Osun 2020 Budget Consultation Gallery.
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Kingsley Omoyeni
The state of Osun Development Plan (SDP) has been described as one of the best in the country which is capable of placing the state on the threshold of meaningful development if well implemented.
These were the submission of delegates from the South-Western states of Ogun, Lagos, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo who were in the state of Osun on a study tour and learn from the state of Osun Development Plan.
The tour which is aimed at putting all the South-Western states of Nigeria on the same pedestal of development, was facilitated by the Development Agenda Of Western Nigeria(DAWN Commision), the Department For International Development(DFID) and the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn(PERL).
Speaking at a forum shortly after their tour, the Director General of DAWN commission, Mr Seye Oyeleye said all the efforts of development in Osun is expected rub-off on other South-west states, hence the need for the tour of the state.
The D.G who was represented by the head of administration of DAWN commission, said it is nice that Osun is integrating the citizens needs acessment in the formulation of the budget to boost the state development plan.
He said, “Osun is a state that knows what they want to achieve in terms of development and that is the way to go. We should not just leave everything to chance.
“The reason why the DAWN commission together with other partners have brought other southwest states to Oṣùn is because we have studied the Development Plan of Osun and we have seen that they have done a good job.
“By December of 2020, the DAWN commission will want to see a situation whereby all the Southwest states will have a clear vision of development, that is why we have come to Oṣùn, Osun already have clear vision of what they want to achieve and they are going about it passionately”. He stated.
Speaking on behalf of DFID and PERL, Mr Wale Agboju, a senior data analyst at (PERL) who thanked Osun for allowing other southwest states to come and study its development plan said they are happy about what is going on in the state.
He said he is delighted that other Southwestern states have shown the desire and readiness to learn what the state of Osun is doing right in terms of having a State Development Plan which he said has been properly done.
“I must tell you that Osun has done something remarkable and we are proud of what the state has achieved in such a short period of time. Osun has integrated the people in the state development and that’s why it is working.
“I commend the people and the government of the state of Osun for the willingness to share experiences on how they have done it. I believe delegates from other states have been enriched greatly.
“At PERL, we saw that Osun was doing something right and we feel other states should learn from it to aid a spread of the development across especially the southwest states and that’s why we collaborated with the DAWN to bring other southwest to Oṣùn and its been worthwhile”. Mr Agboju stated.
Earlier in a welcome adddres, Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development, Prof. Olalekan Yinusa told the delegates that the reform that the state has made has put the state on the world map to qualify her for a world Bank grant.
He advised that every development plan must be made to be all inclusive and fully participatory because it is being made for the people, stressing that the masses should be allowed to own it.
According to the Commissioner, “I can tell you that the secret behind what we have done is that we have made everything fully participatory and all inclusive for the people, we allowed them to say what they want and that is why it is seamless”. Yinusa emphasized.
Kingsley Omoyeni
Commissioner for Finance in Osun, Mr Bola Oyebami says the target of the state is to be able generate at least 3billion naira per month to enable government deliver on its campaign promises to the people of the state.
This is just as the Commissioner directed all partner banks of the state government in revenue generation to fully comply with the Treasury Single Account policy of the state in an effort to block all leakages and further boost the revenue of the state.
The Commissioner stated this during a meeting with partner banks and other financial institutions on their business relationships with the state government so as maintain a steady growth in the state’s IGR.
Mr Oyebamiji who described the banks working with the state government on revenue collection as the first level of marketing for the state added that the banks should be ready to put themselves in position where they will add value to the state for the benefit of all.
The financial expert said any of the bank working with the state government on revenue collection who fails to comply with the TSA policy of the State Government will no longer be regarded as a partner.
According to the Commissioner, “this is the time we need the cooperation of all our revenue collection banks. We just must improve and boost the revenue of this state to at least 3billiin every month. This is the only way government can deliver on its promises to the people of the state.
“we need to make our relationship mutually beneficial, you should strive to add value to the state and in the long run it will be beneficial to you when the state grows economically.
“you should realise that it is very important for all banks to comply fully with the TSA policy, it is the most honourable thing to do or else you will no longer be seen as a partner in the quest to boost the revenue of the state.
“Henceforth, a target will be set for all our revenue collection banks, and if those targets are met, we will compensate you with incensives to further encourage you”. The Commissioner stated.
