Osun State Governor, Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said he is overwhelmed by the achievements of his administration in the last three and a half years, promising that he will do more to further transform the state.
The governor stated this  at the weekend while relocating over 1,300 traders and shop owners along the MDS Road, Osogbo to a permanent site.
The governor said he had equally earmarked a sum of N2billion as compensation to traders and shop owners in the area.
He also handed over the parcel of land allocated to the traders and shop owners whose structures were affected by the road expansion.
Aregbesola said since the inception of his administration, numerous developmental projects had been completed, and thus had transformed the state beyond his expectation.
He noted that he was aware of the fact that the means of livelihood of the displaced traders under the umbrella of MDS Shop Owners Association had been affected by the demolition exercise, saying there was no gain without pain.
While making reference to those that were affected by the renovation of the railway area, now the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, the governor said: “Most of them were not happy when we asked them to vacate the area but now, they are praising the state government for engineering the new look of the area.”
The governor said all the beautiful countries and cities of the world were not created by God said they were developed by the government of the countries and cities.
He, therefore, thanked the traders for their patience and cooperation with his government since they were displaced.
Earlier in his welcome address, the state Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Muyiwa Ige, said: “Everything that we see as being good and pleasant globally had at one time or the other passed through some processes with certain prices paid at each stage.”
Ige then appreciated the traders for their cooperation and understanding, saying that the parcel of land being handed over to them falls within the government commercial/industrial layout and covers approximately 20.919 hectares.
He said the new MDS Market situated beside the Aje International Market, still under construction by the state government, had already a borehole and electricity, adding that police post, health centre, fire station, filling station, banking mall among other facilities would be built on the market which would enhance immediate growth and economic empowerment of the traders.
THISDAY

To ensure that Osun State becomes the economic hub of Nigeria, Governor Rauf Aregbesola has once again reiterated his commitment to further develop infrastructure that will encourage investment both at the urban and rural communities of the state.

Speaking through the chairman, Aregbesola Campaign Committee in Ijesa North Federal Constituency, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro, Aregbesola assured the people that if voted into office for another term, rural-urban migration will become a thing of the past.

Bolorunduro who is also the Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning disclosed that government, in an attempt to encourage small scale investors, has set aside N4billion as soft loan due for assessment by the people.

The campaign chairman, who led the door-to-door campaign trail of the federal constituency to Ilahun-Ijesa, Iwoye Ijesa and Ijebu Jesa said Aregbesola commitment to Agriculture informed his ‘O’ REAP programme, adding that to ensure easy transportation of farm produce, government will further open up rural communities with access roads.

He, however, charged the electorate to ensure that their votes count, adding that the presence of security agencies is not to intimidate but protect them.

Responding to Bolorunduro’s team visit to his palace, the Alahun of Ilahun-Ijesa, Oba Lawrence Ajayi, Ilufemiloye 1, pleaded with government to complete the Primary Health Centre under construction and assist the community in building a befitting palace and town hall.

While pledging the support of his subjects to the continuity of Aregbesola’s administration, Oba Ajayi said Governor Aregbesola had performed well and deserves to continue and accomplish his mission and vision for the state.

LEADERSHIP

(1). 40,000 youths employed under the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (O’YES)

(2).  5,000 Youths trained and empowered in information communication technology under the Osun Youth Empowerment Technology (O’YESTECH)

(3). Over N2.4 billion injected into the economy as allowances for the OYES Volunteers

(4). 123 kilometres of waterways (streams, arteries and canals) dredged to keep the state flood-free for three years

(5). 750,000 school students provided with free school uniform coupled with empowerment of 3,000 tailors

(6). students provided with computer tablets (Opon Imo), an electronic learning tool preloaded with 17 subjects, 54 textbooks, and past questions of JAMB, WAEC AND NECO of the past 10years.

(7). Introduction of bi-monthly environmental sanitation exercise under the O’CLEAN initiative to keep the state clean.

