Few days to the governorship election in Osun State scheduled for August 9, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the performance of the incumbent governor was good enough to defeat the opposition in a free and fair election.
A former Deputy Governor of the state and chieftain of the party, Rev. Peter Obadan, who made this known on Thursday in Benin, stated that the party was not unaware of the plans by the Peoples Democratic Party to win at all cost in forthcoming election.
Obadan, who noted that activities of the opposition in the state had increased tension ahead of the election, expressed fear that the outcome of the Osun polls might spell doom in the state and the 2015 general elections, if the wishes of the people were subverted.
He called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, to ensure transparency by providing a level playing ground for the political parties and their candidates at the poll.
Obadan said, “We are quite in the know of what the PDP who control then power at the centre is capable of doing to win at all cost.
“They have forgotten that the President of Nigeria is not the President of the PDP but the entire country.
“On the strength of that, they are taking every election as a do-or-die affair.
“The PDP is frightened by this fact that on a free and fair election, that the incumbent governor cannot be defeated.
“The PDP at the centre boast of the manipulation which they are capable of manifesting in every election because they control the centre.
“They foresee that in 2015, that power will slip off their hand.”
DAILY TIMES

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As Armed Mask Officials Shoot Sporadically In Siren-blaring Vehicles In Osogbo, Iwo

Panic initially gripped residents of the State of Osun on Wednesday, when operatives of the Department of Security Service (DSS) in about 50 Toyota pickup vehicles suddenly started firing into the air, as their convoy rode through Osogbo, on their arrival in the state capital.

The officials, no fewer than 5,000, some of whom wore masks, were fully armed and were conveyed round Osogbo in the siren-blaring vehicles.

They were also sighted in Iwo and surrounding communities of Osogbo. OSUN DEFENDER observed that some of the operatives, who sat on the roof-tops of the vehicles, fired gunshots into the air, thereby causing fear among residents and road users.

Dressed in black T-shirts, black trousers with caps and fully armed, the officials drove from their office along Gbongan-Osogbo Road through Olaiya Junction to Oke-Fia.

A source however disclosed to the medium that the operatives were deployed from Abuja, the seat of the Federal Government.
Motorists and commercial motorcycle riders hurriedly parked their vehicles, while the armed officials took over the roads and just as pedestrians also abandoned the roads for the arms-wielding security men.

The Director of the DSS in the State of Osun, Mr. Andrew Iorkyar, when contacted by the medium on the telephone, said that the officials were deployed to the state for the purpose of the August 9, 2014 governorship election.
He said: “They are our men. They are patrolling round to familiarise themselves with the terrain. They are in the state to protect law-abiding people. They are not deployed to terrorise anybody.

“You know that there are allegations and counter-allegations of stock-piling or arms by some politicians. We don’t want any breakdown of law and order. So, our men are in the state to ensure peace.” Asked why the officials were shooting into the air, Iorkyar said he was not aware of that and he promised to find out.

He urged the people of the state not to hesitate to make useful information available to the service.

The Special Adviser to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Security Matters, Mr. Amos Adekunle, when contacted on telephone by our reporter condemned the incident, describing it as intimidation. Some residents, who spoke to our reporter, condemned the shooting, saying it was not necessary, because there was no crisis to warrant it.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) described the shooting as a ploy to scare voters away from coming out to vote.
The party Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, who spoke with one OSUN DEFENDER on telephone, said the incident was totally uncalled for, adding that it initially left people running helter-skelter.
Oyatomi, who also issued a statement on the development, asked the people not to be intimidated by the security men presence in the state.

He said: “The incident was unwarranted because there was no riot. They came from Abere end; they passed though Olosan to Olaiya and Oke-Fia thence to Ilobu. They would move a few metres and opened fire. People began to run helter-skelter.

“If this is how the Peoples Democratic Party thinks it would capture Osun, they are joking because the people’s wish can never be subverted. “No citizens should be scared or should run away when they see and or hear gunshots from security people because they have committed no crime. People should go about their businesses and ignore them.

“A country in which the security operatives are the ones doing what we are experiencing to citizens in Osun, calls for the gravest concern,” Oyatomi stressed

OSUN DEFENDER

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday condemned the show of force displayed by officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) in some areas in the state on Wednesday.

The masked-operatives had driven round the metropolis and shot sporadically into the air, an act that scared many residents.

