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Category: Politics

PHOTO NEWS: Aregbesola Flags Off Measles Campagin In Osun

Governor Rauf Aregbesola takes the lead by administering drugs during the flag off of the integrated measles campaign, held at the freedom park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Friday 01-11-2013

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, applying drug on a child, during the flag off of the integrated measles campaign, held at the freedom park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Friday 01-11-2013
Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, applying drug on a child,
during the flag off of the integrated measles campaign, held at the
freedom park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Friday 01-11-2013

 

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, applying drug on a child, during the flag off of the integrated measles campaign. With him is commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Temitope Ilori  (Governor's right) and wife of the Governor, Sherifat (right), at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Friday 01-11-2013
Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, applying drug on a child,
during the flag off of the integrated measles campaign. With him is
commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Temitope Ilori (Governor’s right) and
wife of the Governor, Sherifat (right), at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Friday 01-11-2013
Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, applying drug on a child, during the flag off of the integrated measles campaign. With him is commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Temitope Ilori  (Governor's right) and wife of the Governor, Sherifat (right), at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Friday 01-11-2013
Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, applying drug on a child,
during the flag off of the integrated measles campaign. With him is
commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Temitope Ilori (Governor’s right) and
wife of the Governor, Sherifat (right), at the Freedom Park, Osogbo, State of Osun on Friday 01-11-2013

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image


image
The recognition was given in Colombo, Sri Lanka during a week long United Nations-backed World Summit Award Global Congress on E-Content and creativity last Saturday.
Africa’s leading representative, Nigeria, won two awards in eight categories, at the Grand Finale of the ceremony.
The award ceremony was the climax of the week-long annual assembly of the world’s most innovative e-content initiatives in the following categories: e-Government and Open Data, e-Health and Environment, e-Learning and Science, e-Entertainment and Games, e-Business and Commerce, e-Culture and Tourism, e-Media and Journalism and e-Inclusion and Participation.
The august event was inaugurated by His Excellency, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka.
The winning projects, TRANSPARENT NIGERIA (e-Government and Open Data category), pioneered by Harvard based Mr. Uchechi Iweala (son of Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala), and OPON IMO – Tablet of Knowledge (e-Learning and Science category) from the State of Osun, triumphed over 421 other innovations for the 2013 Awards vetted by the grand jury of global eminent experts.
The World Summit Awards (WSA) is a project of the International Centre for New Media that is organised among 190 UN-member States and runs within the United Nations (UN) framework of the World Summit on the information society. The World Summit Awards has been an on-going activity since 2003 in cooperation with UNIDO, UNESCO, ITU, ISOC, UN GAID and UNDP.
Grand Jury’s evaluation for Osun’s Tablet of Knowledge, Opon Imo 
“The State Government of Osun in Nigeria, as part of its strategic mandate to meet the educational needs of students in Osun, commissioned delivery of 150,000 units custom-based Android tablets (a library of easily navigable text books).
The tablets are packed in bear rugged leather to protect from harsh conditions of various remote areas of Nigeria and its schools. What makes the project attractive is the archival availability of content in terms of questions for the last ten years for the three levels of the Senior Secondary students.
Hoping that the students may not be required to look for physical text books, the tablet is enriched with multimedia contents including video, images, text and reference materials and test questions for practice”.
A statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Osogbo quoted Governor Aregbesola as saying that the Opon Imo is an intelligent solution towards producing smart public school students in the state.
He said: “In the State of Osun in Nigeria, where I am governor, we have taken a giant stride in preparing ourselves for that future.
“This e-learning ‘table of knowledge’ is a practical and radical solution to a very daunting and nagging problem. It is our smart ICT solution to produce smart public school students in the State.
“Like we have made clear, the vision behind Opón-Ìmò is to democratise access to learning, to complement our overall education reform, to help senior secondary school student better prepare for School Leaving Examinations, and to use technology as a silver bullet to the learning problem in Osun”, Aregbesolasaid.
The governor said the introduction of Opón-Ìmò has not only positively redirected education but also laid a solid foundation for children’s ICT future, adding that it had also solved learning problems through ICT.
He noted that the tablet has provided a level playing field for all students from different social and economic backgrounds to learn under a comfortable atmosphere, saying opon imo has saved for the state huge chunk of cash.
Aregbesola continued: “With Opón-Ìmò, we have not only introduced a game-changer into the landscape of learning in public schools, we have also laid a solid foundation for our children’s ICT future.
“Already, the introduction of this device has saved the State Government a stupendous N8billion that would have gone into the purchase of text books for our free education policy.
“This veritable tablet of knowledge will level the learning playing field for all students from different social and economic backgrounds. It would allow them to learn at their own pace, and in any place they choose. Opón-Ìmò also offers robust and uniform learning content for all students, and provides a feedback mechanism for monitoring their performance.
Speaking on the environment friendly learning apparatus, the governor stated that the device the tablet comes with water and fire proof pouch while the charging adaptor also comes with a fuse to protect the device from the very routine power surges that are the bane of electrical and electronic devices in our country.
He added, “Its light weight makes for easy mobility that also enhances the ease of getting it charged”.
 DAILY INDEPENDENT

