An inter-denominational prayer was held yesterday in Iwo, Osun State, for the speedy recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.
 

 
The prayers featured Islamic, Christian and traditional clerics.
It was held at the palace of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi.
Personalities at the prayers included the President’s wife, Hajia Aisha Buhari, who was represented by the wife of the Secretary to the Oyo State Government (SSG), Mrs. Halimot Alli.

Mrs. Buhari expressed gratitude to the Oluwo and others Nigerians for their prayers for her husband.
She called for continued support for the Buhari administration.
The Iwo Muslim community, led by the Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdulfatai Olododo, who was represented by through Sheik Abdul Mumin, stressed the need for religious tolerance among religious groups.
Iwo Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Caleb Ayoola, as well as Rev. Niyi Akinola, who read from 2 Chronicles 7: 14, noted that God is the utmost healer.

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A delegation from the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme, N-POWER today paid a commendation visit to volunteers who organized remedial summer classes for pupils in SSS1 to SSS3 in Ilesa East Local Government area of the state of Osun.
 

 
 
Speaking during the visit, Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Youth Employment, who was represented by N-POWER Project Adviser, Mr. Kabir Aregbesola commended the volunteers for carrying out the community service, which is outside their primary assignment.
“You are fulfilling the very essence for which N-POWER was created, that is, adding value to the community where you serve. You are paid a token for contributing positively to your communities.
“I’m happy to know you haven’t stopped working because the schools where you serve are on holiday. You came up with this wonderful initiative to give back to the society, for this, N-POWER is encouraged,” Afolabi said.
He continued, “We want this to serve as example to other beneficiaries in other areas of the state and in the country at large. The essence of this initiative is to create a platform where people can serve their community, and you have chosen to give back in an area that is unquantifiable. This will in no small way improve the performance of pupils in Ilesa East. We are proud of your activities and it will be rewarded.”
Earlier, the Chairman of N-POWER volunteers in Ilesa East, Ojo Oladimeji whilst delivering his welcome address said 30 amongst a total of 496 volunteers deployed to Ilesa East are participating in the teaching exercise which simultaneously holds in three schools; St. Margaret’s Secondary School 1, St. Margaret’s Secondary School 2 and Obokun High School.
“Sir, 700 students are presently benefitting from this free summer coaching school. The student cuts across SSS1-SSS3. We packaged the programme to keep our student busy throughout this holiday period. We started on the 1^st of August and hope to wrap this up on the 31^st of August.”
Meanwhile, the commissioner for Education in the state of Osun, Mr. Kola Omotunde-Young who was represented by the Director of Schools, Mrs. Olufunke Adeyeye appreciated the Federal Government for investing in various social programmes.
“N-POWER is an upgraded version of our own Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme, OYES. We thank the Federal Government for making this scheme available, as volunteers in the state school system have consistently added value by providing quality and quantitative education for our students in primary and secondary schools.
Omotunde-Young said, “This type of intervention could be the only saving grace for many students when it’s time to write their final examination. On behalf of the state, I thank you for your selfless service.”
Dignitaries who attended the reception includes Deputy Director Schools, Osun Ministry of Education, Mr. Akinloye Oyebanji; representation of N-POWER focal person in Osun, Ms. Toyin Akinpelu; Head of Strategic Communications, Policy and Economic Team of the Governor, Mr. Kikiowo Ileowo; Host Principal, St. Margaret Secondary School 1, Mrs. B.A. Komlafe; Principal, St. Margaret Secondary School 2, Dr. Mrs. R.O. Aluko; Principal, Obokun High School, Prince Ogunmoke; representatives of the National Ofientation Agency, NOA and Chairman, Osun N-POWER Volunteers’ Forum, Mr. Gbogboade Dotun amongst many others.

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In a bid to enhance speedy administration of justice in Osun, Governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Wednesday commissioned the Justice Research Center in Osogbo, just he says effective judicial system will aid economic growth.
 

