The economic challenges facing Nigeria as country are not hidden and the State of Osun being an integral part of the Federation is not isolated from the effects of such challenges.
Therefore every right thinking State government and by extension state’s ministries on whose shoulders the responsibility of managing finances at that level rests must chart a new course for itself in order to sustain government businesses and aspirations.
 

 
Commissioner for Finance, Mr Bola Oyebamiji made this remarks while addressing the Management and the entire staff of the Ministry at the conference hall of the Ministry, Finance building, government secretariat, Osogbo.
Mr Oyebamiji explained that the essence of the meeting is to sensitise the staff as a major stakeholder in the generation of revenue to the state government. He urged the staff to see themselves as revenue marshals of the government.
He noted the fact that the state like every other states are facing serious financial challenges at this critical period since the one-way traffic sources of revenue from Federal Government coffer are either getting tighter or seriously drying up,hence the need for the Ministries and the State in general to put on the thinking caps and double her efforts towards opening new revenue channels and intensify the exploration of the old or traditional revenue sources.
Finance Commissioner who expressed the hope that if all concerned stakeholders and the citizenry are committed to paying taxes and other levies due to the state, then the state would be freely fulfil it’s responbilities of developing the state.
He then assured the staff that there are rewards such as promotional and financial incentives that await every outstanding officer in the Ministry especially those that participated in the Internal Generated Revenue as reward of hard work is hard work.
He therefore commended the governor ,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for his ingenuity at managing the state resources  to give the state a new look .

The Executive Secretary, Obokun Local Government Council Area of the State of Osun, Alhaji Asaolu Oladiran has reiterated the importance of Community Development Associations (CDAs) towards guaranteeing development at the grassroot, saying the complementary roles being played by the various CDAs go a long way to fastrack the desired development.
At a gathering with members of CDAs in the council area, Oladiran eulogised members to continue embarking on viable self-help projects and continue playing their complementary role rather than relying on government for everything.
 

 
Stressing the importance of community development council in a community, he said “without community development, national development becomes a mirage”.
He added that the complementary role played by the various community development associations go a long way to uplift the states of Nigeria as a nation, imploring members of the CDAs to continue cooperating with the government both at the state and local level.
The Executive Secretary later enumerated some of the achievements of his administration in the last six months among which are; construction of five boreholes, one each at the five wards in the council; procurements and distribution of thousand of cocoa seedlings to farmers; procurements and distribution of drugs to all the health facilities; construction of 20 unit market stalls at Ile Ayo, Olorunsogo; distribution of gift to all royal fathers and community leaders during festivals; and commitment to staff welfare.
At the occasion were members of the management committee: Mr. Kolawole Sunday Oluwole, Mr. Owoeye Ebenezer, Mr. Ogunwuyi Babatunde, Mr. Olajide Agbaje; Council Manager, Mr. Isaac Olayinka, heads of departments, amongst others.

The eulogy, praise and the recognition that has come the way of the Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from home and abroad in recent times has been described as a welcome development.
The Osun state APC on Saturday submitted that what Aregbesola has achieved in the state of the living spring, will outlive his critics submitting that those who irrationally condemn the governor may actually be intellectually challenged.
 

 
Director, Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi in a statement made available to newsmen referred to the critics and members of the opposition as politicians acting in a politically irresponsible way, feigning ignorance and denying the facts and the available demonstrable and clear evidence.
‘And the pleasant surprise, or some may say irony, is that Aregbesola is being singled out for those things he has done which the PDP and the other critics had vehemently denied and claimed it did not exist at all, it is also strange that on the one hand, the position of the opposition is that
Aregbesola has done nothing whatsoever to improve the lives of the people and on the other hand, they shamelessly threaten to either stop, demolish or suspend every project which in their reckoning is too ‘sophisticated’ for the people of Osun state. They also claimed that the state has been the “worst” for it since the Aregbesola-led APC government came into power seven years ago. However, only last Thursday, the Yoruba Professionals, home and abroad, declared Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the ‘Best’ performing governor for the year 2017.
This should make the PDP bury its head in shame because these set of people are not simpletons like most of the Aregbesola’s critics, but rather professionals with stable minds, depth of scholarship and a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to adjudge a governor the ‘best’ among his colleagues’ the party stated.
The party further said that it was not surprised that the state PDP has been unusual silent since the Award was made public, the opposition party according to the APC, possibly realized what further damage a negative comment would do to the party’s already rotten image as liars, falsifiers of data and the people in denial of what stares them in the face.
‘Anybody who has not read the reasons the Yoruba Professionals gave for bestowing the award on Governor Rauf Aregbesola will do himself or herself a lot of good getting that done and those who had already done that may also take a second look at it. It was not a sentimental exercise the group had a goal in mind to award excellence its due, after vigorous assessment of the empirical evidence on ground.
As professionals, they acted professionally. It will be interesting to read or hear (or both) from the PDP what demonstrable evidence they will advance against the judgement of the Yoruba Professionals. One thing is sure though; the submission made by the professionals among others, will certainly lead the debate in the run-up to the governorship election in September’ Oyatomi said.