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COURTESY VISIT TO THE GOVERNOR CAC IJESA DCC GOOD WOMEM CO ORDINATING COUNCIL 1

Photos from the courtesy visit by the CAC Good Women Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council led by Lady Evang. Orimogunje Kehinde to the Governor , at his office in Abere recently

Right – Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola [Middle] Deputy Governor State of Osun , Otunba Titi Laoye – Tomori and Leader Good Women Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council ,Lady Evang. Orimogunje Kehinde during a courtesy visit to the Governor , at Governors office Abere ,on 1/11/2013.

Right – Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola [Middle]Deputy Governor State of Osun , Otunba Titi Laoye – Tomori and Leader Good Women Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council ,Lady Evang. Orimogunje Kehinde during a courtesy visit to the Governor , at Governors office Abere ,on 1/11/2013.

From Right – General Executive Member Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council ,Elder Jacob Adebiyi, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Deputy Governor State of Osun , Otunba  Titi Laoye – Tomori and Leader Good Women Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council ,Lady Evang. Orimogunje Kehinde during a courtesy visit to the Governor , at Governors  office Abere ,on 1/11/2013.

From Right – General Executive Member Ijesa District Co-coordinating
Council ,Elder Jacob Adebiyi, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf
Aregbesola, Deputy Governor State of Osun , Otunba Titi Laoye –
Tomori and Leader Good Women Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council
,Lady Evang. Orimogunje Kehinde during a courtesy visit to the Governor , at Governors office Abere ,on 1/11/2013.

From – [Middle] Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola [left] General Executive Member Ijesa District Co coordinating Council ,Elder Jacob Adebiyi, [right] Deputy Governor State of Osun , Otunba  Titi Laoye – Tomori [4th right] Leader Good Women Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council, Lady Evang. Orimogunje Kehinde and others during a courtesy visit to the Governor , at Governors office Abere on 1/11/2013.

From – [Middle] Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola [left] General Executive Member Ijesa District Co coordinating Council ,Elder
Jacob Adebiyi, [right] Deputy Governor State of Osun , Otunba Titi Laoye – Tomori [4th right] Leader Good Women Ijesa District Co-coordinating Council, Lady Evang. Orimogunje Kehinde and others
during a courtesy visit to the Governor , at Governors office Abere on 1/11/2013.

 
 

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coat of arms

coat of armsThe Osun Government said it would empower 18,000 women from 30 local government areas with N600 million before December.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Water Resources, Rural Development and Community Affairs, Mr Kunle Ige, said this at the disbursement of 2013 Grant-In-Aids to Community Development Association (CDA) Ile-Ife on Friday. Ige said the present administration had concluded arrangements with Grooming Micro-Finance, Lagos, to give loan of N400 million and the state would add the balance of N200 million.
Ige said 600 women would access the loans from the local government, and enjoined the associations to organise their women into cooperatives to enable them to benefit from the facility. The aide said this would confirm the commitment of the current administration both at the local and the state levels toward an overall development of the state.
He said that their local grant-in-aid would increase from three million to five million Naira in 2014, and urged the beneficiaries to make the best use of the fund.
Earlier, Dr Taiwo Olaiya, the Chairman of the council, said that the seriousness of the council’s CDA was commendable. Olaiya said the CDAs had embarked on different self-help projects such as building of community hall, lock up shops, culvert, drainages, maternity centre and electrification projects, among others.
(NAN)

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OPINION: Anatomy Of The Osun Education Reforms

Critics are finally admitting that the school reforms system of the Aregbesola administration has potential for enormous benefits
RAUF
Over the last few weeks, the State of Osun has been among the headlines, on account of the febrile debates that have developed around Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s educational reforms. So fevered were the debates that they gave an impression that the state was inches away from combustion.
Parties involved, propelled by the always toxic combination of politics, religion and self-interest, studiously avoided considering the merits of the reforms as well as the fact the government had advertised its intention to conduct a reconstructive surgery on the sector since 2011.
 