Also speaking at the meeting, the state Accountant General, Mr Sunday Igbaroola urged all the banks to ensure that they close every other accounts outside the TSA account so that all funds can be strictly monitored and accounted for.
“we want a situation whereby we can be able to view all accounts belonging to the state government at a glance. Thus will aid transperency and accountability”. Mr Igbaroola stressed.
In his own remark, Chairman of the Osun Internal Revenue Service(OIRS), Mr Gbite Ademikanra charged the banks to work with the internal revenue service so that the state can get to the level which it ought to be in terms of revenue generation.
“we must be realistic and deliver on what we ought to deliver at the right time, we can’t continue to do things the old way and expect a different result, we must boost the revenue of this state and we can only do it together when we are transparent and prudent in our dealings”. The OIRS boss stressed.
Others present at the meeting include: the Special Assistant to the Governor on Finance, Dr Wale Tijani, Technical Assistant to the Governor on TSA, Mr Adetona Adefokun among others.
LAUTECH: We’ve never defaulted in payi ng salaries of workers –Osun Govt
The Government of the State of Osun has described the comments by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on the running of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) that tended to suggest that Osun has abandoned payment of workers of the institution as a product of misinformation.
It said to the contrary, the state has always been alive to its responsibility with regard to its obligations to LAUTECH despite the obvious lopsidedness in the distribution of infrastructure between the two owner states.
A statement from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prince Wole Oyebamiji, on Tuesday, noted that Osun has never defaulted in the payment of salaries of workers in both the university and the Teaching Hospital in Osogbo.
It added that in 2017 alone, while Oyo contributed N717, 888, 795.00, Osun contributed N1, 292, 000, 000.00. In 2018, Oyo contributed N443, 865,554.00; Osun contributed N500, 000,000.
The government was however quick to add that in addition to contributing regularly to LAUTECH in Ogbomoso, as indicated above, Osun State alone has been responsible for paying the salaries of workers at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, from 2013 to date, amounting to N16, 369, 953, 830.48.
For instance, from January to June this year, while Oyo had paid about N1.1billion to the university, Osun on the other hand had paid about N1.7 billion from January to July this year to LAUTECH Teaching Hospital. This is in addition to the N300million it released to the university in July.
“Effectively, what this implies is that while Osun had cumulatively spent about N2billion on the institution from January to date, Oyo had only spent a little over N1billion.
“From the foregoing, who has defaulted? Rather than attempt to vilify our government, we should be commended. The university is a joint responsibility. Whatever decision that needs to be taken on its future must be mutually agreed upon.
“Again, for emphasis, we are committed to the joint ownership of LAUTECH and we will never shy away from our responsibilities, just as we will never sacrifice the future of the students of the university on the altar of partisan politics,” the government added.
Kingsley Omoyeni
The board of the Osun Internal Revenue Service(OIRS) have been charged to design a strategy that will help the state get an enhanced revenue as a means of further boosting the economy of the state.
Supervisor for Finance and Commerce, Mr Bola Oyebamiji gave the charge during the weekly meeting of the finance conglomerate held at the conference room of the ministry of finance.
Oyebamiji said it is time that government be taken as a commercial entity without attaching sentiments in a bid to get all what is due to government in terms of revenue.
The Supervisor directed that henceforth the OIRS should be fully in charge of everyone money that comes in as revenue for the state, stressing that they need to take over from every revenue generating agency of government in a bid to avoid leakages.
He said there is no reason why any government agency should still maintain any account for collection of revenue except it is reported and endorsed by the board of the Internal Revenue Service.
According to Oyebamiji, “I don’t want us to relent in the move to continue to block financial leakages and boost our revenue as a state. We are not there yet, we need to continue to work hard to boost our revenue, we are not where we want to be yet, there is still a lot of ground to cover.
“The way forward is to commercialize government activities, don’t get me wrong, it is different from privatising it, in my opinion this is the only way for us to move forward as a state. As individuals and as stake holders in the Osun Project, we need to take away sentiments from governance and begin to do things the right way.
“if we take away sentiments from governance we will get every revenue that is due to the state, the days of sitting back and do nothing is long gone, we must take over revenue generating activities from any ministry, department or agency that is still involved in it.
“The Osun Internal Revenue Service is the only body saddled under the law with the responsibility of collecting taxes and other levies on behalf of the state, I believe we can generate a lot more revenue than what we currently do, we just need to tie some loose ends.