The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola has been named the Best Governor of the Year 2017.
 
In a media release, the South West Professional Forum, (SOWPROF) named Aregbesola as the most distinguished State Governor of the year 2017.
 
 

 
 
The group described Aregbesola as a leader who “created gold from stone and brought out the best in the most difficult situation,” referring to the ingenuous ways the resources of the state have been managed and how he has continued to make personal sacrifices with many of his aides in the face of lean state resources.
 
“In the year 2017, we have found a man whose energy is unlimited, a man whose vision is unimaginable and his courage in the face of adversary situations tough and cast in iron.”
 
The statement signed by SOWPROF President, Chief Olusegun Ajibulu stated that “a good leader must be thorough, decisive and intelligent. He must be able to withstand the wave and the tide. He must be able to confront difficult economic situations with uncommon creativity backed with unlimited power of imaginations. These are the exact characters Ogbeni Aregbesola has demonstrated.”
 
Ajibulu is a tax consultant based in the United States and has been leading the professional group since 2014.
 
“SOWPROF is an association of thousands of Yoruba professionals drawn from home and abroad. The group has its head office in Southern Carolina, United States. SOWPROF said it had sent its professionals to Nigeria on many occasions through out the year 2017 and was amazed at their various reports on ‘real development of human beings and investment in the future of the greater society,” saying the two represent the most striking elements of transformation and renaissance.
 
The group described Aregbesola as a ‘man of integrity, a honest icon, a revolutionary and a down-to-earth leader of the  people” saying his moral high grounds are unequalled.
 
The group said his government has made outstanding contributions to the upliftment of the State of Osun in ways that will impact on the entire South West and the country at large.
The group listed the on-going building of the biggest Cargo Airport in West Africa sub region inspite of the lean resources of the state and the strategic importance of the airport to the entire South West region, at zero cost to the Government of the State of Osun, as some of the most compelling interventions the South West have seen since the days of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
 
SOWPROF said the State  of Osun is building the airport at the cost of N216 Billion at Ido Osun, Ede North/ Egbedore Local Government Areas with the focal point of serving human and cargo transportation added to this is the historic tourist attraction being the first airstrip in Nigeria used during the second world war by the allied forces.
 
SOWPROF said Aregbesola’s investment in the industrial park will transform the rural backwater South West in unimaginable ways.
Ajibulu said  “It is heart-warming that the Chinese firm Jiangsu Wuxi Taihu in partnership with the people and government of Osun will have several industries including the Cocoa Food Company Limited worth $600 million adding that the first phase of the project includes industries, the cocoa bean processing, chocolate and food processing, salt processing, cassava starch processing, gold mining and power plants.
 
The group said the construction of several world class primary and secondary schools, the school feeding project and the construction of over 800 kilometers of roads some of which traverse neighboring Kwara and Ekiti states remain indelible footprints that fall into the class of legendary projects.

Governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has bemoaned the evils of war and its subsequent consequences.
Launching the Emblem commemorating the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the Government house in Osogbo on Monday, Aregbesola expressed that War, no matter how justifiable, is bad business anywhere.
 

 
“I soberly and thoughtfully welcome you all to this important National event, the launching of the emblem in remembrance of our soldiers that died and were wounded in war and to honour and support the veterans that are alive.
“These are soldiers who gave their lives in wars beginning from the First World War, Second World War, the Nigerian Civil War and the various armed engagements to defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity and keep our people safe.
“This is to commemorate also the Nigerian Civil War that was fought to keep Nigeria one. In all these wars, many lives have been lost, many more wounded and unquantifiable property destroyed. Many of the wounded regrettably lost limbs, while others suffered permanent incapacitation requiring hospice and dependency for the rest of their lives. There are others alive that carried scars from the horrors of war, on their minds that may never heal. We pray that God almighty will comfort them and heal their souls.
“War, no matter how justifiable, is bad business anywhere. This is why we must all work towards avoiding one, at all cost. When a soldier is killed, a dream dies. A woman becomes a widow, some children lost a father and some parents lost a promising son.”
Aregbesola thereby urged the people to embrace peace, be law abiding instead of resorting to war.
“We must all remember the factors that led to the wars that claimed such noble lives. A common factor being mindless pursuit of one’s interest, not caring how it affects others and what will be the consequences. Another being the penchant to incite others to hatred and violence. Others include the false sense of racial, religious or ethnic superiority and the tendency to look down upon and oppress those that are different from us religiously, ethnically, socially, economically, politically and ideologically.
“The best way to honour the memory of the dead is to prevent wars, in order that their sacrifice will not be in vain.
We must find a way to make the veterans to be productive. It is regrettable that our society has only engaged them in security and mostly driving duties.
“The veterans should also demonstrate good citizenship by being law abiding in the society. Too often they tend to settle dispute with force, side stepping the rule of law, in a way that suggests that they do not subscribe to the rules of the larger society.