Back then, Aregbesola, who assumed office in November 2010, discovered that the education sector in the state was gravely diseased and required the attention of intensive care specialists. Osun, it was discovered, was miles behind other states in the southwest geo-political zone in the percentage of secondary school pupils that recorded credit passes in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Another symptom was that less than three per cent of secondary school leavers met university admission requirements. Stung by the squalid situation, Aregbesola convoked an education summit in February 2011. Under the headship of Professor Wole Soyinka, the summit brought together accomplished scholars and educationists, who looked at the most successful models around the world to fashion a cure for the ailing sector in the state.
The outcome of the summit helped Aregbesola to conceive a policy that prescribed a wholesale reform of education at the primary and secondary levels. “I do not come to terms easily with the philosophy that funds should only be pumped to the university…If you have basic education that is in doldrums and you have no provision to improve it while you focus on tertiary education, who will attend the university?” Aregbesola asked in an interview with this magazine in June last year.
osogbo schoolAs he had said at the end of the education summit, Aregbesola, in the same interview, reiterated his government’s desire to apply the scalpel to education in the state. “We are changing from the traditional primary, junior secondary, senior secondary to elementary, middle school, then high school.
Then, you leave to a world of your own, where you want to assess and evaluate your own autonomy and emphasise your independence,” he said. The sole target of the policy, the governor explained, is arriving at the most functional and cost-effective ways to deliver education to school children as well as designing effective monitoring and control of the process. “The school buildings are already collapsing.
We have no option but to clear the debris and weak structures to build functional infrastructure for education. I intend to build within the next 24 months, 20 high schools. Each will have a capacity of 3000 pupils and 50 middle schools, each will have a capacity for 900 pupils. I will also build 100 elementary schools with a thousand capacity in urban centres and as low as 50 in the very rural community areas. It will not be limited to infrastructure. We also want to assess our teachers and prepare them in terms of giving the students the best guidance,” Aregbesola explained.
Grand dreams are known to evaporate without money. In view of the hefty initial outlay required to give the policy life, Aregbesola opted for an incremental approach. This began with the provision of exercise books for all public school children, with textbooks and customised tablets (Opon Imo), respectively provided for primary and secondary pupils. This was followed by punctual payment of running grants to primary and secondary schools. The government also paid in full fees for the West African Examinations Council for all eligible children in public secondary schools. To discourage truancy, a 90 per cent attendance rule was imposed. To make school attractive to vulnerable kids, the government started providing free meals for pupils in elementary classes one to four.
Alongside these alterations began the remodelling of schools to accommodate modern classrooms, administrative blocks, library and computer facilities as well as adequate playgrounds. The ongoing construction of 100 primary schools, 50 middle schools, and 20 high schools around the state is the product of Aregbesola’s remodelling initiative. With each school complex conceived to hold about a thousand pupils in the same age group, there arose a need for physical realignment. This, in turn, resulted in the reclassification of primary and secondary schools, which yielded a couple of major changes. The first is the regrouping of classes, while the other is fusion of schools in a few urban centres.
In furtherance of the government’s desire to ditch what Aregbesola described as the “not quite creative and child-motivating format”, primary and secondary school classes have been reclassified Elementary School (Grades 1-4); Middle School (Grades 5-9); and High School (Grades 10-12).
osun model
The reclassification exercise, despite its objective being explained well beforehand, was gleefully seized on in some quarters in the state to kick off a storm.
Like cockroaches when the light is turned off, critics came out, leveling a variety of allegations. For one, they seized on the new nomenclature (Middle and High) to charge that Aregbesola’s government had introduced an education policy different from the national one. Others came with criticisms that had religious complexion.
A group of Christians in the state, for example, protested the new co-educational status of their schools as well as the use of hijab (the Muslim headdress) by Muslim students distributed to their schools. Leading the Christian agitation was state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, which accused the governor of inviting a religious crisis by allowing the use of the hijab in public schools. The Muslim riposte to the Christian protest was to head to court to seek an order compelling Aregbesola to allow the use of hijab in public schools. CAN, again, responded by requesting to be joined as co-defendants with Aregbesola’s government in the suit the Muslims filed for the affirmation of their women’s right to wear the hijab in public schools.
Aside from their rejection of the hijab, Christians also demanded a preservation of the Christian origins of their schools as well as their long-held identities. This is in spite of the fact that the government take-over of such schools in 1978, the control of funding, staffing, management and supervision went to the government. The Christian position also ignored the fact that mixed Christian schools already exist across the state. Predictably, opposition political parties, led by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, sunk their teeth in.
They ignored the fact that reforms similar to those Aregbesola has initiated are taking place is some of the world’s most developed countries. In Philadephia, United States of America, the Philadelphia School District recently closed 24 schools and merged others on account of dipping academic performances and lean resources. This was done to ensure that education is provided in a cost-effective manner, schools efficiently managed and supervised to ensure a rise in standards. Also in Georgia, eight public colleges were fused to make four.
In between the religious and the politically motivated crowd of critics are prominent Osun indigenes, including traditional rulers and clergymen, who have been supportive of the reforms and have been arguing that public interest must supersede self interest and sectarian identity.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, compared Aregbesola’s education reforms to the innovative one of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. “Your programme too will succeed like that of Obafemi Awolowo. When Awolowo started the reform, people antagonised him. They said the programme would not succeed. But before our very eyes, Awo’s education programme succeeded. We still can see many of the products of that reform till today,” the foremost traditional ruler said.
rauf
Support also came from Pastor S.K. Abiara, General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, who advised Christians to trust Aregbesola’s handling of the affairs of the state. “I want to appeal to Christians in the state to be patient with the government. If one wants to be fair, Aregbesola means well for our children. When I saw the Opon-Imo, I was amazed because the tablet is a school on its own,” he said.
Even CAN, which has carried the Christian protest banner, now appears to be on the road to conviction to the merits of the reform agenda.
On 19 October, a meeting between the body and the state government in Osogbo yielded bold hints that the message has sunk better.
 
