over the weekend as reported by Sunday Sun Dr. Kalu had said among other things that; “though I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, I cannot close my eyes on the numerous achievements the government of Aregbesola has recorded which spread across almost all areas of human life”.
While we cannot quote verbatim all that the candid Dr. Kalu said, it is still important to quote him further; “with what I have seen in Osun, I have come to the conclusion that the PDP has nothing to offer in this state. This is a state where you can see true development, a state where the government is committed to the development of its state and its people. We will not because of our party divides not to say the truth”.
Dr. Kalu’s courage for saying the truth as quoted above deserves to be appreciated. We are proud of him for his sense of candour. The PDP in the state have also heard for themselves from one of them. Thus what this means is that no amount of desperation on its part, no amount of running from pillar to post and no amount of campaign of calumny against the government of Aregbesola can make the party (PDP) win the coming governorship election. No doubt the victory is for Ogbeni Aregbesola whose government has done much good for the state.
It’s also important to mention it at this juncture that Dr. Kalu would not be the first PDP bigwig to commend Aregbesola’s performance. We recall here that Senator Chukwumerije did openly applaud Aregbesola’s good work in the state when he and other members of the Senate Committee on education came on assessment tour to the state in 2011. He even recommended his (Aregbe’s) style of governance especially his education reforms to other state governments then.
In the light of the above we believe the truth has spoken for itself. Truth, as the saying goes, is constant. It’s uncoverable just as it’s unchangeable. It will always speak for itself as it will speak in the coming election when the wish of the Osun electorate will prevail; when Ogbeni Aregbesola will have cause to stand before his people again to say; ‘thank you for returning me, the good work continues’. Until then, who will tell the PDP and its desperate candidate not to continue to chase shadow?
OSUN DEFENDER

Photos from the Solidarity Visit by Muslims and Christians Leaders in Ife South Local Government areas to the Governor in Osogbo, State of Osun on Thursday 10-04-2014

From right, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ife South Local Government Area, Pastor John Oladimeji and President, League of Imams and Alfas, Ife South LGA, Alhaji Soliu Alesinloye, during a Solidarity Visit by Muslims and Christians Leaders in Ife South Local Government areas to the Governor in Osogbo, State of Osun on Thursday 10-04-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (centre); Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ife South Local Government Area, Pastor John Oladimeji (2nd right); President, League of Imams and Alfas, Ife South LGA, Alhaji Soliu Alesinloye (2nd left); Coordinator, Quick Impact Intervention Project (QIIP), Mr Dele Ogundipe (right); Chief Imam, Mefoworade Ife South, Alhaji Lukman Arowolo (left) and others, during a Solidarity Visit by Muslims and Christians Leaders in Ife South Local Government areas to the Governor in Osogbo, State of Osun on Thursday 10-04-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (4th left); Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ife South Local Government Area, Pastor John Oladimeji (5th right); President, League of Imams and Alfas, Ife South LGA, Alhaji Soliu Alesinloye (3rd left); Coordinator, Quick Impact Intervention Project (QIIP), Mr Dele Ogundipe (4th right); Chief Imam, Mefoworade Ife South LGA, Alhaji Lukman Arowolo (2nd left); Reverend Wale Olanrewaju (2nd right); Chief Imam Isale-Ife, Ife South, Mallam Azeez Sikirullahi (3rd right) and others, during a Solidarity Visit by Muslims and Christians Leaders in Ife South Local Government areas to the Governor in Osogbo, State of Osun on Thursday 10-04-2014

The Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, Laminisa I, has enjoined the Osun State government to sustain its zero tolerance for environmental degradation to flood and other environmental disaster in the state.
Oba Lawal stated this during the bi-weekly market environmental sanitation exercise, last Thursday, supervised by the wife of the state governor, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, in Ede.
The traditional ruler, who noted that the bi-monthly sanitation introduced by the present administration in the state had inculcated virtue of cleanliness in them, charged government to intensify its campaign against unwholesome environmental practices in the state.
Addressing market women, Alhaja Aregbesola, who is also the Ambassador of Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS), urged them to always keep their environment clean and ensure day-to-day sanitation in their markets to free the state from all forms of communicable diseases.
Alhaja Aregbesola, who emphasised the need for people of the state to imbibe culture of washing their hands with water and soap, maintained that the state would not relent in its efforts of sustaining zero tolerance for open defecation.
She called for collaboration of all stakeholders in the state in the task of promoting hygienic environment so as to improve standard of living of the citizenry.
She also expressed satisfaction over the commitment of market women to the sanitation exercise, saying that women had demonstrated that they were fully keyed into environmental programmes and policies of the present administration in the state.
BIOREPORTS

As Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections draw nearer by the day it’s important to continue to hammer it home for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega and his Commission the need for free, fair and credible polls in these two states.
This call becomes very imperative in view of the credibility problem the Commission suffers from owing to the wishy-washy manner it conducted the Anambra state gubernatorial election last year November which made the outcome of that election unacceptable to the people.
The whole world knew what happened in the case of Anambra where INEC wobbled and fumbled in the conduct of the election of just a single state and ever since that poor outing the body has not gotten opportunity to redeem her battered image. Thus for people to rebuild the confidence they had in the Commission for her impressive showing in the conduct of the 2011 general elections the coming elections in Ekiti and Osun offer the Commission a great opportunity which it cannot afford to bungle.
No doubt the eyes of the whole world are set on the coming gubernatorial elections in these two states and surely for INEC the elections will prove to be a litmus test having come out with a soiled image from the Anambra gubernatorial election. This is the reason the Commission cannot afford to fail. In these two states INEC must work hard and be sincere enough to meet the expectations of the people apropos delivery of credible election results.
And it’s important to stress it here again that the process of having a free, fair and credible election starts with a credible Voters Register. Without a credible VR then any intended election is doomed. Professor Jega’s INEC must not forget that it failed to meet the expectations of the people in the case of the Anambra governorship poll due to the irregularities in the VR of that state.
Therefore to avoid a repeat of the failure  the Commission recorded in Anambra it must correct all irregularities in the VRs of Ekiti and Osun before the commencement of the elections because presently, there are complaints about irregularities in the Voters Registers of these two states. And let INEC not believe that it has much time. Of course it will be erroneous to hold such an opinion because these coming two elections are just a stone throw away in term of time; the reason why the Commission must waste no time in correcting whatever anomalies in the VRs of these states.
Two reasons are important for mention why Professor Jega cannot afford to fail in the elections of these two states. For one these elections provide opportunity for the respected Professor not only to redeem his Commission’s image but his own image too which has been negatively affected by the shoddy manner his lieutenants conducted the Anambra governorship poll. The way the coming elections are conducted will go a long way in determining Professor Jega’s and his INEC’s future. It will determine whether Nigerians will still trust him to conduct the 2015 general elections.
For the reason above Jega must ensure the credibility of these coming two elections. He must not only ensure a level playing field for all the participating political parties in the would-be-elections, he must be seen to do so. And the second reason why Jega cannot afford to disappoint the people is also because of the volatile nature of these two states. Thus any attempt by INEC to fumble in the conduct of any of the coming two elections then it will surely lead to people’s revolt with dire consequences for the nation.
And it’s a good thing that Professor Jega – in his characteristic candour – having owned to the shortcomings of his Commission in the conduct of the Anambra governorship poll, has also promised to deliver free and fair elections in these two states. Thus the whole world is looking up to him to make good his promise. Therefore the onus is on him to deliver on his promise if he still wants the people to have confidence in him. And he needs it. He needs to rebuild people’s confidence in him like the situation was before the Anambra shabby experience.
I will not complete this piece without appreciating Professor Attahiru Jega’s admission of deficiency in the handling of Anambra governorship election by his Commission. I think his humility, sense of candour and sense of responsibility deserve to be applauded. For this is about the first time in the annals of this country that a personage – at that leadership level – would come out to admit failure on the part of his Commission.
With that Jega has proven to be a good example which our other leaders must learn to emulate. As humans we are bound to make mistakes because we are not perfect. Thus when mistakes occur and we own to it it’s not cowardice; it’s a mark of courage. For it takes courage and humility to admit one’s mistake. But to pose contrariwise is to arrogate the quality of infallibility to one’s self and this is arrogance. Of course infallibility exclusively belongs to God.
Thus unlike his predecessor who conducted the worst elections in this country and still had the audacity to be boasting around that he gave the country the best elections, Professor Jega deserves a pat on the back for summoning the courage to say the truth on the Anambra election even though people had expected him to cancel that election outrightly and organise a fresh one.
Finally, since Jega stood his ground in the case of Anambra that the errors associated with the election were not substantial enough to warrant total cancellation and as he preferred to order fresh elections only in the affected areas, then the coming Ekiti and osun elections offer him and his Commission a great opportunity to prove to the world that truly, the Anambra experience was a correctable human error. Whether Jega ‘s INEC will correct the error or repeat the same mistake, Ekiti and Osun will tell.
DAILY INDEPENDENT