 
The center situated in the premises of the State high court of justice complex, is equipped with state of the art facilities for research and speedy judicial service delivery.
Facilities at the center include: a server room, 30 computer sets, internet facilities, printers, scanners, 20KVA inverter that can run for twenty four hours among others.
Speaking at the commissioning of the project put together by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the European Union (EU), Ogbeni Aregbesola assured the donors that the state will ensure that the center is accessed from any part of the state within four months.
The governor emphasised the need for every individual to have access to justice as it is one one of the ways through which the economy can also grow.
Aregbesola pointed out that no economy can grow where there is injustice, stressing that no investor would want to put money in a society where adequate justice delivery system is lacking.
He assured the donor agency of the state’s readiness to make maximum use of the facility, stressing that the center will be widely publicised and guided jealously.
He said, “we want everyone to have access to justice in our state, we want criminals and the recipient’s of the crime to have access to easy justice, that’s why we are happy about this.
“Many people don’t know that the growth of any economy is also tied to the efficient and speedy delivery of justice in such a society.
“The economy can not grow when there is no justice, I can absolutely tell you that nobody will be ready to put his money in a society where there is no adequate dispensation of justice.
“We are so happy about what you have given to us through this center, I assure you that we will make good use of it, we will publicise it and make sure it is accessible to whoever needs it.
“I want you to know that I will commission our Ministry of Innovation,Science and Technology to work and see to it that this center can be accesed from any part of the state within the next four months”. Aregbesola stated.
In an address, ChiefJudge of the state, Hon.Justice Adepele Ojo said the establishment of the center is in a bid to take justice delivery in the state to a world standard.
She explained that the centre will aid judicial workers in the state to be at par with their peers from any part of the world, while also appealing to the donor agency to continue to remember the state with more interventions.
“This center will go a long way in enhancing justice delivery in the state and assist judiciary  workers in the state to raise their standards in terms of justice delivery.
“The overall idea of this is to deliver a world class research center on the judiciary in a bid to make our judiciary workers stand shoulder high among their peers.
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Bashiru Ajibola while delivering a goodwill message noted that any contribution to the judiciary is highly important to the governor of the state as it will ensure fair judgement to all.
He charged all stakeholders in the judiciary sector to work in harmony in a bid to promote fair justice delivery to all and sundary in the state.
He commended the efforts of the UNODC for counting Osun worthy of the center, stressing that it goes a long way in emphasising the importance of Osun to the entire world.
According to the Attorney General, “all hands must be on deck to take judicial delivery to the next level in every nook and cranny of the world in a bid to aid smooth judicial service delivery.
“Judicial delivery all over the world has gone digital for it to be quickly delivered, judicial workers need to engage in research and modern methods of delivery for justice not to be delayed or denied.
“We are happy for this judiciary  research center because it is obvious that this will go a long way in assisting justice  delivery in our state. Ajibola stated.
Representative of the UNODC, Miss Christina Albertini stated that the aim of the project is to assist governments across the world to be able to uphold the rule of law to all and sundary.
She added that it is also to assist judiciary  workers to enhance their capacity through information and communication technology, while urging the state to make good use of the facility.
“We will continue to do all we can as an organisation to see that equitable justice is delivered to all at all times.
“We don’t want anyone to be denied of access to justice “. Miss Albertini stated.

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THE crisis which led to the closure of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, will soon be resolved, its Pro-chancellor, Prof Oladapo Afolabi, has said.
Afolabi, who chairs the Governing Council, spoke to reporters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
 

 
 
Other council members, the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Adeniyi Gbadegesin, and his fellow principal officers were at the briefing.
The school was shut five months ago, following the management’s inability to pay workers for 10 months.

He said the council was inaugurated at a time the institution is in its trying moment, assuring that they had accepted the challenges and were ready to ensure all issues causing perennial crisis at the institution, including funding, would be addressed.
The professor of Chemistry said the council would interact more with employees through their unions in order to gain their confidence and to boost their morale. He added that the council would also meet with students and other stakeholders, including governors of Osun and Oyo, former VCs, Soun of Ogbomoso, among others to ensure that the crisis is permanently resolved.
Afolabi said: “We had our inaugural meeting at the main campus in Ogbomoso on August 9, 2017 and created a 90-day action plan which has started in earnest. Consultations have been held with the various unions, parents’ forum and traditional rulers.
“We have also engaged the service of an auditing firm to ascertain the financial standing of the institution. We are expecting an interim report from the firm in a matter of days. It is this report we will be presenting to the visitors to the university. We have high hope that submission of this report would go a long way in bringing get a lasting solution to the problems of LAUTECH.
“From various interactions the council has had with the diverse stakeholders, we have realised that we are on the same page, working towards the same goal. The council will spare no efforts to get the university re-open for students to continue with their studies and move on with their academic pursuits. The students have pledged their cooperation to abide by any decision taken, if that would make the university to work again.

