…Commissions medical equipment
The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Wednesday described the action of the striking doctors in the state as selfish and uncaring about what happens to other citizens and residents of the state in the face of the present economic hardship faced by the country.
 

 
The Governor‎ stated this while delivering an address titled “To the improved health of the People” at the commissioning of new equipment for Boripe Local Government Health Centres  at Boripe Local Government Secretariat in Iragbiji.
Aregbesola admonished the striking doctors to recognise that the state is in a very special time of serious economic challenge and be willing to sacrifice like‎ every other workers in the state who are always at their duty post.
He held that government in spite of the great financial challenges has given the welfare of the people priority attention, saying it is high time that all realised that the state is in a special period where sacrifice must be made.
Aregbesola noted that states in the past used to get money from the federal government every month to run their administration, but since July 2013, that has continued to decrease until today when most states get nothing again.
‎According to the Governor, “There are however some of our health workers at the state level who think only of themselves, who do not care a hoot whatever happens to the rest of us.
“They have refused to recognise that we are in a special time and would insist that we give to them alone all the money in the state, even while other government workers are willing to make sacrifice.
“By their own action of indefinitely abandoning their duty post, they have demonstrated that they have no place in our hospitals and the reasonable thing to do is to fill the void they created. Nature abhors vacuum”. The Governor told the gathering.
‎He pointed out that the restoration of healthy living is one of his administration’s cardinal objectives, stating that it is only healthy people that  can work and be productive to generate revenues to government through tax.
Aregbesola also added that when people are healthy and live longer, they participate in political activities which translates into more votes for politicians, and that it is in the best interest of the people themselves and government to promote good health.
He said, “As you are also aware, the state government provides good healthcare services to the people through teaching hospital, which is the highest level, general hospitals and local government health centres.
“We have also been maintaining our free healthcare policy through constant procurement to ensure availability of free drugs at our hospitals, while there are also free anti-malaria drugs for expectant mothers as part of their ante-natal treatment in government-owned hospitals.
“Furthermore, we have renovated nine state hospitals, upgraded our existing primary healthcare centres while new ones are being built. We have also provided medical equipment, furniture and electrical appliances for some of our health facilities where these are needed.
“Ambulances equipped with first aid equipment were purchased and are now in full operation under the Osun Ambulance Services, which is aimed at improving the quick-response capacity of the health system, in cases of accidents and emergencies”. Aregbesola emphasised.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary, Boripe Local Government, Alhaji Kehinde Moronkeji said the equipment being commissioned were donated by the AD King Foundation of Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.
The Council boss added that when he took over the administration of the council, the health equipment at hospitals were outdated thus necessitating for modern medical equipment for health centres in the Local Government.
He said, “As we all know that, we are operating Primary Health Centres at the Local Government level while state are operating General hospitals. There are equipment acquire here that are meant for the use of tertiary hospital which will be donated to state to serve as our contribution to the development of the state.
“I want to quickly add that our administration would continue to be committed to programmes and project that would better the lots of our people”. He stressed.
The State Chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Olajire Oyebode commended the Governor for what he has done in developing infrastructure in the state.
He noted that with all the road network in Osun that Aregbesola has constructed, there is no meaningful residents and citizens of the state that will not want to pay tax, pledging the commitment of members of his association to the payment of tax.
Oyebode said, “at this point of economic hardship, all in the state should be ready to pay their taxes, government needs money for it to continue the good work it has started, we are all living witness to how the armoured tanks provided for the police by the Governor was able to foil the robbery in Ikirun”. The Union leader stressed.

The deployed teachers from the civil service with teaching qualifications whose names have been forwarded to the Teacher’s Establishment and Pensions Office (TEPO) have been asked to report for a screening exercise on Wednesday (17th February, 2016).
 

 
This is contained in release signed by the Co-ordinating Director of Teacher’s Establishment and Pensions Office (TEPO), Mr. Adeolu Oyebayo who said the screening will hold at Baptist High School, Gbodofon Area, Osogbo by 8.00am.
According to him, all affected officers are expected to come with the original and photocopies of their documents as well as two recent passport photographs.

Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has approved the redeployment of Permanent Secretaries in the State with immediate effect.
 

 
The new postings, according to a circular signed by the State Head of Service, Mr. Olayinka Owoeye, became imperative due to the re-organisation of the Civil Service from eighteen to twelve Ministries coupled with the creation of some new Departments and Agencies.
According to the posting instruction, there is need to re-invigorate the Public Service for the challenges ahead especially the effective execution of 2016 Budget.
According to the Head of Service, Mr. Kayode Adegoke will replace Mr. Christopher Fawole of the Parastatal Monitoring Office who is retiring from the service while Mr. Muftau Oluwadare will man the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, Water Resources, Rural and Community Affairs.
Mr. Sunday Olajide has been deployed to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to replace Mr. Lawrence Oyeniran who has retired from the Service while Mr. Ayanleye Aina is now in charge of the Office of Human Resources and Capacity Building as well as overseeing the Public Service Office.
Architect Adewale Ojo is now the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Sanitation and Physical Planning while Engineer Olusegun Aduroja moves to the Hospitals Management Board as the Permanent Secretary.
The letter of posting shows that Mrs Olajumoke Bello is now the Permanent Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Information, Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture while Pharmacist Omolara Ajayi has been moved to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Affairs.
Dr. Adeyinka Eso is now the Permanent Secretary in charge of the State Ministry of Health while Mrs Adebimpe Ogunlumade mni, now takes charge of the Ministry of Finance.

The Osun State Security Council on Monday commended the police and other security agencies who foiled the bank robbery incident in Ikirun last Friday.

Addressing journalists after the state security council meeting, Osun Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kola Sodipo, held that security agencies in the state needed to be lauded for their gallantry, utmost sense of duty and professionalism.

The Osun CP represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) ACP Jesubiyi Taiwo, stated that the police and other security agencies swiftly responded to the security challenge with superior firepower.

He added that the recorded success was the result of the Armoured Personnel Carriers provided the police by the state government, stressing that four of the robbers were killed while four have been arrested.

The police boss assured the people of the state of its readiness to protect lives and property, maintain peace and deter any criminal activity in the state.

He said: “Last Friday, armed bandits attacked three commercial banks in Ikirun, in Ifelodun Local Government area of the state, these bandits came with sophisticated weapons and explosive devices.

“The police responded swiftly with superior firepower, four of the robbers were killed while four others have been arrested. Sums of money were also recovered from the robbers. Every effort is being made to apprehend other members of the gang who are in hiding.
“Regrettably, ‎two police officers and two bank officials lost their lives during the operation. The state security council wishes to commend the police and other security agencies that rose to the occasion for their gallantry.”.
He informed the people of the need for safety precautions in any emergency situation in the nature of armed threat to lives and property involving bandits and other criminals.
The CP stressed‎ that emergencies required special attention, adding that in case of armed robbery and other armed threats, the first reaction expected from people is to run for safety in other to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
Acco‎rding to him, “Emergencies require special response. In cases of armed robbers, insurgents and other armed threats, the first reaction of the people should be to run for safety, lock themselves in and alert security agencies on their emergency numbers, in order to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
“It is most advisable to lie on the floor until it is safe to get up. Please, on no account should people come out to view the engagement of the threat by armed security agencies. It is very dangerous”. The police boss emphasised.
He stated that Police and other security agencies are prepared to keep citizens safe and will do their job to ensure a safer society.
Security agencies whose heads were present at the meeting included the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Prisons Service, the Civil Defence, Nigerian Immigration Services, Federal Roads Safety Corps.

…Charges Politicians On Honesty, Humility
Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has reassured his administration’s commitment to ensure total completion of all ongoing projects in the state.
 

