It has been observed that most of the road accidents for which the ‘ember months’ is notorious are not caused by blood-sucking demons or household wickedness but rather by drunken and over-speeding drivers who are always in a mad rush for financial breakthrough during the last quarter of the year.
 

 
State of Osun Technical Committee on Road Safety headed by Professor Joseph Fawole, made the observation during its monthly meeting held in Osogbo.
The Committee opined that, if the drivers obey the speed limit in addition to keeping their vehicles in good condition, it will stem the tide of road mishaps in the ember months.
Chairman, State Technical Committee on Road Safety, Professor Joseph Fawole counselled that, though the standard speed limit in Nigeria is 100km per hour, individual driver should apply common sense as occasion demands, explaining that when a market or school is on the expressway, common sense demands that  the speed should be broken.
Professor Fawole warned passengers who are in the habit of encouraging drivers to speed up to desist from doing so rather than speaking up to check overspeeding drivers.
Meanwhile, the State Technical Committee will today Wednesday, 7th September, 2016 kick-start its state-wide ember month road safety campaign with visit to Oke-fia and Dada Estate motor parks in Osogbo in the morning.
Professor Fawole then enjoined the leadership of motor parks, already contacted, to ensure that their members are available for the programme on their appointed days.

The Osun State Government on Sunday asked Nigerians to ignore attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to diminish the achievements of the Aregbesola administration with last Thursday’s official opening of the Osogbo Government High School, commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari.
 

 
PDP had in a statement signed by its State Chairman, Hon Soji Adagunodo, said the commissioned school was not a public school but one to be managed commercially until the loan taken to build it was repaid.
PDP said: “Contrary to reports presented to the President and the public, the school is more or less a business outfit to charge high fees in an impoverished Osun State.

“In its usual deceptive and propagandist manner, the state Governor did not inform the President and the public that the school was funded with a Sukuk loan and will therefore be run not as a public but high fee paying private school.
“We can reveal that the Oshogbo high school commissioned on Thursday will be managed as a commercial entity by either Olasore International School, Iloko or Corona School, Lagos. The managers are to charge high fees like the elite private schools.
“We want to inform the public that the school Mr President commissioned is different from Oshogbo Grammar School, the reason why both schools are separated by a fence.The Governor has just use a public land to start an educational business venture.”
Reacting, Semiu Okanlanwo, Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, asked Nigerians to demand from the PDP which insights it had into the workings of the Osun State Government’s various strategies to turn around the fortune of education in the state.

“We are not like them. This is a case of sour grape on the part of the PPD that wants to disparage the great achievements of the governor.
“Aregbesola’s mission in education is to democratize it and bring it to the poor who could possibly never have been opportune to be educated along children of the affluent in Nigeria.
“As at today, Osun has completed no fewer than 50 of such mega schools across the state that have already been put to use by Osun pupils without the PDP’s imaginary ‘high fees’.
“Which one of the schools such as Anthony Udofia Government Elementary School, Salvation Army Government Middle School, Adventist Government High School, Ede, Ansar-ul-Deen Elementary School, Isale Osun, Osogbo or any other school has become a ‘high fee paying’ school since their commissioning?” He queried.
It said the Aregbesola administration’s refusal to be slowed down in its development agenda had remained a source of headache to the opposition, adding that none of the claims of the party against the governor had been found to be reliable or true since the PDP embarked on its mission to destroy Osun State.
Continuing, the statement said Osun government will not “be bogged down by the emptiness of PDP’s ideas and the hollowness of the party’s arguments.”
“They said it openly that Buhari would not honour Osun people with his visit. Mr. President came and he was enthusiastically welcome by all the people of Osun. He was pleasantly surprised by the landmark and enviable achievements of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the educational sector through his numerous interventionist initiatives.
“The PDP is a disillusioned party and when a party disillusioned, it hallucinates and the outcome of PDP’s hallucination is this baseless criticism of Aregbesola’s historical and landmark achievements.
“The party is a rejected party that can never come back to life again in Nigeria. Its soul, to use the words of its leader, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has left it long ago”, he added.