(8). Beautification of the 185 Km Oyo Boundary (Asejire) to Osun-Ondo Boundary (Owena)

(9). Trucks provided for a Public-Private Partnership waste management model in the state.

(10). Primary School Funding Grants increased from N7.4 million to N424 million a year.

(11). 240,000 children feed daily with nutritious meals under the Osun Elementary School Feeding (O-MEAL) and Health Programme coupled with empowerment of over 3,000 caterers

(12). Secondary School basic funding grants from N171 million to N427 million per year.

(13). Tuition fees in State-owned tertiary institutions reduced by 30%.

(14). Security of lives and properties being guaranteed with provision of 5 Armoured Personnel Carriers, over 100 security patrol vehicles and one helicopter for area surveillance.

(15). 2 state of the art police stations built.

(16). Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) increased from N300 million to N1.6billion without increasing tax payable by citizens.

(17). Setting up of Omoluabi Conservation Fund with a N4.2 Billion reserve.

(18) Osun Debt Management Office established.

(19) Building of the largest commercial apiary in Sub-Saharan Africa for refined honey production.

(20). Over 1,765 hectares of land cleared and prepared to support farmers.

(21). Rehabilitation of farm settlements in the state.

(22). Over N1 billion committed to the support of farmers.

(23). Building of super highways to connect Osun to Lagos and Osun to Kwara states.

(24). 61 Township roads covering 128km are being upgraded all over the state

(25). Ede Water Works capacity increased from 13% to 30% and plans on-going to reach 100% capacity.

(26). Over 3,000 permanent teachers employed into the state education sector and recruited 339 university graduates into osun state civil service.

(27). 218 km roads being built across the 30 local government areas and Ife East Area Office, Modakeke.

(28). Osun Ambulance Service Authority established with 400 youths trained as paramedics.

(29).  9 State Hospitals and 12 Comprehensive Health Centers being rehabilitated and refurbished in the state; 74 Primary Health Centers built.

(30). Construction of Freedom Park, the first of its kind in the history of the State of Osun.

(31). Omoluabi Garment Factory employed up to 3000 people in the State of Osun.

(32). Free rail service to all indigenes of the State of Osun living in Lagos State.

(33). With just a few I have mentioned that Man has done, you will all agree with me that our governor is an unusual governor.

(34). Payment of salaries to old age people in the State of Osun referred to as Agba Osun.

(35). O-Mediation; to settle disputes between people in the state and increase in bursary from N2000 to N10000 to all the students in tertiary institution from the State of Osun. Osun TI o tin N DARA koni BAJE OOOO.

VOTE….. RAUF ADESOJI AREGBESOLA of APC for the 2nd term.

In less than one month, precisely on August 9, Osun people are expected to troop out in large number to elect a new governor for the state. The Independent National Electoral Commission   (INEC) is to conduct yet another governorship election few weeks after the Ekiti election which, till date has been commendation all through for the successful outing. All eyes are definitely on INEC to replicate in Osun what it did in Ekiti.

Since after the Ekiti polls, different groups have been assessing the conduct of the election and pointing out what INEC did and did not do well with a view to identifying challenges encountered by those involved in the process and suggesting ways of improving the electoral process towards Osun and future elections. Although the Ekiti election was generally adjudged free, fair transparent and hitch-free, there are still few areas that can be improved upon in order to sustain the success recorded in Ekiti by the Commission.

As part of efforts to build on the success of Ekiti, the Policy And Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) held a dialogue to assess the performance of INEC and other stakeholders in the Ekiti election. PLAC is a non-governmental organisation committed to strengthening democratic governance and citizens access and participation in electoral process. It coordinates civil society situation room during elections.

As the Osun election draws near, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room organised a dialogue with the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega to critically assess the performance of the Commission in the Ekiti election to ensure far better poll in Osun State. Already the chairman has assured Nigerians and indeed the whole world that Osun election will be better than Ekiti and Nigerians are full of expectations from the Commission.