Speaking in Oshogbo at the commissioning of the emergency call centre built for efficient security network in the state, the governor lamented that the display was meant to intimidate the people as no situation called for such.

Aregbesola stated that his administration will launch an official complaint to the authorities concerned, saying that they have no constitutional right to threaten or intimidate law abiding citizens of the state.

“We owe it a duty to let the whole world know what is happening here. This is against the right of the Nigerian people. We’ve all forgotten that we pay the salaries of the security agencies,” he said.

“We don’t pay for them to wear mask in our towns. They should only wear masks when they engage terrorists and if they have to operate in a region where seeing them might compromise their own safety and security.

“What would they say is the reason for what they are doing now other than threat, shock and awe? So, what this means is that they want to conquer and cow our people, which is a direct assault on democracy.

“I won’t take gun against them but I will not be quiet. We should all talk and condemn it because this is not about Aregbesola alone,” the governor stressed.

On the call centre, he explained that the facility will immediately alert security operatives at the dial of a distress call line (080067866786) that can take 24 calls at a time and 100 (hundred) calls when upgraded.

The governor pointed out that just as it has been done in all other aspects of public life in Osun, protecting the lives and property of the people is a task that has kept the administration busy and for which his administration will continue to shoulder.

He said it is a task for which his government was fully committed to observing, adding that government would leave no stone unturned in terms of welfare and security of the people.

“This Emergency Call Centre will go a long way in enhancing the effectiveness of the various security measures we have been putting in place for the safety of lives and property in Osun,” Aregbesola added.

“Towards this end, therefore, we have gradually been building a mutually reinforcing security system that will guarantee the pursuit of a ‘life more abundant’ in the State of Osun. We have, among other measures, set up a patrol unit, the Swift Action Squad (SAS).

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the federal government of terrorising and intimidating the people of Osun state, with a view to cowing them ahead of the state’s August gubernatorial election. In a press statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party wondered why the government would send agents of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the state “to harass innocent citizens in an unprovoked and primitive show of power that could only be described as sheer gangsterism.”
”As widely reported, DSS agents, armed to the teeth and riding in over 50 trucks, drove around Osogbo and other parts of Osun state on Wednesday, blaring siren and shooting sporadically in the air, thus disrupting the normally-peaceful life in the state,” APC said. ”Residents who were visibly traumatised by the shameful display of state power ran helter-skelter and wondered why their government had sent masked men, or ninjas, to terrorize them. They now understand that the masked thugs who have been following the PDP candidate around on his campaign trail were actually government sanctioned. This is a power show taken too far, even with the well-known impunity tendencies of the Jonathan Administration.”
APC alleged that information at its disposal showed that 5,000 more DSS men were being dispatched to the state before the election, “on the basis of an orchestrated petition alleging that certain APC leaders are planning to foment trouble during the election.” ”The real purpose of this fake petition and the consequent deployment of thousands of secret police to Osun is to harass, intimidate and arrest the leaders of the APC in the state, in a repeat of what transpired in Ekiti,” the party stated. ”Flooding Osun with irresponsible DSS officials to terrorize the residents is another low for a government that is notorious for abuse of power and federal institutions.
It is no longer news that the military, the police and other security agencies are working for the Jonathan Administration, rather than for all of Nigeria. What is new is that the security agencies have now been unleashed on the citizenry. ”What rankles even more is the constant assurances by President Jonathan that the election will be free and fair. How can we have a credible election in an atmosphere of state-led gangsterism? How can we have a credible election when the FG that is supposed to protect the people and ensure violence-free polls is the same one that purveys violence? Where else in the world do secret police announce themselves by firing to scare away harmless citizens? When did masks become part of the uniform of the State Security Service agents?”
It reminded the DSS officers that the guns they were using to terrorise the people of Osun were given to them by taxpayers, and that they were indeed trained at the expense of taxpayers, hence it was totally irresponsible and unacceptable for them to turn their guns on the taxpayers. APC called on “local and international election observers to take note of the pre-election intimidation tactics of the PDP/Jonathan administration, which were designed to scare people away from the polling booths and provide the necessary atmosphere for electoral malfeasance.”
The party said that” it would not accept the same hear-no-evil, see-no-evil disposition of President Jonathan, who on one hand would be assuring the international community of credible polls under his watch, while at the same time looking the other way as his cabinet ministers, other appointees and the security agencies under his control break the law with impunity and become agents of terror.”
”Mr. President, you are responsible for the actions of the men and women you appoint into your cabinet. You are the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. You bear the ultimate responsibility for the acts of omission or commission of this category of public officials, as well as the security agencies. You must call them to order if indeed they are not acting under your orders.”