OTUNBA Lai Oyetundan is the chairman Osun State Schools Infrastructure Development Committee. In this interview, he speaks on the controversy trailing the policy and the impact it has made so far. Excerpts:
WOULD you say the reclassification programme has addressed the perceived ills in the education sector in Osun state?
The reclassification is one of the series of policy options adopted by the government to address perceived ills. There are so many aspects to the ills. To a group of people who needed quality education, what we had was non existent, the system had been left to rot and the result of course, reflected the rot. We were not getting satisfactory results.
Results from internal and external exams, indicated less than three percent pass rate. That cannot be acceptable and could not have been ignored by any responsible government. What to do therefore, depends on policy options adopted by the government to revamp the sector. What we call reclassification is a matter of a way to address the pupils report  in the morning for their schooling.
What we have done with the reclassification is to reclassify the students into three broad age groups, which are the elementary group, middle school and the final year of secondary education. That is the totality of reclassification. How does that age grouping affect anybody? It does not offend anybody because it has scientific background and rationale.
Do you really need reclassification to reform the sector?
Do we really need to do anything at all? Should we have left it the way it was and continue to do the maintenance approach that we said had not been yielding the same result? Don’t forget that reclassification is just one of several things we are doing but it underlines a broad scope of the measures we have taken.
The research and consultations left us with very little options than a very drastic approach to do what we are doing. We are not just building schools. We first of all addressed the needs of the pupils, who have become disinterested in schooling.
They had become disillusioned and their moral had gone so far down that going to school was not just as important as we took it in our time. We had to motivate the students. Again, you must realize the environment which we are operating.
So, you cannot look at what we are doing in isolation but through a spectrum of a responsible government and a leadership that has demonstrated keen interest in the welfare of the man on the street. The children’s needs were addressed, we gave them uniforms free of charge. We also fed them which cost the state government N2 billion annually. These were actions taken.
In looking at what we are doing, it is a sectoral approach that is meant to remove those clips in the smoothness of the system. If the student is motivated and is prepared to learn, if the teacher is motivated and he or she is prepared to teach, what of the environment?
The environment we had, was a scandal. When teachers leave school by 2 pm, the environment is taken over by the undesirables. It was totally unacceptable. So we needed to do something about the environment too, so that all the ingredients and elements of the system will be addressed. That is the rational behind it.
So far would you say the impact has been felt?
We must understand the depth of what has been happening and it does not just happen over night because the rot we are talking about did not just happen over night, it was a negative decline over time. What this government has done is to address the society and not just education.
Already, performance has gone up from less than five per cent to well over 45 percent in just two years of addressing the education sector but it is bound to improve further. The objective of what we are doing is to transform our school system to conform with modern thinking and rank among the best in class and international best practices.
How far has the State government gone in dialoging with or convincing those opposed to this school reclassification programme?
Change is always accompanied with some elements of opposition even from those who will benefit from the change because of the latent fear of what change portends.
We recognise this and apart from those with vested interest, is there any rational for anybody to oppose the reclassification programme? Let us be fair to ourselves, there is really no opposition to reclassification. The churches are not opposed to it, the mosques are not opposed to it, the teachers are not opposed to it and our people are not opposed to it.
But there are those who must have something to flog for their own selfish political reasons. We know they exist but I am more concerned about the larger society that has adopted it.
The change we are looking at is a systemic change, it does not stay in one place because we will continue to tinker with the system all the time. We have said that we want our system to conform with modern thinking.
VANGUARD