“Mr Governor believes we have the capacity to do better than this and he wants us to improve”. He stressed.
Bola Oyebamiji preaches more accountability in governance
Kingsley Omoyeni
The prudent and transparent nature of governance in the state of Osun has yielded fruit as the state is among 21 out of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT that has qualified for a World Bank grant as a result of its fiscal transparency.
Tagged: State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability And Sustainability Programme (SFTAS), a programme orchestrated by the World Bank through the federal ministry of finance to help state governments that are accountable and transparent in their state’s finances to benefit from grants that will be used for further developent.
Determined to get such grants for the development of the state, the present administration immediately constituted a steering committee chaired by the Supervisor for Finance, Mr Bola Oyebamiji with a view to meeting up with all the eligibility criteria of the programme.
At a meeting with the SFTAS committee on Wednesday at the conference room of the Ministry of Finance, the obviously elated Oyebamiji broke the news to the delight of the committee members that the state has been given a pass mark by the World Bank.
Oyebamiji however called on the committee which has the Supervisor for Economic Planning, Budget and Development, Professor Olalekan Yinusa as Vice chairman not to relax as a result of the success just achieved but to start on meeting the target for 2019 and beyond.
While charging the committee to ensure that the state does not miss out on any of the variables in future, the financial expert stressed that all the processes which the state took to achieve the feat must be institutionalized to make things continue to work in a transparent manner.
Oyebamiji who is also in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives and Industry said the present administration in the state will continue to run a transparent government that will be for the benefit of all Osun people no matter the status, adding that transparency in governance makes things work better.
According to the Supervisor, “this is a feat that we must all be proud of, the transparent and accountable nature of governance in Osun has paid off and I am proud that a body such as the World Bank has given us a clean bill and our state will benefit from grants that we will use to further develop the state.
“Out of the 36 states in the country including the FCT, it is gratifying that Osun is one of the leading states out of the 21 that scaled through and met up with most of the eligibility criteria.
“This is as a result of hard work and the transparent manner which governance has been run over the years in Osun. We must continue in this manner because there is still a lot for us to achieve. We must work to institutionalize the process that will make fiscal transparency to continue to be the order of the day.
“It is pertinent that we sustain this process because a transparent government is bound to succeed without any doubt and the masses will be better for it. That is why the World Bank through the federal ministry of finance is using the SFTAS programme to test the transparent nature of government before releasing the grant.
“I am happy that the World Bank has scored us high and I think we should be proud of ourselves, thank God we have not missed this opportunity.” He stated.
Speaking on the need to continue to run a transparent and accountable government in the state, Mr Oyebamiji said such move will create room for an improved IGR as residents will have more trust in their government and be willing to pay their taxes and other levies because they know that their money will be judiciously spent.
In his words, “Apart from the fact that we are getting a grant through this, we should be happy that we are laying a foundation for how things should be done. When a transparent government is in place, it can have a positive effect on the Internally Generated Revenue.
“Citizens will have more trust in their leaders and in turn be willing to pay their taxes and other levies because of the assurance that their monies will be spent in a transparent manner.
The State Government of Osun has said that it was not surprised that the state is again declared the lowest in ‘Incidence of Poverty’ in Nigeria by the United Nations Development Programme.
The Computation of Human Development Indices for the UNDP Nigeria Human Development Report (2016) which was released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently rated Osun the lowest state in the ‘Incidence of Poverty’.
According to the report, Osun has 17.5 per cent incidence of poverty.
A statement made available to newsmen in Osogbo by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Adelani Baderinwa said the government was not surprised with the UNDP and NBS’s report and described it as a compliment on Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration.
Baderinwa maintained that the projects, programmes and policies put in place by Aregbesola have no doubt developed the economy of the state, improve the wellbeing of the people and guarantee security of life and properties.
“We have done everything humanly possible to reduce poverty, create wealth and put smiles on the faces of our people”, Baderinwa said.
It would be recalled that the NBS had in 2013 rated Osun the second lowest state in poverty Index in 2013, one of the five states with lowest unemployment rate by NBS, and the second richest state in Nigeria by the United Nations’ Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index in 2017.
