The Commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs.) Temitope Ilori has declared that, henceforth, the State Ministry of Health would be having regular workshops, to sensitize Osun Traditional Medicine Practitioners in the state.
She made this declaration during a press conference which held at the Ministry’s conference hall in Osogbo, the state capital.
Dr. Ilori added that, the purpose of the Osun Traditional-Medicine Conference is to create awareness, and to establish good relationship with the Traditional-Medical Practitioners in the State.
Highlighting the theme of the Conference which is “Taking Traditional-Medicine to the Next Level in the State of Osun”, she stressed further, that the state government has done a lot in the health sector through the Ministry of Health.
She then enjoined all Traditional-Medicine Practitioners in the state to participate in the maiden programme by obtaining the registration forms from the Ministry free of charge.
The Commissioner also used the medium to laud the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola over the series of health programmes aimed at the turning their lives for the better.
She added that, the forthcoming Osun Traditional-Medicine Conference is the first of its kind in the state of Osun, and that it would be of help to all, just as nature is important to mankind.
OSUN NEWS

A socio-cultural organisation in Osun State, Osun Movement for Peace, has urged residents to resist attempts by “unscrupulous persons” to disrupt the peace, unity and progress.
Speaking with reporters yesterday in Ede on a symposium organised by the group on the state’s education policy, the Coordinator, Comrade Temidayo Bankole, said some “politically-advantaged elite” have perfected plans to wage a media war against the government and “bastardise its laudable people-oriented projects and initiatives.”
The symposium holds today in Osogbo.
Bankole said: “We are worried about the misrepresentations and tension being created around important but delicate issues, such as education, religion and unity in our state by a tiny but vocal segment of the political elite, who seem to have mastered the art of infiltrating and recruiting allies in the media to drum up war beats in Osun, where religious and cultural tolerance is a desirable bedrock of the unfolding new rebranding and developmental order.”
He said it was unfortunate that a unique and rich policy as the Education Policy, which could have translated into a national strategy for the bail-out of the “shambolic” public school sector, has assumed religious and political colouration, fuelled largely by mischief and partisanship.
Bankole said: “With what one could note from the trend of discussions relating to the Osun School system in circles expected to churn out informed opinions, there are obvious politically-motivated effort to play down the beneficial impact of the components of policies, such as the O’Uniform, O’Meal and Opon Imo, which have been adjudged as revolutionary concepts in public school management.
“We see attempts to get the media to focus solely on the reclassification of schools (even this is clearly misrepresented) and undermine the wider public spirit and mission of the policy that the ordinary Osun people are describing as the best intervention in the education system since the era of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s free education policy.”
He said the symposium, themed: “Osun education policy in perspective: Issues, challenges and imperatives”, is the group’s contribution towards garnering support for the policy, “which is a sure strategy for the state’s socio-economic development.”
The media, civil society groups, religious groups, academia and rulers are expected at the symposium.
Bankole said: “We hope the symposium will be able to dissect the rejuvenation of public schools in Osun as a strong rebranding project and see how the project has begun to impact positively on the education management profile, as well as the state’s economy in key areas as job creation, empowerment and agricultural development.
“Where there is need to help the government in fine-tuning the policy with regard to the sustenance of its vision for the transformation of the state, the symposium will serve as a veritable platform.”
 THE NATION

Citizens in the State of Osun should expect heavy rainfall on Wednesday 12th March, 2014. This is contained in a weather forecast obtained by the state’s Ministry of Environment and Sanitation.
According to the forecast, there would be misty early morning weather and partly cloudy and moderate breeze in the morning, which shall usher in rain showers and thunderstorm later in the day and night on Tuesday 11th March, 2014.
Misty early morning weather, gentle breeze is also expected on Wednesday morning of March 12, 2014. Although there will be prevailing wind of light breeze, thunderstorm and heavy rain pour occur in the afternoon, evening and night of Wednesday.
The cloudy weather with dusty haze, slight harmattan cold of Thursday, March 13, 2014 shall precede the wind and dry thunderstorm later in the day, while thunderstorm, heat and rain showers would occur in the latter hours of Friday, March 14, 2014.
The misty morning on Saturday March 15, 2014 shall be accompanied by moderate breeze; thunderstorm and rain showers of the day which shall extend till the night.
Sunday March 16, 2014 and Monday March 17, 2014 shall register the same weather conditions as Saturday March 15, 2014. Farmers are advised to start planting maize as from March 15, 2014.