SPEECH BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OSUN, OGBENI RAUF AREGBSOLA, AT THE 2018 LAUNCH OF THE EMBLEM COMMEMORATING ARMED FORCES REMEMBRANCE DAY, AT THE LAWN OF THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE, OKE FIA, OSOGBO, ON MONDAY JANUARY 8, 2018
 

 
 
Protocols,
I soberly and thoughtfully welcome you all to this important national event, the launching of the emblem in remembrance of our soldiers that died and were wounded in war and to honour and support the veterans that are alive.
These are soldiers who gave their lives in wars beginning from the First World War, Second World War, the Nigerian Civil War and the various armed engagements to defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity and keep our people safe. These included the various insurgencies in parts of the country, the latest being destructive militancy in the Niger Delta, the attacks on lives and property in our various communities and Boko Haram insurgency in the North East of Nigeria.
It is interesting that Nigeria celebrates her fallen heroes on January 15 of every year, as against the practice in the commonwealth countries that celebrate this unique event on November 11. This is to commemorate also the Nigerian Civil War that was fought to keep Nigeria one.
In all these wars, many lives have been lost, many more wounded and unquantifiable property destroyed. Many of the wounded regrettably lost limbs, while others suffered permanent incapacitation requiring hospice and dependency for the rest of their lives.
There are others alive that carried scars from the horrors of war, on their minds that may never heal. We pray that God almighty will comfort them and heal their souls.
The bodies of many of the soldiers were never recovered and therefore never received befitting burial. They only live in the memories of their loved ones and the record of a grateful nation who will never forget their heroism and the supreme sacrifice they paid for our peace and security.
War, no matter how justifiable, is bad business anywhere. This is why we must all work towards avoiding one, at all cost. When a soldier is killed, a dream dies. A woman becomes a widow, some children lost a father and some parents lost a promising son.
For all the soldiers that died, an army of dependants emerged who must be taken care of by the society. That is why we are here today – first, to honour the memory of the fallen heroes and then to take care of their dependants and not less important, to honour and also take care of those soldiers who are still alive.
We must all remember the factors that led to the wars that claimed such noble lives. A common factor being mindless pursuit of one’s interest, not caring how it affects others and what will be the consequences. Another being the penchant to incite others to hatred and violence.
Others include the false sense of racial, religious or ethnic superiority and the tendency to look down upon and oppress those that are different from us religiously, ethnically, socially, economically, politically and ideologically. We must not forget also the social and economic inequalities in the society that concentrates 90 per cent of societal wealth on less than five per cent of the privileged few. This has bred an army of hungry and angry youths that have become easy recruits for militancy and societal destabilisation.
The most pronounced cause of war is military rule – the tendency for soldiers to abort civic democratic rule and plunge the nation to chaos, only to find out that they themselves are not better than the civilians they overthrew. Decapitation can never be the cure to headache.
The best way to honour the memory of the dead is to prevent wars, in order that their sacrifice will not be in vain.
We must find a way to make the veterans to be productive. It is regrettable that our society has only engaged them in security and mostly driving duties. Many of them have acquired skills in the professions that would have been more beneficial to the society more than these two.
The veterans have a lot to contribute to the development of the society and should be engaged maximally to be very productive. The veterans should also demonstrate good citizenship by being law abiding in the society. Too often they tend to settle dispute with force, side stepping the rule of law, in a way that suggests that they do not subscribe to the rules of the larger society.
This emblem we are launching is one way to support the families of the dead, care for the wounded and the veterans. I wholeheartedly support it and recommend it to all members of the society, starting from members of the State Executive Council.
I thank you all once again for being here and for keeping alive the memory of our heroes, dead and alive.
I thank you for your attention.
Osun a dara!