 
At the parley, the intentions of the government were, again, enunciated. This time, it met with some understanding.
State chairman of CAN, Mr. Elisha Ogundiya, told the meeting that the group is now better informed and will cooperate with the government to ensure the success of the reforms.
—Bamidele Johnson
OSUN DEFENDER

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‘A quality control mechanism, controlled by tutors-general, is put in place to ensure adherence to envisaged standards’
•Obisesan (PS)
Bunmi Obisesan, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary of Osun Central Education District, is justifiably upbeat about the education system in the State of Osun. Under his watch and that of his other two colleagues, Kola Buari, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary of Osun-East Education District, and Adisa Olabamiji, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary of Osun-West Education District, the re-invention of the education sector in line with the state government’s radical and comprehensive policy has taken shape.
The teething problems that come with instituting such profound reforms are being competently addressed. As tutors-general, the trio hit the ground running after being appointed in September 2012. Their mandate to effectively monitor the teaching and learning process in the public schools has so far been accomplished through having their feet on the ground.
According to Obisesan, the state has employed over 6,000 teachers for the public schools. The tutors-generals have been carrying out their functions in the three divisions, assisted by records on teaching and learning.  During regular visitations to the schools, the tutors-generals demand for these records and also trawl through the attendance registers to ensure that rules on attendance and punctuality have been met. Lesson notes are scrutinised.
Out of the 6,000 teachers recently employed, 3,000 are for elementary schools, while the other 3,000 are for high and middle schools.
“One of the main reasons for reclassification is to ensure that we maximise our resources in terms of infrastructure, personnel, the teachers and even the non-teaching staff, so that if you have a school with just 50 pupils or students and you have another with 10,000, you are going to employ the same number of teachers,” Buari told TheNEWS.
•Buari (PS)
The government of the State of Osun is working towards UNESCO’s prescription of one teacher to 36 students. It has also tackled the challenge of inadequate teaching materials, with the distribution overseen by the tutors-generals. “I know that annually, the government supplies enough instructional materials to schools. It gives registers, diaries and chalk. In most of our schools for now, we still use chalkboard, but we are in the process of changing,” Obisesan explained.
Retraining of teachers is a strong item on the reform agenda. Seminars for this purpose have constantly been organised by the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, since the beginning of the reclassification of schools.
Motivation of teachers has similarly received adequate attention from the Aregbesola administration. Adedoja Olubunmi Kehinde, Principal of Salvation Army Middle School in Osogbo, said the regular promotion exercise has served a dual purpose: increase in remuneration for the teachers and  a boost to their capacity.
“Any teacher that is qualified for promotion, gets promoted once he or she passes the promotion examination. One thing about the promotion examination is that it compels the teachers to brush up their books and even burn the midnight oil to upgrade their knowledge,” explained Kehinde, who recently passed the examination and was promoted from Grade Level 15 to 16.
Buari appealed to those opposed to the reforms to be patient and watch them yield fruits. “We should all be proud and applaud the governor over what he is doing in the education sector. They should allow the government to control the sector the way it wants because the government is the major shareholder. The government has 100 per cent shares in public school business,” he said.
—Funsho Balogun
PM NEWS