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola tells Business Day’s Research team that the focus of his government is the enrichment of the Common Man. He says his ambition to make the state a much better place is his driving force in seeking re- election. Find Excerpts below, you can also download a full version HERE – Ogbeni Business Day Pullout (1)
Which of your projects are you most anxious to complete?
All our projects are important to us because they are a response to the yearnings of the people. Therefore, the question of wanting to complete a particular one does not arise. Every project has a time frame. This time frame was arrived at considering the available resources and what is considered deliverable. We are on course and working diligently to deliver on schedule. We have the best investment- friendly climate in Nigeria, security is guaranteed and the air is clear and clean. There is no pollution of any nature. When you talk of agriculture, Osun now has the largest poultry industry providing eggs and chickens for the 300, 000 pupils being fed daily in our public schools. We have a huge army of young men and women who are eager to contribute their quota to society’s growth. You may have observed that there are huge constructions – roads, bridges and houses – going on in every nook and cranny of the state.
We have a large garment production outfit here which was a product of our drive at education reform. We are the first state to bring about a unified outfit for our students. It is not as some media agencies present it, “one uniform for all students” , though there is nothing bad about all students in public schools having the same uniform. Our neighbour, Benin Republic has same uniform for all students, from Primary One to HSC. So when some commentators are ignorant of such issues, we are amazed. Our own is not even one uniform for all. Our unified uniforms covers three levels of education, namely: elementary, middle and high schools. That policy influenced the development of the Omoluabi Garment Factory, which today employs 3, 000 of our youths.
The OYES programme and the need to engage the cadets led us to a partnership with a Ghanian company, RLG Communications Limited, an electronics communications company that is training 20, 000 youths on all forms of electronic devices, and also assembling electronic gadgets like computers,  mobile phones and television sets.
An airport with the longest runway in Africa with the capacity for servicing and maintenance of aircraft is under construction. When completed, the airport will be the first airport targeted at providing aircraft maintenance facilities as its primary goal. The helicopter hangar, airplane hangar, the airstrip, the apron, the width of the airport is huge. We want to be the centre of airport maintenance in West and Central Africa. This is an investment opportunity which few people consider. And of course, we know the market is big.
We are developing an investment manual on Tourism, Electricity, Industry, Commerce and so on. We are aggressively reviewing our laws to serve as a confidence building means to attract investors. Our strategy also involves the highest regard for security, law and order.
What is your vision of what you want to leave behind in Osun when your second term ends in the next Four years?
My first aim is to leave a functioning democratic system owned by the people of the state; a system where government derives from the people, is controlled by them and therefore accountable to them. I want to leave a model state, where unemployment is near zero level and more importantly, where we create enough wealth such that the government has enough of its own money to meet its daily obligation and does not need what comes from Abuja to survive.  I also believe that our investment in education would have fully matured and the pupils in our schools would have become world beaters. I can also see our urban renewal and environment programme turning our cities into modern, clean, beautiful and safe havens.
To crown it all, I want to make human beings the centre of our government and genuine agents of development. That is all. My concern is to uplift man such as he sees himself as he only agent of change. I want to elevate the place of human beings in society such that man can see himself as the core of society and driver of development. I want to see his empowerment, upliftment and progress.
Download Full Interview Here – Ogbeni Business Day Pullout (1)

 