The Government of Osun state on Sunday, September 4  asked Nigerians to dismiss attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to diminish the achievements of the rave Aregbesola administration with last Thursday’s official opening of the Osogbo Government High School, commissioned by President Muhammad Buhari.
 

 
It said the PDP lacks the capacity to comprehend the administration’s strategies to make education quality in Osun catch up and surpass what any elite school in Nigeria offers. The government, through the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor said the allegation from the PDP was no more than a case of sour grape arising from its shattered expectation that President Muhammad Buhari would not honour the state with his presence to commission the school.
It said the Rauf Aregbesola administration has a comprehensive strategy towards changing the face of education and bringing it to the same level of what any elite schools in Nigeria can offer.
 
The Bureau’s statement, signed by its director, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, asked Nigerians to demand from the PDP which insights it has into the workings of the Osun government’s various strategies to turn around the fortune of education in the state.
 
The Bureau noted that PDP’s claim could only be its own imagination arising from its anti-people orientation that whatever is good, modern, spectacular and qualitative is an exclusive preserve of its own class of elite.
 
The Bureau’s statement said, “We are not like them. This is a case of sour grape on the part of the PPD that wants to disparage the great achievements of the governor.
 
“Aregbesola’s mission in education is to democratize it and bring it to the poor who could possibly never have been opportune to be educated along children of the affluent in Nigeria.” The Bureau said so far, no fewer than 50 of its school projects are already open for use, demanding which one has been changed to high fee paying school. “As at today, Osun has completed no fewer than 50 of such mega schools across the state that have already been put to use by Osun pupils without the PDP’s imaginary “high fees”.
 
“Which one of the schools such as Anthony Udofia Government Elementary School, Salvation Army Government Middle School, Adventist Government High School, Ede, Ansar-ul-Deen Elementary School, Isale Osun, Osogbo or any other school has become a “high fee paying” school since their commissioning?” the Bureau demanded
It said that the Aregbesola administration’s refusal to be slowed down in its development agenda has remained a source of headache to the opposition, adding that none of the claims of the party against Aregbesola has been found to be reliable or true since the PDP embarked on its mission to destroy Osun.
 
“But we  cannot be bogged down by the emptiness of PDP’s ideas and the hollowness of the party’s arguments. They said it openly that Buhari would not honour Osun people with his visit.
 
Mr. President came and he was enthusiastically welcome by all the people of Osun. He was pleasantly surprised by the landmark and enviable achievements of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the educational sector through his numerous interventionist initiatives,” the Bureau said Stating that those who seek to diminish Aregbesola’s achievements are only a self-immolation mission, the Bureau said PDP’s inability to comprehend the Aregbesola program of changing the fortune of education in the state could only help to sink the party into its abyss of extinction.
 
“It is gratifying that Nigerians know the PDP for what it is: a lying party and a dying party,” it added. The Bureau said since the commissioning of the Osogbo Government High School on Thursday, there have been calls from far and near by parents who are under intense pressure from their children who desire to be enrolled in Osun schools.
 
Nothing could be more of a confirmation that Osun has set a laudable example on how Nigerian children should be educated. Concluding its statement, the Bureau said, “The PDP is a disillusioned party and when a party is disillusioned, it hallucinates and the outcome of PDP’s hallucination is this baseless criticism of Aregbesola’s historical and landmark achievements.
“The party is a rejected party that can never come back to life again in Nigeria. Its soul, to use the words of its former leader, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has left it long ago,” Okanlawon remarked.
 
 

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday described the newly completed Osogbo Government High school built by the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as an educational legacy that must be emulated by other states of the federation.
The President stated this while commissioning the state-of-the-art school to commemorate the 25th creation anniversary of the state in Osogbo.

