The State of Osun House of Assembly has pledged its support for the State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) in the forthcoming Local Government Election in the state. The Chairman, House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Wasseu Adebayo stated this during an interactive session with the commission at the State Assembly Complex, Osogbo.

 

 
Saying that the commission was invited to know how prepared it was for the forthcoming Local Government election in the state, he hinted that, “we are satisfied with the OSIEC preparation on ground and the government will make sure the needed fund is made available for the commission to conduct a free and fair election in Osun”.
 
However, in his reaction, the OSIEC Chairman, Otunba Segun Oladitan said the commission is now set to conduct the election. According to him, “we are happy to say that OSIEC have gone far in our preparation for the election in accordance with directive of the House of Assembly”
 
“OSIEC is to conduct election for all political parties and we have met with them and all security agencies in the state for their supports during the election”, he added. The OSIEC boss confirmed that his commission has what it takes to conduct the election with an understanding of the Assembly. He said that election would be held in 378 wards, that is 334 old wards and 44 newly carved out from the newly created Local Council Development Area.
 
He confirmed that almost 36 political parties have been registered for the election. According to him, “we have demarcated the old and new wards in the state and I believe in God that election will go smoothly in Osun with the support of all stakeholders involved.

The Government of the State of Osun will soon begin the massive sensitization on the adverse effects of emission of dangerous gases into the atmosphere.
 

 
This was stated in Osogbo today by the State Commission for Environment and Sanitation, Mr Idowu  Korede, who  was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Temitope Oladele at a stakeholders meeting on the emission control scheme in the state.

The Commissioner said that the sensitization programme would be carried out by the State Government  to create awareness on the harmful effects of dangerous gases emitted into the air and ways of controlling them
He added that the exercise has nothing to do with enforcement of fine hence people of the state should cooperate .and should not be afraid.

The meeting ,which had in attendance representatives of the Nigeria Police, Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC),Vehicle Inspection Office( VIO), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), RTEAN and ACCOMORAN, discussed the modalities for the sensitization method which has its principal targets as motorists, motor cyclists, tricycle riders as well as operators of big commercial ventures that use generators.

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) on Monday commended the Osun government for the prompt payment of the 2017 West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) fee of its public secondary school students.
 

 
The body gave the commendation at the 2017 WAEC Committee Meeting held with the Osun Commissioner for Education, Mr Kola Omotunde-Young, in Osogbo.
An official of the examination body, Dr Olusanya Dacosta, said Osun was among the few states not owing WAEC.
 
Dacosta, who also commended the state government for not giving room for examination malpractice, however, urged teachers to always strive to cover the school curriculum before students sit for any external examination.
Earlier in his remarks, Omotunde-Young thanked the examination body for recognising the positive input of the state administration in the education sector.
He enjoined the examination body to carry out a review of its questions to encourage critical and creative thinking, synthesis, analysis, comprehension and functional application of knowledge

A prominent traditional ruler in Osun, the Olukoyi of Ikoyi land in Isokan South Local Council Development Council Area, Oba Yisau Bantale has called on government at all level as well as stakeholders on culture and tradition to demonstrate their unflinching and unalloyed support to the annual “Osun-Ikoyi Festival” of the ancient town and other traditional festivals in Yorubaland.

 


 
The Olukoyi made this call during a community forum to herald this year “Osun-Ikoyi Annual Festival” which has already commenced on Wednesday, the 11th of October with traditional fire wood to be displayed by all women in the ancient town.
Oba Otunla emphasised that, it is imperative for government, other stakeholders and international organisations to wade in and contribute their quotas to the development of the festival.
Olukoyi said, “I want government at all level, individuals, NGOs, Stakeholders and foreign organisations to collaborate with us (Ikoyi) in uplifting the presence status of our annual festival “Osun-Ikoyi” as their contributions cannot be over emphasized”.
While speaking on the festival, the Olukoyi said, “It is a pure cultural and traditional festival for the remembrance of their forefathers that founded the ancient town while the annual celebration of the festival usually brings sons and daughters of the town, home and diaspora together while it also attracts people from far and near.
According to Olukoyi, “Highlights of the festival which started on Wednesday with traditional fire woods by women includes, installation of Chiefs and a night party on Friday the 13th (today), while receiving of visitors hold from morning till evening on Sunday 15th, followed by trip to Osun river (Asejire) in the evening where special prayers would be offered for the town, Osun State and Nigeria as a whole.
“There is going to be reception for the Baloguns and Baales at the palace on Monday, 16th while football march would hold at Community Middle School, Palace road, Ikoyi on Thursday, 15th with “ Ireje” hold on Saturday 21st to round off the festival “, The traditional ruler stated.

The Tablet of Knowledge popularly referred to as OPON IMO has significantly contributed to the growth as well as quality of Education in the State of Osun.

Aside its huge benefits, it has also enhanced the development of the Young Generation in ensuring that they get exposed to e-learning at a very important time in their education.