The dialogue titled “Replicating INEC’s Success in Ekiti on a National Scale Ahead of the 2015 General Elections”, held at the Protea Hotel Apo, Abuja and was facilitated by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The dialogue afforded participants an opportunity to share their experiences in Ekiti, raise observations, ask questions and make very useful suggestions on how to improve on Osun election so that the bar already raised in Ekiti can be maintained.

Of particular concern to the CSOs is the issue of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) distributed and used in Ekiti election, which many eligible voters are yet to collect. They are worried that many people in Ekiti did not collect their PVCs and as a result did not vote. Unfortunately, those people now accuse INEC of disenfranchising them. But INEC chairman, responding to the comment explained that INEC devoted three days distributing the PVCs in the state after which it carried out continuous voter registration (CVR) weeks before June 21 and yet people did not come out to collect their cards.

Prof. Jega wondered why INEC was being accused of disenfranchising some people. “What the Commission insists on is non collection of PVCs by proxy. We emphasised that there will be no collection of PVCs by proxy. There may be legitimate reason for proxy collection but we said no.”

However, a situation where people have the PVCs and it has been verified that they are actual owners of those cards but their names are not on the distribution register, the chairman said, “If your name is on register of voters and you have PVC but your name is not on distribution register, we cannot stop you from voting, but it means you collected the card by proxy.”

On the suggestion to allow people collect their cards on election day, the chairman said “I cannot allow collection of PVCs on election day because it is going to disrupt election process, there should not be any other activity on election day.”

The Commission is also thinking of decentralising the distribution of PVCs so that the registration area officers (RAOs) can at intervals go out to distribute the cards.

Ogbuka works in the public affairs department of INEC

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Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun has assured the people of the state that by the end of his second term in office, no school will be left with any dilapidated classroom.

Aregbesola said with the spate at which his government has been building new schools, the era of unfit learning environment would be history completely.

He spoke when at the weekend he officially commissioned three elementary schools in Ikirun, Iragbiji and Ila-Orangun with fun fare.

Students in school uniforms, guardians and parents trooped out to witness the unprecedented commissioning of the new schools with state-of -the -art facilities.

The schools are Holy Trinity Middle School, Ikirun; NUD Middle School, Iragbiji and St Julius Middle School, Ila-Orangun, all in the Osun Central Senatorial District.

Built in this same structural pattern, the middle schools, with a capacity to accommodate 1,000 pupils, have 25 classrooms, one large exam hall. 16 toilets, one audio visual room, ICT room, recreation facilities among others.

Addressing the gathering, Governor Aregbesola said with commissioning of the schools, government has raised the stake by putting education on a high pedestal.

The governor disclosed that government is targeting provision of conducive classrooms for over 100, 000 pupils before the end of the year.

He noted also that by the time all the new school building are completed no pupil or student in Osun will learn in a dilapidated and haphazard classroom again.

The governor stated part of the responsibilities of his government is to give the children in the state qualitative education from the foundation to high school.

“We are committed to developing both human and material capitals in our state. This explains why we have specially focused on the education sector.

“Where we are taking the state is far in terms of development. And we’ve just begun.

“Before the end of this year, more than 100, 000 pupils/students will be accommodated in the newly-built school buildings.

“Before the end of our second term, no student will inhabit dilapidated structure in the name of a school all over the state.

“What we are doing by giving purposeful leadership sets us apart from other parties. And you will see that there is a huge difference between our three and half years and their own seven and half years.

“Today, our schools are wearing new look. The atmosphere in these new builds are very conducive for learning.

“Coupled with this is the school feeding programme with aims at nourishing the body as well as develop the brains of our school children. This is what sets us apart from others,” Aregbesola said.

Earlier in her remarks, the Deputy Governor, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, reaffirmed government’s commitment to standardising the education sector.

She said government will not leave any stone unturned in making sure the state’s education system ranks among the best anywhere in the world.

“This is our focus. This is our target, that our standard will not again fall to the level we met it in which less than three percent of our high school leavers are matriculable,” Laooye- Tomori said.