 
Buhari noted that the ‎3,000-capacity complex with 72 classrooms, each capable of sitting 49 pupils, is in line and fulfilment with his administration and party’s education policy.
He held that his government has been doing all it could to assist state governments to realise their developmental plans irrespective of their political parties.
President Buhari said his government will cooperate with other state governments to make education cost effective and accessible to other youth in the country.
According to him, the example of the cost effectiveness will be exemplified by this new school, which is capable of graduating 1,000 students in a year.
He averred that if the school will have produced 50, 000 well-trained students, who will form the fulcrum of the society in the next 50 years.
“I have been here three times before now. I am not surprised by your usual generous welcome. I should also thank you for your support for our party, the All Progressive Congress, in the last presidential and general elections.
“Since last week, the celebration has been loud on the 25th creation anniversary of Osun. I rejoice with you and the people of Osun. Creation of state is for development. I am glad that efforts are in place in Osun to quicken the needed development.
“Our government has been helping states to realise their developmental plans irrespective of political parties. We are here to commission Osogbo Government High School, one of the legacy projects of Rauf Aregbesola.
“The facility here is worthy of emulation by other states. What we are witnessing here is a fulfilment of our government policy on education.
“The economy of scales in this edifice is unquantifiable and so we must seize the opportunities the school has in stock.
“During our campaigns, we promised our people positive and progressive change. But history has taught us that change does not come as easy as that. Change will come after much hard work, patience and perseverance. We promise that we shall do everything for our country and our people and this won’t be long in coming,” President Buhari said.
Speaking earlier, the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola commended President Buhari for his leadership qualities, saying that Buhari since his assumption of office has not disappointed the many patriots.
 

 
He also lauded the President for facing his job with uncommon courage despite the obvious grim challenges, one of which is declining revenue.
Aregbesola attributed the challenge being faced by the President to the progressive decline in oil receipts to less than 20 per cent of what it was shortly before he came to office.
He noted that the shortfall in oil has affected the Federal Government and put not less than 28 states under severe financial strain, adding that if not for the courage of the President and his team, the country could have gone totally bankrupt.
‎

‎Governor Aregbesola noted that the commissioning of the school is the manifestation of both governments’ commitment to educational development, which is also derived from APC’s ideology and manifesto of providing mass education to the people.
He said, “Education for us, therefore, is the path to development. We are 25 years now, but we are looking at the next 25 years and we want to create and determine the next 25 years through education.
‎
“We are producing the new man. The overall aim is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society.
‎
“This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man who views his existence in light of the growth of others; he views whatever is acquired to be subsumed in the overall interest of others. He is a man in himself and a man for society.”‎
‎
Dignitaries at the event were: the Governor’s of Borno Oyo and Lagos States Kazeem Shettima, Isiaka Ajimobi and Akinwunmi Ambode respectively; former Governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, and former Deputy Governor of Ogun, Segun Adesegun.

 
Wife of the Osun Governor, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, Deputy Governor of Osun, Mrs Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori were there.
Others included former Chief of Army Staff, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) and Air Vice Marshal Oluseyi Petirin (rtd); Speaker of Lagos State, Rt. Hon Mudasir Obasa; Senator Babajide Omoworare (Osun West); Senator Prof. Sola Adeyeye (Osun Central).
Royal fathers at the occasion were Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; Ataoja of Osogbo, Jimoh Olanipekun; Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba Abdurauf Adedeji; Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi among others.
 

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday arrived Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on a one-day working visit as part of the 25th anniversary of the creation of Osun State. He inaugurated the newly built Government High School, Osogbo and other projects completed by the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Buhari had been scheduled to participate in the activities marking the 25th anniversary of the creation of Osun state, which took place last week but was unable to make it then.
 

 

 
Accompanying the president on the visit to the Southwest state are the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, as well as his Oyo and Borno States counterparts, Governors Abiola Ajimobi and Kashim Shettima.
Earlier, security had been beefed up at the Osogbo Government High School, site of one of the projects to be commissioned, as policemen from the Bomb Squadron Unit as well as men of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were seen with sniffer dogs combing the area.
 
 

 

 
Other dignitaries at the event include, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shitu; former Governor of the state, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Najeem Salaam, and members of the Assembly. Also present were: the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, the Ataoja of Osogbo and the Timi of Ede.
 

 

Lawmakers in the Osun State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, advised the Governor of the state, Rauf Aregbesola, on a number of issues that would fast-track the development of the state.