 
He pledged that in spite the current economic hardship in the country and Osun in particular, his government would not be derailed on its pro-masses policies calculated to turn around the state for the better of the citizenry.
Governor Aregbesola stated this in Osogbo while speaking as the Special Guest of Honour, at a lecture organized in honour of late Chief Ayo Ojewumi, a Former Commissioner for Agriculture & Natural Resources, in the Old Oyo State, during the administration of Late Chief Bola Ige.
Aregbesola who attributed the slow pace of some of the ongoing projects to what he described as little or no revenue from the Federation Accounts to the state.
In his bid to avert further economic imbroglio, Governor Aregbesola disclosed that his government has taken an effective cost measure which according to him would reduce drastically the cost of governance in aspects of the economy.
He stated further that his administration has successfully implemented belt-tightening mechanism which he described as a panacea to stunted economic growth.
Ogbeni Aregbesola who described politics and democracy as real mirrors for development, however called on politicians in the country to be the symbol of development and demonstrate high sense of commitment to the people’s plights.
He also charged politicians to let honesty and sincerely be their watchword in whatever they do, saying the virtues of “Omoluabi ethos” must be prioritized by any leader.
Speaking further at the lecture which had as its theme :- “The Role of Journalism in Modern Nigeria Politics”, Ogbeni Aregbesola described Late  Chief Ojewumi as an astute politician per excellence, noting that politics is something that should be practiced with the utmost spirit to serve the masses based on loyalty and truthfulness.
Aregbesola said both leaders and followers must demonstrate genuine leadership and followership qualities that would retain and entrench the confidence reposed in them by the people.
He stressed that leadership positions ought to be handled in a way that the person will not be forgotten just like the late Chief Ojewumi.
Aregbesola also described politics as a worthy legacy that could be passed along to the younger ones inasmuch as  the leaders practice it with the spirit of service to humanity and the need to impact positively on the electorates who are looking onto those in government for good life.
He added, ” a good name is the only thing that can not be forgotten, I don’t know the late chief Ojewumi, I have never met him, but I am here today because of the good deeds that I read about him.
“Nobody will ever be forgotten if such person remains loyal and humble to his political leaders. If you want to be remembered for good you need to be truthful and honest.
“If you are not a persevering person, you are not likely to make an headway in politics, politics does not allow for an impatient and over ambitious individual. Whatever responsibility being given to you should be done with all sincerity.
Governor Aregbesola however reiterated that he would not rest on ensuring adequate protection of the people’s lives and property, adding that his government would continue to build much more on the effective and efficient security template which he regarded as a tool for security consciousness.
He therefore urged the residents of the state to be security conscious at all times, advising to always look for protection and cover-up whenever the  sound of gunshot is heard instead of approaching the scene of such incident.
Also Speaking at the event were, the Former Nigerian Ambassador to Philippines, Professor Yemi Farounbi who was the Guest Lecture; the Olufon of Ifon-Osun, Oba Abdumalruf Magbagbeola, among others.

Residents of Ikirun, the headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government Area on Saturday February 13, 2016, commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for security measures put in place to reduce crime rate in the state.
A cross section of the people sojourning in the sleepy community also expressed their gratitude to the police for the work well done during a bank robbery attack on Friday where 5 suspected armed robbers were gunned down. The sojourners eulogized Aregbesola for boosting security in the state.
Speaking with our correspondents at the scene of the incident on Saturday, Mr Bola Olaifa said if not for the quick intervention of the Armored Personnel Carrier APC, the robbers would have succeeded in their operation.
Olaifa noted that the robbers in their previous attacks on the bank; succeeded about two times, carting away millions of naira and killing innocent people.
He therefore appealed to the state governor to continue investing on security so the state can remain crime free.
Echoing a similar view, Mr Wahab also known as Olo, lauded the quick intervention of policemen.
Olo further explained it is now that they know the usefulness and the important Armored Personnel Carriers placed in some strategy places in the state.
“When Governor Aregbesola was donating the APCs some of the residents of the state especially those who didn’t appreciate the good work of the governor were condemning the gesture tagging it as an avenue to loot the state treasury but we can now see the usefulness of the APCs and its effectiveness”. He said.