A powerful industrial revolution is sweeping  across Osun State and already the wise are tapping into the opportunity offered by the state government. The young and old entrepreneurs, men and women from all walks of life, the rich and the not-so-rich are also making inquiries and sealing legitimate transactions.
The opportunity, which began less than three years ago, runs from rural and urban development to road construction and rehabilitation, aesthetics, as well as tourism, agriculture, small and medium scale development, and those who have long nose for business are already sniffing and reaping the benefits.
Since Osun was created 23 years ago, the state and its people had never witnessed the rapid transformation they currently enjoy. Apart from a brewery and publishing houses, agro-allied industries, all privately-owned, as well an unorganised tourism sector and a comatose cocoa industry, one could not boast of any big industries existing in the state before now. Federal industries have long become decayed infrastructure.
Hitherto, the state could only boast of a huge population of 3.4 million (2006 census), with commensurate available resources left untapped, 30 local government areas and a landmass of 14, 875 square kilometres yearning for development. Unless you have visited the state, this sounds like a fairy tale.
The sleepy, dog-weary rural dwellers are now fully engaged in one form of economic activity or the other. Many of the activities are wholly or partly sponsored by the state government and are consequently arresting rural-urban migration.
Those in urban centres are content with the state government-organised life, which has jerked them up from their socio-economic doldrums, while indigenes in the Diaspora are struggling to have a ‘base’ at home.
Honour must, however, be accorded to whom it is due. The incumbent governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, is working and the results are manifesting.
He began with rural development. A structure without a solid foundation cannot stand and Aregbesola re-jigged the rural base, home to 70 per cent of the population. Access and feeder roads have been constructed to link various farm settlements with urban centres to facilitate evacuation of agriculture produce.
The state Agricultural Corporation has also cleared vast hectares of land for farmers, who have been granted credits and farm inputs, including fertilizer. Poultry farmers are not left out, with many of them benefitting from the Quick Impact Intervention Programme of the state government.
The World Bank-supported Fadama project is flourishing, and Osun pays its counterpart funding promptly and is among the leading funders of the programme in Nigeria. The Oloba Cattle Ranch at Iwo has also been refurbished for anybody interested in cattle business.
Perhaps, the best gift handed over to farmers by Aregbesola is a good practice put in place to evacuate produce to Lagos by rail, and making Osogbo the hub of food distribution to the neighbouring states. Osun is an agrarian community, but unfortunately, much of the produce is lost in the farm with middle men making a kill of the rest.
Consequently, in partnership with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, produce is transported to Lagos at no cost to the farmers, with the aim of slicing a chunk from the Lagos State food exchange value put at N3.5 billion.
In addition, with the established warehouses, manufactured and fresh produce will be moved periodically out of the state to ensure all-round food, stabilise prices and keep the farmers busy all-year round.
A regular commuter will also attest to the fact that Gbongan, a farming town between Ile Ife and Ibadan, serves as a food basket, where motorists stop over to purchase foodstuffs. The roadside market has been re-organised to offer patrons and consumers the best for their money.
It is no accident that a recreation park has been added to the market for relaxation, the type that exists in developed countries to rejuvenate long-journey motorists and commuters, and make travelling seamless and pleasurable.
The sprouting of new industries, road network, beautification of its major cities, the revamping of tourism industry and development of the skills of the indigenes are fast changing the perception of the people in Osun, once a civil-servant state.
An Information Communication Technology company has taken off in Ilesha, in partnership with a foreign firm; a garment industry is rolling out designer wears in Osogbo, and the cocoa processing industry is being reactivated in Ede, while the state government has set aside N4 billion to boost small scale businesses.
In spite of the dwindling federal allocation (Osun holds 34th position) and the slim internally-generated revenue, the governor manages resources prudently to provide well-constructed road network, carved out of industrial layouts, as well as initiated the construction of an airport, all aimed at strategically situating the state for economic activities.
The culture-rich state is bouncing back to glory. The landscaping of Asejire interchange, the renovation of its museums and a comprehensivere-structuring of the Osun festival and the environment have once again turned the state into a tourist haven, with more visitors thronging in.
Already, the state has been tipped as having one of the seventh largest economies in Nigeria, and a leading emerging market investment bank in Africa. This is because consumer companies are likely to find the greatest opportunities in states with highest per capita incomeand high population densities of which Osun is one.
Rattled and baffled politicians in the opposition, who never thought the state could be lifted from grass to grace in so short a time, even with meagre resources, recently attacked the governor, claiming that he had plunged the state into an everlasting debt of almost N400 billion. Sadly for them, the Debt Management Office (DMO), a Federal Government agency, which coordinates loans obtained and financial risks undertaken by the federal or a state government, says Osun is one of the best states with public debt management, adding that the debt profile of the state is a very sustainable one, healthy for its economic growth.
The Debt Management Office describes the debt burden claim as a mere propaganda and hoax, adding that the state should be used as an example for other states to emulate.
Segun Lawal, a big-time fish farmer in Okuku in Odo Otin Local Government Area, is transfixed at the transformation within two years of his business. A jobless graduate five years ago, Segun poured accolades on the governor, saying he would be the first to vote for his re-election on August 9.
“If he can do this for me within four years, I bet I will go places by the time he completes his second term in office, ‘’ Segun, who has 20 workers in his fish farms, remarked.
“A public debate should be arranged between the governor and other contenders for them to tell us what they have been doing, or what they intend to do with our lives and money,’’ he added.
Another beneficiary, Sunday Fadaunsi, who is in the hospitality industry, described Aregbesola as the right man at the right place, at the right time, asking the electorate not to be misled by empty promises.
“We have witnessed what the man can do, what other proof do we need?’’ he asked, adding that the man had virtually touched every home with his welfare projects right from the grass roots.
“I have just opened an Osogbo branch of the hotel I started in Ilesha 10 years ago, and I nearly folded up because there was no patronage, not that the standard of the hotel is low. Now with the new branch, I believe it is worthwhile to identify with Aregbesola, a lucky man,’’ he said.
Mrs Ebunoluwa Alabi, who is now a big-time dealer in fish feeds in Osogbo, observed that she had been trying her hands on various projects in the past seven years until 2011, and now, there is no going back.
‘’This is because Aregbesola has created so many opportunities for business, and which ever you choose, as long as you remain focused, you must succeed, because the man has opened up a floodgate of business activities, and it is like the sky accommodating all birds.
“Now that he has laid a solid foundation, common sense dictates that he should be allowed to continue and finish in his second term,’’ Mrs Alabi said.
Mr. Funsho Oseni, a big-time poultry farmer in Iwo, who had been in business for six years and had planned to relocate to Ibadan due to the dull business climate, said it was like a miracle when things started turning around for the better within a year.
‘’Will I be a fool to allow the ugly old times to reincarnate, certainly no,’’ the father of six said emphatically. ‘‘I will go for the man, who is replacing poverty with prosperity, not political termites and visionless noise-makers.’’ he added.
Adeoye, a public affairs analyst, writes from Osogbo.
TRIBUNE