NBS stated in the report: “The Incidence of Poverty which is the percentage of Nigerians who are poor is 53.7 percent and the disaggregation by state shows that it is more prevalent (89.9 percent) in Sokoto state, followed by Jigawa state with 86.1 per cent, Rivers and Ebonyi state share 58.9 per cent each, while the lowest state is Osun state with 17.5 per cent”.
Baderinwa said: “The report is a welcome development; it actually reflects the social and economic development in the state. The confirmed Aregbesola’s ingenuity, vision and ceaseless efforts in transforming the state, improve wellbeing of the people and creation of wealth.
“Programmes like Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) which has usefully engaged 60,000 youths, Osun Free School Feeding progamme named ‘O MEAL’ which employs over 3334 women who prepare meals for the school children, and series of empowerment programmes have reduced poverty in the state.”
He added: “Osun was in deep financial quagmire in 2016 but was able to sustain her social protection programmes like O’ MEAL, OYES, building of schools, provision of soft loans and empowerment programmes for traders, provision of free ambulance services and treatment to accident victims and other programme.
“Over 38, 000 traders, business owners and small scale business owners have been empowered between 2014 and 2018. The social protection programmes of the Aregbesola’s administration are second to none in Nigeria. This is why Osun has lowest poverty rate in Nigeria.”
The agency in charge of Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) in the State of Osun, yesterday held its innovative quarterly performance review with the Council Managers and Desk Officers in the 68 Local Councils in the state.
The General Manager of Osun-CSDP, Mrs Funmi Abokede said the innovative quarterly performance review was aimed at assessing the activities of CSDP in all the 68 Local Councils in the state so as to be able to evaluate the performances of CSDP and enhance improvement.
During the review meeting, the Council Managers presented the reports on major activities and events of CSDP in their respective local councils and also gave their scorecards.
The Council Manager of Atakumosa East Local Government, Titi Olajuyigbe said the council completed various CSDP projects including the extension of electrification and installation of a transformer at Idaado so as to ensure stable electricity for the people in the area.
Olajuyigbe said “We also provided a Health Centre for the residents of Itaapa so that people there would be able to get primary healthcare. We constructed civic centres at Ijemba and Ise-Ijesa so that people would have befitting place to hold events, particularly town meetings. We gave them a borehole at Ipole”.
Speaking in the same vein, the Council Manager of Olorunda Local Government in Osogbo, Alhaji Rasaq Olasunkanmi Azeez also highlighted the achievements of CSDP in his council.
According to him, “Through the CSDP, we have constructed mini bridges across the council area. We also provided electricity for the residents of Oluwatedo community at Malam Tope area. We provided transformer resident of Aratumi community. We provided borehole for residents of Ifesowapo Zone 3 at Kelebe. We also provided a transformer for residents of Iyanoso Ajayi Community at Ayekale area”.
Olajuyigbe and Azeez commended the Chairmen of Atakumosa East and Olorunda local councils, Honourable Femi Kujenmbola and Honourable Femi Anisulowo for ensuring the completion of the projects.
All the Council Managers from the 30 Local Governments, 32 Local Community Development Areas, the four Area Councils and the two Administrative Offices also gave their scorecards while the CSDP state officials also make presentation at the innovative quarterly performance review.
The General Manager of Osun-CSDP, Mrs Aderomke Oluwafunmilayo Abokede commended the Council Managers and Desk Officers for their dedication to their duties and commitment to ensure success of CSDP projects.
Abokede however lamented that despite the existence of Local Government, the social conditions in Nigeria are still poor even with the rich endowment of natural and human resources.
She frowned that Local Government social services provision still remains inadequate and often inappropriate because of the ‘Top Down, Supply Driven’ approach which was the practice in most local councils.
She noted that the ‘Top Down, Supply Driven’ approach has not been able to meet the actual needs of the communities and that this led to the poor track records of public service delivery.
She explained innovative quarterly performance review of Osun CSDP organised to improve the capacity of the Council Managers and Desk Officers on Community Driven Development (CDD) which is Bottom Up and Demand Driven.
Abokede said the CDD approach ensures that poor communities benefit from and participate in development efforts. She noted that CDD is an important approach focusing on appropriate development interventions and at the same time reaching very large numbers of poor people.
She said the innovative quarterly performance review is also a constructive engagement that serves as a platform for social accountability through which the Council Managers give report of their Local Councils’ Performance on the use of CDD approach and how they have used public resources to deliver services and improve welfare of the people in the communities across the state.