He however charged the governor on the need for him not to relent in his effort in making the state crime free.
He also sympathized with the family of the police man who lost his life during the gun battle and urged the Nigeria Police to redouble their effort in ensuring security of lives and properties.
It would be recalled that Governor Aregbesola in 2013 donated Armored Personnel Carriers and hundreds of patrol vehicles to security agencies such as army, FRSC, NDLEA and the Civil Defence to enhance security of lives and properties in the state.

The Osun State Police Command has arrested four suspected armed robbers who invaded three commercial banks in Ikirun town in the state.
Items recovered from the suspects include over seven million Naira cash, three AK 47 rifles, 124 ammunition, one assault rifle with 12 rounds of live ammunition and a vehicle.

‎The State Commissioner of Police, Kola Shodipo, said that the police were on the trail of other members of the syndicate at large and urged members of the public to report any suspicious movement.
Shodipo told reporters that the Armoured Personnel Carrier provided to the police by Governor Rauf Aregbesola assisted them in arresting the suspects.
While stating that the age of the suspects ranged between 21 and 26, the Commissioner of Police called for better community policing to engender unity between the police and the people to rid the society of criminals.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Governor, State of Osun, after the signing of the Osun Public Procurement Law in his office took time off to answer a few questions from journalists. From the MKO Abiola International Airport to what the state has done to promote agriculture, he left no one in doubt on the convictions of his administration on its development projects. Excerpts from Kunle Alabi and Kunle Owolabi:
 