Fresh doors of opportunities are being opened to youths of Osun in the area of Information Technology just as the state intensifies her efforts towards eradicating poverty.

This was the submission of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Thursday at the official launch of the OYES_TECH empowerment scheme at the state capital.

The Governor said that eradication of youths unemployment remains one of the major missions of his administration.
He explained that his administration embarked on the scheme as a way of reducing chronic youth unemployment and poverty in the state.
He stressed that the 700 OYESTECH youths have been trained with necessary skills needed for sustainable employment in the information and communication technology by the RLG company.
According to him, the skills acquired during the training would provide wide range of opportunities for gainful employment for the youths involved.
In his words, “the O’YES-TECH is an important component of these exit programmes.
It was conceived by our administration, but it was designed and packaged in partnership with a private ICT firm, the RLG of Ghana.
“The O’YES-TECH is six-month highly intensive course in information and communication technology. Under the programme, we plan to train 20,000 young people from the O’YES Scheme in batches of 5,000 each at 10 training centres spread across the state to facilitate easy accessibility” the governor pointed out.‎
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He further maintained that his administration will stop at nothing at ensuring a reasonable reduction in youth unemployment and promoting a better life for all and sundry.

He said technology and the new opportunities it offers are beneficial to reducing social problems.

The Governor said, “As a matter of fact, out of the first batch of 5,000 youths that have already been trained, 100 of them were sent to the RLG headquarters for further practical training in Ghana. Many of these – precisely 52 of them – have been offered direct employed by the company’s phone and laptop factory in Ilesa.

“Another 100 of the trainees are being engaged today by the company in sales activities, while 40 more are being empowered with kiosks and tools for after sales services. Some others have been similarly employed by other ICT firms such as CHAMS Plc and BEACON Power Services.”

Earlier in a remark, the Managing Director, Osun State Investment Company Limited (OSSICOL), Mr . Bola Oyebanji noted that about 700 OYESTECH members will be given direct employment by Multichoice.
Oyebanji averred that the scheme is directed at the youth to imbibe the culture of production by giving service for their earnings.
“The government of Aregbesola factors the youths into governance and so the introduction of the scheme to create employment for teeming employable youths and boast economic mode of production and wealth creation,” Oyebanji said.
Also speaking, the Country Director of RLG, Mr. Tosin Ilesanmi, said the the idea behind the scheme is to make the youths in the state employers of labour rather than employee.‎
This, Ilesanmi noted, is in consonance with the six-point integral action plan of this government  so as to banish hunger and poverty among the people of the state.

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