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SONY DSC

Photos from Gbangbadeku, a public assessment session for the Government of the State of Osun, at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ede, the State of Osun on Thursday 31-10-2013

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd right) and his entourage arriving the venue of a programme tagged : Gbangbadekun—A public assessment on his administration, at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar  School, Ede, the State of Osun on Thursday 31-10-2013

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (3rd right) and his
entourage arriving the
venue of a programme tagged : Gbangbadekun—A public assessment on his
administration, at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ede, the
State of Osun on Thursday 31-10-2013

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni rauf Aregbesola and his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori (left), during the Governor’s appearance at the Gbangbadekun—Public assessment on the Governor, at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar  School, Ede, the State of Osun on Thursday 31-10-2013

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni rauf Aregbesola and his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori (left), during the Governor’s appearance at the
Gbangbadekun—Public assessment on the Governor, at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ede, the State of Osun on Thursday
31-10-2013

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni rauf Aregbesola (left); Secretary to the state Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (right), during the Governor’s appearance at the Gbangbadekun—Public assessment on the Governor, at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar  School, Ede, the State of Osun on Thursday 31-10-2013

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni rauf Aregbesola (left); Secretary to the state Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (right), during the Governor’s appearance at the Gbangbadekun—Public assessment on the
Governor, at the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ede, the State
of Osun on Thursday 31-10-2013

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right), acknowledging cheers from Students of Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ede, on his arrival at a public assessment on his administration, at the School premises in Ede on Thursday 31-10-2013

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right), acknowledging
cheers from Students of Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ede, on
his arrival at a public assessment on his administration, at the
School premises in Ede on Thursday 31-10-2013

 

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Sukuk bond – 1b

Sukuk bond - 1bA socio-political group and Volunteer organisation, Rise4Rauf, has extolled the foresighted leadership of the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for tapping the abundant developmental opportunities offered by the Sukuk Islamic bond.
The organization particularly said Britain’s adoption of Sukuk, weeks after the processes for the bond were completed on Osun is a indication that Aregbesola goes to the highest level in his search for means of economically developing the state.
In a statement signed by its Coordinator, Isiaq Oyewunmi, the group said Aregbesola has been vindicated by the move his government made in order to bring development to the state through exploring the sukuk bond.
Some groups had voiced disagreement earlier this month when the state completed the sukuk Islamic bond for the provision of education and  other social infrastructure in the state, alleging that the bond was a ploy to Islamize the state. But as the world awaits Britain, the first non-Islamic country to sell similar bond in a bid to encourage massive new investment into London city, Rise4Rauf said Aregbesola deserves commendation for his financial ingenuity. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron will on Tuesday November 5, 2013 unveil Sukuk at the World Islamic Economic Forum in London and the treasury would draw up plans to issue a #200, sukuk in compliance with Islamic financial law.
Rise4Rauf stated that if UK, a developed country, could tap from abundant opportunities of sukuk without its citizens alleging Cameron of trying to Islamize Britain, then the allegation of planned Islamisation of Osun has no basis.
The statement said in part: “The people of Osun and indeed Nigerians owe Aregbesola some gratitude for recognising opportunities wherever they are in the world to bring them to better the lots of his people.
“Osun is the first state in the west African sub-region that first tapped into the sukuk bond owing to its prospect for developmental programmes.
“What Osun did with sukuk is what UK just recognised and is about to launch on the London Stock Exchange next Tuesday. What Aregbesola did was simply imaginative. The allegation of Islamisation is a mere rumour.
“British citizens have not raised a finger against what Prime Minister David Cameron is doing. No allegation of Sharia or Islamisation ploy has been raised.  “What our people need to do is to seek to understand every policy and programme of government before they go to town.
“Aregbesola, with this British example, has been vindicated of the Islamisation allegation. We believe his government has the interest of the people of Osun at heart and all he has been doing is what will move the state forward.”
The group also sighted the Osun school feeding scheme, which it said is now rubbing shoulders with that of the UK, one of the best in the world in terms of quality, enrichment and nutrient contents.
It will be recalled that Osun successfully completed an N11.4 billion Sukuk bond on October 10, 2013 in Osogbo, which was described by financial expert as a landmark achievement.
In the case of Britain also, investigations revealed that Sharia-compliant funds have already been used to fund some largest developments in London, which included Shard and the Olympic Village.
At present, more than 20 United Kingdom banks are said to be offering the Islamic financial products and services, more than any other western country.