According to the State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, the gadget which is arguably the first of its kind in the continent of Africa has in a great deal complemented the present administration’s vision for education.

She said although the world has been abreast of ICT through the use of tools like the I-pad, Laptop and other computer hardware in education, the creativity behind OPON-IMO makes it first among equals.

Mrs. Laoye-Tomori explained that with 450,000 students benefitting from the initiative since 2013 when it was officially launched, it has afforded high school students in Grade Levels 10, 11 and 12 the opportunity to have access to all needed materials in a single tablet for optimum performance in both internal and external examinations.

A parent, Chief Ezekiel attested to the fact that since OPON-IMO was distributed to students, a veritable number of students have been able to confront external examinations especially WASSCE.

Chief Ezekiel noted that since the tool has been put to use by students, it has made parents heave a sigh of relief in committing much more financial resources to buying essential textbooks for their children to let them pass examinations.

His words “For me as a parent, the OPON-IMO Tablet has been a blessing to us. Aside enhancing their performance in WAEC, it has also provided an opportunity to make buying of textbooks for them needless as all what they need is in the gadget. Before, we had bought textbooks of over N50,000 for them from SS1 to SS3. And even with the current harsh economy, it is even hard to eat three square meals per day, so we are grateful to the government.”

Okoli Goodness, a student of Osogbo High School observed that with the e-learning device, she has been able to study hard and revise their lessons in school.

According to her “Before I got this, I had previously longed to verify what we were taught in school with textbooks but I was unable. But since I have been able to start using OPON IMO, it has afforded me the opportunity to learn more and revise our lessons.”

“I can also view my former class’s textbooks there-in at my own leisure time. I think the government has done a great deal by providing OPON-IMO for students like me who do not have money to buy all the textbooks needed for exams, with this the government has done well.”

Aside the students that have benefitted from the Tablet of Knowledge, it has also provided a platform for over 50 jobs at the project office and 3,000 indirect jobs to be created.

OPON-IMO has given the state chief executive, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola international accolades like Africa’s Most Innovative Telecom Product of the Year by the NTDA as well as the 2013 Wise Award in Sri-Lanka.

The conviction of those who spoke to our crew is that OPON-IMO has Indeed Empowered Minds and Enriched Lives.

The tablet among other features has e-library, virtual classroom, and an integrated test zone.

The virtual classroom category contains 63 e-books covering 17 academic subjects for examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO and JAMB as well as non-academic life-enriching subjects such as History of The Yoruba, Sexuality Education, Civic Education, Ifa on ethics and morals, enterprise education, hints and tips on passing SSCE and ‘How to live a Healthy and Happy life’.

This section also contains an average of 16 chapters per subject and 823 chapters in all, with about 900 minutes or 15 hours of audio voiceovers.

In the integrated test zone of the device, there are more than 40,000 JAMB and WAEC practice questions and answers dating back to more than 20 years.

It also contains mock tests in more than 51 subject areas, which approximates to 1,220 chapters, with roughly 29,000 questions referencing about 825 images.

Government of the State of Osun and Afroclopedia Media has initiated a partnership to build business and investment platform that will promote local products to create wealth and improve the economy of the state.
 

 
The initiative will focus on 25 identified economic sectors which include agriculture and food production, event management industries, educational institutions, housing and properties management, manufacturing injuries among others.
Afroclopedia Project Coordinator, Adenle Babajide and the Senior Special Assistant to Governor, State of Osun on Commerce, Mr  Akeem Okunade  at a Press Conference held at Ayegbaju International Market, Osogbo , the state capital explained that the initiative was to converge the leading brands and network for optimal business performance.
Adenle, while analysing the rationale behind the project said research has shown that despite staggering economy, over N10 billion is expended on different sectors of economy in the state, saying, “Patronize Made in Osun Campaign” will build investor’s confidence and improve local product patronage”.  According to him, the campaign would include the lunching of ‘Made in Osun Award’ to be held on December 6, 2017 and chaired by the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and the event would provide veritable competitive platform for different captains of industries and investors.
Other lined up activities includes Osun Event Industry Expo, a 3-day product and services exhibition, Osun Event Industry Conference to converge business brand and network them with specialised training on market opportunities.
He added that the organisation with the support of Ayegbaju International Market has initiated made in Osun business directory platform where any investor can easily network, to do business, saying the initiative will no doubt improve the economy of the state and discourage capital flight.
Also, the SSA to the Governor and General Manager, Ayegbaju Market,  Akeem Okunade said the intention was to create more awareness for business opportunities.
He said, the state has a lot of potentials which would help to rejuvenate the economy and also make the state an economic hub.
He also sought the support of stakeholders including the media to help in sensitising on the availability of shop and other categories of outlets in the market.
He said the essence of building modern markets by the present administration would be defeated if people are not using them.
According to Okunade, many shop owners at Ayegbaju International market which was built with huge amount of money have not been using it as expected.
While stressing the need for private individuals and corporate organisations to assist the government in building the state’s economy, Okunade appealed to traders to also show commitment to economic development in the state.