A Professor of Political Science and the former Speaker of the State Assembly of Osun, Professor Mojeed Alabi, has warned that the implication would be catastrophic, if the people of the state could allow themselves to be deceived by the antics of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who want power by all means. He noted that with the foundation that Governor Rauf Aregbesola has laid, Osun may not be able to get back on line for many years to come, should the people allow the antics of the opposition to rob them of their mandate.

“The issue in this election is development versus ‘chop-make-I-chop’ and I know that the people of Osun are much more sophisticated to be able to see and read between the lines and know where their interest lies. “I also know that their interest lies in continuation of our development that Aregbesola has started, because I don’t want to imagine Aregbesola losing that election. Does it mean all these roads will stop? Does it mean O’YES will stop? Does it mean school feeding of children will stop? Does it mean the construction of new schools will stop?Speaking during a chat with journalists in Osogbo, the university don said the people of Osun should display their civilisation and ensure that the kind of calamity that befell Ekiti State people during their governorship election is not allowed to have its way in Osun.

“The implication of this loss, if we can allow it, will be too catashtrophic for the entirety of Osun and we may not get back on line for many years to come. “So, for me, I don’t see anything that will stop the man Aregbesola from winning the election. “Of course, there are other things that people are insinuating like bringing soldiers, police, using photocromic voting equipment, rigging, violence and all that, but I think we have risen beyond that level.

“Our people in Osun are civilised and the kind of calamity that befell the people of Ekiti will not befall us in Osun by the grace of God. Come August 9, 2014, the people of Osun will be able to show to the world that we can see the difference between a person, who wants to make a positive impact on us and someone who wants to milk us. “We should all work hard to make sure that these dividends of democracy, which are pleasing to all of us, will continue for quite some time,” Professor Alabi stressed.

The university don said Aregbesola has laid a proper foundation for the development of the state and he should be given chance to build on it during his second term in office.

Kazeem Mohammed

OSUN DEFENDER

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commended Sterling Bank Plc and the Osun State Government, for their roles in deepening agent banking and Financial Inclusion (FI) initiatives.This commendation came, even as the apex bank advised other financial institutions to ensure that more Nigerians currently unbanked are brought into the financial services net.
The Assistant Director of Payment Policy and Oversight Banking Payment System at CBN, Olushola Agboola, who conveyed the message at the workshop organized for Banks and Other Financial Institutions on financial inclusion and agent banking, in Oshogbo, Osun State, also called for more to be done to ensure wider reach.
As fallout of the agent banking scheme, which Sterling Bank launched in Lagos last year and extended to Osun, the financial institution has empowered over 100 indigenes of the state.
The bank’s Head of Financial Inclusion, Richard Osungboye, said with collaborative efforts between CBN and the state government, the percentage of rural people yet to be captured in the financial system will reduce significantly.
He particularly commended the state government’s plan to adopt the “Cooperative Model” for the establishment of microfinance banks as approved by CBN.
GUARDIAN

The acting General Manager Osun State Sports Council, Akin Adio, said on Monday that the state had begun preparations in order to excel at the 2014 National Sports Festival to be held in Calabar.

Adio spoke on Monday in Osogbo in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said the council was re-positioning all sports to guarantee an excellent outing, noting that inadequate preparation contributed to the poor performance of the state’s contingent at the Lagos Games.

Adio added that poor officiating debarred the contingent from winning gold in boxing and other events at the Games.

Osun won only two gold, one silver and seven bronze medals at the 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos.

He said that coaches and organising secretaries of the various sports had begun work on how to improve on their performance.

Adio said that local competitions in some events had begun so as to discover new talents.

“The council is equally working on how to generate funds to complement government’s allocation, to make the council sufficient monetarily.

“We plan to solicit support from individuals and organisations within and outside the state, to ensure that our sportsmen and women are motivated through timely payment of their allowances,’’ Adio added.

NAIJ.COM