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Agric Ekiti


The first edition of Agbeloba Agribusiness Forum 2013 held  at Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort, in Ekiti State.
The event was hosted by the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi but had in attendance his counterpart from Lagos and Osun states. It also had in attendance, representatives from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture.
It was aimed at fostering focused and high impact public-private dialogue on sustainable and inclusive agribusiness sector as Nigeria seeks to add 20million metric tonnes to the domestic food supply by 2015 and create 3.5 million jobs through agriculture.
During the plenary session with the governors and potential investors as well as key policy makers in the Agriculture sector, Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola stated that the structure of the Federal Government is too far away from the places where the impact is most needed but as far away as they can be, if they focus on “enabling things to be done rather than seeking to do things by themselves, then there will be much more development in quicker time.”
His counterpart from the State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola challenged the Federal Government to guarantee minimum prices for commodities as this is the best support they can give the Agriculture sector rather than bothering about budget.
Governor Fayemi encouraged that stakeholders should focus on whatever can be done at the micro level to get the necessary results as that will help the efforts of the government at the national level.
The forum was seen as an eye opener as to what could be achieved in other states and participants were expected to use the platform to form partnerships towards actualizing a strategic business agenda and engineering a major turn-around in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
CHANNELS TV
 

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Course 22 of Nat Defence-1

Course 22 of Nat Defence-1Government of the State of Osun has been lauded for using its Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) and other strategic youth engagement programmes to reduce youth restiveness and unemployment rate in the state.
The Course 22 participants of the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja gave the commendation while speaking during the study tour of the state.
Navy Captain B. E. Dauda, on behalf of the participants, applauded the Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration in Osun State for its OYES initiative which he said has become a model for other states on how to bring unemployment to its barest minimum.
He also commended the state for its financial ingenuity, which has allowed it to embark on developmental projects that have restored progress and prosperity to people of the state.
According to him, “I want to use the opportunity of this presentation of the Course 22 participants of the National Defence College, Abuja, following a geo-strategic tour recently carried out by us, to commend Aregbesola’s three-year old administration.
“This among others is to applaud Osun for using the OYES to arrest idleness and restiveness among youths by profitably engaging them despite the fluctuations in federal allocations.
“Our geo strategic tour of the state indicates prudent management of resources accruing to the twenty two-year old state under Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration”, the naval officer pointed out.
He revealed that the fluctuation and dwindling federal allocation to states in the country poses significant threats to infrastructural regeneration in the states.
Group Captain Iroubuisi, in his own remarks, held that the Course 22 found out during its stay in Osun that there is an appreciable decrease in crime rate in the state as a result of the engagement of youth through the OYES scheme.
He also commended Aregbesola for his government’s internal revenue generation as well as massive encouragement given to farmers committed to agriculture.
In his words, “We of the Course 22 of the National Defence College want to commend Osun for the robust security infrastructure provided in the state.
“Our findings have also revealed a sharp decrease in crime rate in the state as a result of the engagement of youth through the OYES scheme of the government.” Iroubuisi stressed.
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