 
You are talking about diversification from oil to agriculture, what are the specific programmes you have for those who want to engage in agriculture?
It is not only true that we supported farmers in this state with close to N2bn commercial agricultural loan, 13, 000 micro businesses were also supported with close N2bn through our micro credit agency. Over 13, 000 people have benefitted from the scheme?
We are willing and ready to support as many people as possible, who wants to go into agriculture or any profitable venture. We have several agencies that do this. There is an agency that we establish that is called QUIP (Quick Intervention Programme), which gives money and support to whoever is interested in agriculture.
There is OSADEP which gives loan; the Ministry of Agriculture does that too. We have many programmes and activities to support farmers. What I say is this: we do not have the capacity to guarantee price but we believe that with the school feeding programme, there is enough incentive in that for whoever wants to make success in agriculture; to go into agriculture and sell for our vendors and those who procure food commodities for that already existing programmes.
250, 000 pupils are being fed every school day and the aggregation of that monetarily is N3.6bn per annum. As hard as it is with us today, that programme is unaffected. People speculated that it would be cancelled. Till this morning and by the grace of God and for as long as I am the governor, that programme will continue.
You have enough for your off-take for your agricultural intervention in that. If you tailor your intervention to supply of the food vendors of O’MEAL programme. For your information let me repeat again; O’MEAL programme consumes every week 250, 000 eggs, 15, 000 chickens goes into it on a weekly basis; 15 heads of cattle on a weekly basis. This is about the protein contents. I am not talking about the cabonhydrate content.
That one can reel out 250, 000 loaves of bread. N30 each goes into that every week. When you summarise these, you would know that it is a major input into the local economy, which I believe those who are genuine and sincere can plug into and make a living out of it. So, when you now add these all up, I want to believe as government that we are not doing badly.
I want to find out this law that has just been signed, how will it affect the ordinary people especially those who have no businesses that can help government in procurement. And secondly, what is the situation about the striking doctors?
I have not gotten any report from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Hospital Management Board. Go to her, she will give you comprehensive report to your question. I don’t know anything; they have not reported back to me. That is that about that.
Your question on how does the law affect the ordinary people: when you asked it, in my mind, I chuckled that probably they must include Economics into Mass Communications because it does not appear as if there is appropriate appreciation of how life is interconnected.
Now, the woman selling bread by the construction site of Ratcon benefits  from procurement of that contract by government from Ratcon and it’s not that woman alone. And those who have one thing or the other to do with the process. The workers there would stay somewhere.
They might not be normal residents of Osogbo. Even when they are not from here, the fact that they are working here will make them stay somewhere. It could be hotel. For the period they so do, it is not going to be free of charge.
That in itself is an activity that will impact on the economy.The link is limitless. Just use the two examples that I gave to extrapolate on how the economy is affected or impacted by any procurement process. You can only imagine it is numerous. Some are wholesome to say while some you can’t say. Everything is connected.
Does the state really need an airport?
Life is about creativity. If you go to the Bible or the Qura’n there was nothing here before. It was void. God, out of His own creative mind decreed that there must be light. And immediately, everything changed from light to land – I may not be right in my sequence – land to various creations and today, we are here; various creations, if that is strange to you, you may be an atheist, not believing in the holy books.
Let us go historical: some characters from nowhere just discovered after Columbus that a land exists called America. They went there and met fairly uncivilised indigenes by their own description. They began by brutal extermination of those people less than 300 years ago and today a local government has airport in America, which rose from jungles, where no civilised life ever existed. If you are not creative to know, it is painful that we underestimate ourselves. We put ourselves down, yet we want to escape poverty.
Whoever cannot dream or aspire can never escape poverty. Now, what is it we have done? Even saying it, people refuse to listen. Nigeria has the largest number of privately owned aircraft in Africa and yet there is no single place where aircraft is maintained, which we cannot do without.
For instance Check A, B, C, D are mandatory for any aircraft that has flown certain number of hours. There is no facility for aircraft maintenance anywhere in Nigeria. There are only three places in Africa where aircraft can be maintain. And we have various categories of aircraft such as fixed wings aircraft which is the popular Boeing and rotary wings, which is the helicopter.  Now, before we even began, why did we chose the company that is building the airport, AETLS, a company owned absolutely by the Nigerian Air Force.
We chose it because from the onset, it agreed that its rotary wing aircraft will be maintained there. That is, a rotary wing hangar will be established there. So, the agreement between us and the Air Force is that once this airport is completed, this is where they will relocate their helicopter maintenance service.
What that means is that whoever has helicopter in Nigeria does not need to take it outside. They must bring it to Osun. That is a source of income. When you bring your helicopter, they can’t finish it in a day. You will stay in hotel; you will eat, move around at night and in the process you will drop some money.
Before we began the process, we got an American company to have another hangar for fixed wing, that is all aircraft of any size. That is why we negotiated for the longest runway so that no aircraft would be spared landing for repair.
From the onset, whether there is passenger traffic or not, our airport is already covered. We also met a Chinese concern that is also interested in agriculture. So, if we are going to invest in agriculture, there must be an agricultural commodity processing park where you will be processing produce from the farm for huge cargo movement to other lands. We equally have an agreement from the Chinese farm to use the airport for cargo services.
With these three, how do you see the project that we have there? Unless a calamity occurs the airport is already destined to succeed. Now, add to it our first dream when we got here: we said we want to turn Osogbo to what it was before it even became a capital. Osogbo was the hub of commerce in the mid-region of Nigeria.
We said we will develop a mid-region market in Osogbo, that is why we moved it from where it was to Dagbolu and we have made progress there. The delay is the capital and we are in serious negotiation with investors to join us in developing a huge commercial hub in Dagbolu where manufactured goods would come from Lagos to be sold at Lagos price and agricultural produce from here and other parts of Nigeria will be gathered and taken to Lagos free of charge to be sold in Lagos at farm gate price.
When you combine all of these, we realised that what motivated the people that turned desert to Dubai is behind our own idea. It may be slow but we are so committed to it. It may take time but we will get there. Dubai was a desert; it had no attraction at all . Some people felt they could turn it to what it is today. Shiek Makhtum felt it could turn it to what it is today. What motivated the people who turned Dubai to what it is today is what motivated us to do what we are doing today. And we shall succeed by the grace of God. It may be slow but we are so much committed to it. It may take time, we will get there.
When are we expecting a new cabinet?
I am seriously working on it; without sleep, I am working on it.