At a special sitting held to review the State’s development 25 years after it was created, the lawmakers said the state had surpassed other states in the nation that were created at the same time.
One of the sectors that the lawmakers, however, urged the government to give more attention to, is the education sector.
The representative of Ife Constituency, Samson Eluwole, pointed out that although the state was having beautiful schools and education infrastructure, the current level of education in the state was pitiable.
He said the state, which is now down the ladder of the recent West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, needed urgent attention.
Honourable Eluwole, however, praised the State civil servants for their doggedness in the face of the current economic hardship.
” As of now, if you go to Ife-Ede road and Akoda-Osogbo road, you will discover that these roads have become death traps.
“For a decade now no one can boast of getting water from the public tap. Many infrastructures are on the verge of decadence,” he observed.
The Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Honourable Najeem Salam, also advised the people of the state to be patient, emphasising that the hard times being experienced in Nigeria would soon be over.

 

 
 
He said: “People should be careful how they criticise the government.
“We know this is democracy but it does not mean we should hide under that to criticise the government unjustly.
“Osun is not the only state that is borrowing. Well-to-do countries like America, Saudi Arabia and even Venezuela that has the largest crude oil deposit are also borrowing. We should be mindful of how we judge”.
The House Majority Leader, Timothy Owoeye, noted the state had witnessed some level of development that were yet to be matched by other states in Nigeria.
“We now have 18 higher institutions in the state. A number that has not been achieved by any other state created alongside Osun state in 1991.
“The fact that we are having universities and nine polytechnics in the state explains the enabling environment for doing business in our state,” he told the House.
“The Future Looks Brighter”
The House Member representing Osogbo Constituency, Akintunde Adegboye, said the state, which witnessed a lot of stunted growth before Governor Aregbesola came on board, insisted that the past administrators were not responsible for the woes but insufficient capital was.
“When the Governor came on board, the trend changed as he took a bold step towards ensuring the state was having enough resources,” he reminded the House.
However, the lawmaker representing Orolu-Irepodun Constituency, Honourable Kameel Oyedele, urged the Speaker to expedite action on the bill proposing a Public-Private Partnership in the area of tourism in the state, requesting that it should be passed into law soon.
“I will only urge the Speaker to expedite efforts on how the private sector can come into the tourism industry in Osun. There is a bill to that effect and it is still waiting to be passed into law,” he stated.
Honourable Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, representing Obokun Constituency told the House members that Osun State had grown in leaps and bounds in the last 25 years, pointing out that the administration of Governor Aregbesola has indeed shown itself to be a pacesetter with most of the policies it had adopted, which other states were beginning to copy.
While acknowledging that paucity of fund had thwarted the growth of the state in some aspects, the members agreed that with committed leaders like Governor Aregbesola, who had raised the bar of governance,” the future looks bright for the state”.

President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that change can not be attained on a bed of roses and demanded understanding of Nigerians while he deals with the ailing economy.
 

 
He also described the newly completed Osogbo Government High school built by the Governor of Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as an educational legacy that must be emulated by other states of the federation.
 
Speaking while commissioning the state-of-the-art school to commemorate the 25th creation anniversary of the state in Osogbo yesterday, President Buhari stated that his government has been doing all it could to assist state governments to realise their developmental plans irrespective of their political parties.
 
His words: “Our government has been helping states to realise their developmental plans irrespective of political parties. We are here to commission Osogbo Government High School, one of the legacy projects of Rauf Aregbesola.
 
“The facility here is worthy of emulation by other states. What we are witnessing here is a fulfilment of our government policy on education. “The economy of scales in this edifice is unquantifiable and so we must seize the opportunities the school has in stock. “During our campaigns, we promised our people positive and progressive change. But history has taught us that change does not come as easy as that. Change will come after much hard work, patience and perseverance.
 
We promise that we shall do everything for our country and our people and this won’t be long in coming,”. “As you are aware, the purpose of state creation is to bring leaders of government closer to the people, accelerate development, promote patriotic spirit and engender self-sufficiency”. “I am glad to note that efforts are in place for Osun to achieve these desire goals”.
 
“With our progressive governance system in place, I believe it will only be a matter of time before more will be done that will quicken the pace of development all over the country”.
 