Afolabi promised that the council would ensure accountability in the spending of the institution’s funds and would not become a burden to the two owner states. He said there would be judicious use of subventions released by the government to run the institution.

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The audit report on Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, may be presented to the owner-states tomorrow.
 

 
Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela announced this yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, while featuring on a radio programme.
He said the management of the institution finally agreed to the call by the two owner states to audit the institution as a way of resolving its perennial and protracted crises.
Assuring  the general public that the audit report will fast-track resolution of the crisis, the commissioner said work was in top gear to ensure the school’s crises are resolved soon.

According to him, TechU’s fee stands at about N900,000 to make it self-sufficient and self-dependent.
Olowofela said the technical university was built for people who can afford its fees.
The commissioner said there were modalities to resolve LAUTECH’s crisis in the interest of the people.
On why LAUTECH’s crisis lingered, Olowofela said there were intricacies in the university’s administration.
According to him, Osun State, which is a co-owner, has a university, which is self-financing, although it was established years after LAUTECH.

He said: “The position of Osun State government was that if its university, which was established 12 years ago, can be self-financing, LAUTECH, which has been established for 20 years plus, must be self-financing as well, especially now that there’s dwindling allocation to states from the Federal Government.”
Olowofela noted that to show their seriousness towards the institution, the two states, last January, committed N292 million each to solve problems in the school.
The commissioner said they jointly approved the audit of the school by KPMG.
He recalled that between 2011 and 2017, the Oyo State government single-handedly spent N10.2 billion on LAUTECH, N8.3 billion on LAUTECH Teaching Hospital at Ogbomoso in Oyo State and N3.7 billion on LAUTECH Teaching Hospital at Oshogbo in Osun State.
Olowofela added that if the Oyo State government was not serious about LAUTECH, it would not have spent N22 billion on the institution.

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The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola will tomorrow(Wednesday 23rd of August, 2017 )at 12noon commission the Justice Research Center which is newly established and equipped at the State of Osun High Court of Justice Complex, Ilobu road, Osogbo.

 
This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Registrar of the State High Court, Mr. Lawrence Olawale Arojo.
According to the statement, the Research Center was provided courtesy of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the European Union (EU).
Arojo said the Center is an ultra modern and internet connected center of world class standard.
He noted that the research center will be of immense benefit to Judges, Magistrates, Lawyers, Court users and other stakeholders in the justice delivery sector.

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Hope of the completion of Moshood Kashimawo Abiola (MKO) International Airport, located in Ido Osun brightened over the weekend as the Turkish government indicated its interest to collaborate with Osun State government on the project.

 

 
The Turkish government also expressed its readiness to partner Osun on trade, commerce and industrial revolution so as to aid the state in its effort to improve on the socio-economic wellbeing of its people.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to Governor Rauf Aregbesola at Obafemi Awolowo Osun Governor’s Lodge, in Abuja, theTurkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Hakan Cakil disclosed that efforts had reached the climax to support the state at completing the MKO Abiola International Airport, a development which he said will open windows for better relations between Nigeria and Turkey.
He said the decision to partner the state was aimed at complementing the efforts being put together by the Aregbesola’s administration at giving the state a befitting airport, just as he commended the state for coming up with the idea of having a unique international airport, capable of being a model in Nigeria and by extension, Africa.
Cakil assured Aregbesola that the partnering company, Biray Construction Company,‎ had the full the backing of the Turkish government, expressing optimism that quality job will be delivered at the end of it all.
He therefore assured that the execution of the airport will not only foster good relationship between the Osun State and Turkey, but also provide ample business opportunities between the partnering governments.
In his remarks, the chairman, Biray Construction Company, Birol Arikan‎ assured Osun State government of quality service delivery, stressing that the company possess the capacity to deliver on its mandate when being given a partnership, which he said will to turn around ‎the airport.
According to him, ‎”We are well known to this project. This is what we do most. We have been on ground for long. We have been operating since 2002. We ha‎‎ve handled such projects across the country. So, when we begin, all efforts will be made to make MKO Abiola International Airport of international standard”.
Earlier in his speech, the facilitator of the partnership, Ambassador Nurudeen Ogunlade announced that the firm, All Works of life Development Organization, had completed all it entails, including obtaining the first tranche of funds through the EXIM Bank of Turkey to begin the construction, upon the signing of concessional agreement between Osun and Biray Construction Group.‎
While responding, Aregbesola, said his administration will muster the political will needed to complete the project, contending that  no efforts will be spared to turn around the economy of the state for the betterment of all and sundry.
He said his administration had done much to bring a facelift to the state, particularly in infrastructure development, a move which, according to him, had turned Osogbo, the state capital, into a mega city.