Government of the State of Osun has denied the rumor being spread by some disgruntled politicians across the state that the present administration in the State of Osun is set to sack, retrench and force teachers in the state public schools to go on forced retirement, that the state government will rather recruit more qualified and competent teachers to complement the efforts of teachers already in the services of the state government.
Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education in the State of Osun, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, stated this while speaking at an interactive session put together by the state’s chapter of the All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) to better the lot of education in the state and to see to impacting positively on children of the state held at the ANCOPSS house in Osogbo, the state capital.
Calling for continued support for school Principals in the enforcement of discipline among public school pupils and students which could lead to total eradication of truancy among school children,  Mrs. Laoye-Tomori frowned at the spate of indiscipline among students in the state’s public education sub-sector, saying the present administration in the state will stop at nothing to rid public schools in the State of Osun of truancy.
Describing teachers as character molders, the state Deputy Governor urged teachers to deal with any erring students who form the habit of using cell phone during class sessions, adding that, the state government is committed to prompt payment of salaries and other entitlement of civil servants in the state teachers inclusive.
Mrs. Laoye-Tomori said the state government will not rest on its oars in her bid to make public schools in the state habitable for learning. She appreciated the efforts of members of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) in the development of the state’s education sector saying government of the State of Osun did not proscribe PTA in the
state but only relieved the association of some of the financial burden.
The state Deputy Governor also used the opportunity to call on teachers and students above the age of eighteen to participate fully in the forthcoming voters’ registration exercise saying, voters card is the power and rights of the people to elect those perceived as agents of change in the educational, economical and infrastructural development of the State of Osun and Nigeria at large.
In her welcome address, state President of ANCOPSS, Mrs. Modupe Olagunju, commended Mrs. Laoye-Tomori for her passionate efforts geared towards the development of public education in the state which is characterized with paying closer attention to the plights of teachers in the state.
Mrs. Olagunju thereafter pledged the support of teachers in state public schools to the survival of education in the State of Osun in particular and Nigeria in general.
OSUN NEWS

The Osun State government has earmarked the sum of N4 billion to boost small-scale businesses in the state.
This was disclosed in Lagos last Saturday at an occasion hosted by the All Progressive Congress, APC National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire, for Ajibola Basiru, Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties; Wale Boluwaduro, Commissioner for Finance and Muyiwa Ige, Commissioner for Physical Planning all serving in Osun State.
Speaking at the occasion about the programmes of Engr. Rauf Aregbesola in empowering the citizens of Osun, Boluwaduro said, “In the next dispensation, we plan to provide Micro Medium Fund to traders, agric farmers, etc – it’s a World Bank product of N2 billion.
“But, we are backing it up with another N2billion to make N4billion,” adding that “the minimum each person will get is about N1.5million. We could use that to pop up commercial activities in the state.”
Buttressing the impact of the administration’s economic programmes, the commissioner said, “The National Bureau of Statistics has shown that Osun as tiny as it is with 34th position in terms of revenue allocation from the Federation Account is the seventh largest economy in the federation in terms of GDP.
“And it’s put at over $9billion. When Mr. Governor came in, figure handed down by NBS then was $4billion. So, within a period of three years, we have moved to $9billion.
“Osun is 10,000 square meters larger than Lagos. GDP of Lagos is over $35billion.
“We can make more money than Lagos if we properly harness the opportunities that abound in the state.
“In terms of GDP per capita, which is the term in which standard of living is measured, Osun actually is number two after Lagos.
“In terms of standard of living, the governor has been able to deliver on that.” He said.
 NIGERIAN ECHO

A socio-cultural group, the Osun Movement for Peace, has concluded plans to hold a symposium on Wednesday in Osogbo to declare its stand in support of the education policy initiated by the state government.
The symposium, which has been tagged, “Osun Education Policy in Perspective: Issues, Challenges and Imperatives”, is their own way of garnering support for the policy, the group said.
In a statement made available to our correspondent on Monday, the group urged stakeholders in the state to resist attempts at threatening the peace, unity and progress of the state.
Addressing journalists, Coordinator of the group, Temidayo Bankole, stated that some individuals had decided to bastardise the policy for political reasons.
He regretted that the new Osun Education Policy, which could have translated into a national strategy for the bail-out of the public school sector, had assumed religious and political colourations, fuelled largely by mischief and partisanship.
He said, “With what one could note from current trend of discussions relating to the Osun school system in circles expected to churn out informed opinions, there are obvious politically motivated efforts to play down the holistic beneficial impact of the various components of the policy, such as the OUniform, OMeal and Opon Imo, which have been adjudged as revolutionary concepts in public school management approach in the country.”
Bankole expressed worry that some privileged individuals had used the media to discredit the policy, highlighting only the reclassification of schools.
“We are worried about the current spate of misrepresentations and tension being created by a tiny but very vocal segment of the political elite who seem to have mastered the art of infiltrating and recruiting allies in the media to drum up war beats in our state.
“We see attempts to get the media to focus solely on the reclassification of schools – even this is clearly misrepresented – and an attempt to rubbish the wider public spirit and mission of the policy that ordinary Osun people are describing as the best intervention in the state’s education system since the era of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Free Education Policy”, he said.
PUNCH