“In a federal system, states and local governments are the centres of development, our administration has been helping the states, not just to survive the harsh economic and financial weathers, but to realise their developmental objectives as well, irrespective of the political party in place. We will continue to do this”.
 
“In our party’s manifesto, we promised to provide free and qualitative basic education by implementing the Basic Education Act. We also promised to make education more cost-effective, even as we devote not less than 10 percent of the budget on education”.
 
“There should be a substantial commitment of energy and resources to education by all the levels of government. This is how we can renew our society and shape the future of our children”. “We promised the Nigerian people positive and progressive change during our campaign. We are not and shall not be deterred from that noble undertaking”.
 
“But as we have learnt from history, change has never been attained by nation states on a bed of roses, but rather, through patience, perseverance and steadfastness”. “We are quite aware of the pains and incoveniences that have been the lot of the citizenry in the past one year as we strive to faithfully implement our programmes in fulfilment of our change agenda”.
 
“We are however comforted by the real change and progress we have made in fighting corruption and restoring integrity to government; providing security for lives and property; and positioning the government for effectiveness and especially deregulating the oil sector”.
 
“We must also not forget the fiscal discipline that has nor characterised government business at all levels. This indeed is how it should be and we are determined to introduce and implement actions and measures that will entrench the change mantra in our individual lives just as we are doing in curtailing excessive waste and rent seeking in governance”.
 
“We are determined to remain on track as we strive to deliver to rescue the country from past mistakes in fulfilment of our promise of improving the conditions of our people and making Nigeria a prosperous country”. Speaking earlier, the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola commended President Buhari for his leadership qualities, saying that Buhari since his assumption of office has not disappointed the many patriots.
 
He also lauded the President for facing his job with uncommon courage despite the obvious grim challenges, one of which is declining revenue. Aregbesola attributed the challenge being faced by the President to the progressive decline in oil receipts to less than 20 per cent of what it was shortly before he came to office.
 
He noted that the shortfall in oil has affected the Federal Government and put not less than 28 states under severe financial strain, adding that if not for the courage of the President and his team, the country could have gone totally bankrupt. ‎Governor Aregbesola noted that the commissioning of the school is the manifestation of both governments’ commitment to educational development, which is also derived from APC’s ideology and manifesto of providing mass education to the people. “We are producing the new man.
 
The overall aim is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society.
 
Dignitaries at the event were: the Governor’s of Borno Oyo and Lagos States Kazeem Shettima, Isiaka Ajimobi and Akinwunmi Ambode respectively; former Governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, and former Deputy Governor of Ogun, Segun Adesegun. Wife of the Osun Governor, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, Deputy Governor of Osun, Mrs Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori were also present at the ceremony. Others included former Chief of Army Staff, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) and Air Vice Marshal Oluseyi Petirin (rtd); Speaker of Lagos State, Rt. Hon Mudasir Obasa; Senator Babajide Omoworare (Osun West); Senator Prof. Sola Adeyeye (Osun Central). Royal fathers at the occasion were Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; Ataoja of Osogbo, Jimoh Olanipekun; Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba Abdurauf Adedeji; Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi among others.
 

The Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has approved the elevation of ten Obas in the state of Osun to part two (2) status.
 

 
This was contained in a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, Water Resources, Rural and Community Affairs, Mr. Muftau Oluwadare.

The newly elevated Obas are Olukotun of Ikotun, Onijaye of Ijaye, Olukitibi of Ikitibi, Alaasan of Ilasan, Adoo of Idoo, Elegbedi of Egbedi, Alapupu of Apupu and Olu of Ayenugba, all in Egbedore Local Government.
Others are Oba Aworo of Odogbo-Ijesa and Olusogo of Olorunsogo-Ijesa both in Atakunmonsa East Local Government Area.
According to the letter, the approval for elevation to Part two (recognized) status is in line with the provision of the Chief’s Law Cap 25, Law of the State of Osun 2002.
The elevation takes effect from 21st of August, 2016 as approved by the Governor-in-Council. The elevation will be published in the next official Government Gazette.