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Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has congratulated awardees at the NUJ state information chapel press week, just as he charged journalists in the country to make professionalism their watchword in the discharge of their duties.
 

 
Ogbeni Aregbesola stated this while delivering a key note adress at the awards and family day ceremony of the on going press week of the NUJ state information chapel held at the SUBEB conference hall.
Awardees at the programme include: the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin Aroyinkeye 1, Special Adviser to the Governor on Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Olubisi Odewumi and Alhaji Ridwan Haussain popularly known as Yah Sallam.
Recipients of professional awards are: Mrs Toyin Adeoye who was awarded the best Information officer of the year, Mrs Martha Adebiyi, Studio Engineer of the year and Mr Sunday Omonijo was was awarded the best photographer  of the year.
Other professional awards include the visual editor of the year, Mr Olalekan Rasaq and Mr Francis Odejobi who was given the award of Graphic artist of the year.
Ogbeni Aregbesola who was represented at the occasion by the Commissioner for Information and strategy, Mr. Adelani  Baderinwa stressed that journalists must begin to portray themselves as the watchdog of the society which they are.
Speaking further at the programme which had the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrasheed Olabomi as the father of day, Aregbesola said his government will continue to create an enabling environment for journalists to work and practice their profession adding that a conducive environment is highly important for the job of a journalist.
Ogbeni Aregbesola ,who commended the efforts of state information officers on their efforts at propagating the activities of the present administration ,called on journalists in the country to help shape the country on the right path of development.
The state helmsman stressed that the efforts of journalists in national development can not be overemphasised .
In his remark, the Chairman ,House Committee on Information and Strategy, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye ,who was in company of Hon. Lekan Olatunji, while promising journalists in the state of total support of the House of Assembly, urged media practitioners to portray  the society in good light.
He said as the chairman of the House Committee on Information and Strategy , he owes it a duty to journalists in the state to always protect their interests, saying that the present administration in the state views journalists in high esteem.
Director General of the OSBC, Mr Wale Idowu ,while congratulating members of the state information chapel ,told the recipients of professional awards to rededicate themselves to their duties and professional calling.
He urged them to show commitment to their duties as a means of showing appreciation on being singled out for honour.
In his address, the state NUJ chairman, Comrade Abiodun Olalere, expressed gratitude to the governor if Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for always showing support  to journalists in the state.
While congratulating recipients of individual awards, Comrade Olalere urged them to see the awards as that of the Nigerian Union of Journalists  hence the need to always portray themselves as good ambassadors to the union.
He used the occasion to call on journalists in the state to take the opportunity of the on going biometric registration to get registered for them to continue to remain as journalists in the state.
Special guest of honour at the occasion, Mr Benedict Alabi encouraged journalists to be more proactive on the job, while urging them to endeavour to portray the country positively to the outside world.
He noted that Nigerian journalists have a role to play in the unity and progress of the nation, stressing that Nigerians can only tell their good story themselves.
Coordinating Director in the Ministry of Information and strategy, Mrs Femi Webster Esho ,while congratulating the awardees ,urged them to keep up the good job.
Highlights of the occasion was a special recognition award to the three departments in the chapel which include; Press  and Public Relations, Social Mobilisation and strategy as well as the Grassroots and Public Enlightment
Activities of the press week will be rounded up  today  with a Jumat service at the Abere central mosque after which members of the chapel will be hosted to a reception by the Permanent Secretary SUBEB, Mr Fatai Kolawole.

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