According to her, “It is expected that the feedback from this performance review will be used by the Local Councils to improve support for CDD projects, promote accountability in governance and better public service delivery.”
“CDD is responsive to local demands, inclusive and more cost effective compared to the Top Down, Supply Driven approach. It is imperative to have understanding of characteristics of CDD projects”, Abokede said.
The Osun Government says that discipline has increased in schools across the state within the past eight years.
Commissioner for Education, Mr. Wasiu Omotunde-Young, made this known on Thursday during a press conference.
“There is no rational observer that will not realise that discipline has increased in our schools in the last 8 years,” he said.
According to him, the Rauf Aregbesola’s administration has recorded achievement in the educational sector of the state.
The commissioner explained that the performance of secondary school students in the 2018 West Africa Examination Council, WAEC has improved.
On infrastructure, Omotunde-Young stated that the government has provided toilet facilities to pupils across the state.
“Our school is to train students to be able to think and become a problem solver. No single government has touched education in the last eight years especially in terms of capacity, human development, and physical infrastructure, like this government.
“The schools that were built before Aregbesola did not have toilet.We are confident that things will continue to improve,” he added.
Osun High School Students recorded a 70% success rate for Mathematics in the just concluded 2018 WAEC School Leaving examination.
This was revealed in a detailed FACTSHEET on Osun WAEC results over the last 13 years based on WAEC data; effectively 7 out of very 10 Osun students in the 2018 WAEC examination had A1 – C6 grades for Mathematics.
In a press briefing on Wednesday in Osogbo, the State of Osun Commissioner for Education, Mr Kola Omotunde-Young said in a total number of 36, 107 candidates that sat for May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in 2018 in the State of Osun, 70.7%, 75.2%, 53.56% and 70% of the total number of candidates passed General Mathematics, Further Mathematics, English Language and Financial Accounting with at least credit passes respectively disaggregating the pass rate using subject basis.
Young said “Out of the total number of candidates, 19,496 candidates corresponding to 54.01% of the total number of candidates had at least 5 credit passes (including Mathematics and English Language). This is the best performance the State of Osun has attained within the last 13-year period.”
“The factsheet also presented a 13 year analysis of WAEC results in the state, from 2006 to 2018. The analysis shows a steady improvement in average pass rates of 10.95% in 2006 to 54.01% in the just concluded 2018 WAEC results. The last result being the best showing for the state in the last 13 Years.”
Omotunde-Young posited that before the advent of the current administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the best performance recorded in the period analyzed was 15.6% in the year 2010 but within the first term of the current administration between 2011-2014 , an average student performance of 20.82% and best result of 22.24% in the year 2014 was recorded.
The Commissioner for Education explained further that “the state recorded even better performance in the second term of 2014-2018 wherein the average pass rate was 40.89% and best performance was 54.01% in the year 2018. These results as derived from WAEC data, empirically proves the impact of the almost 8 year focus of the current administration on basic education as the foundation for repositioning the state for a better and more productive future.
He urged the conference to duel on fact based analysis that is provable and defensible, demanding that anyone who feel doubtful should reach the WAEC office to demand same data for analysis.
The Commissioner condemned the dubious efforts of the opposition to manipulate the performance of the state in WAEC with the very callous aim of undermining the unprecedented investment the current administration made in Education.
Mr Young also used the opportunity to debunk the claim the administration only focused on the infrastructure side of education reform. He clarified that, through its State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) alone, the State trained 29,695 teachers over 8 years, being an unprecedented feat in the state and arguably in the south west region. The report also provided a breakdown of year on year training from 2011 to 2018.
He revealed that the State sought out the best to deliver its training programs, working with reputable organizations like the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) , National Teachers Institute , Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU , Osun State University UNIOSUN among others.
The State Government through the commissioner stated that “the report was produced based on WAEC data and it incorporates raw data as supplied by WAEC for transparency. The Commissioner averred the data used can be independently verified from WAEC. The report will be shared with the media, non-governmental organizations and interested parties. It will also be publicly available on the State’s Website.”
“While recognizing that more can be achieved in advancing basic education reform , the State is proud of the bold achievements recorded in the last 8 years and feels grateful to have the improving WAEC results to show for it.
He concluded that the reform efforts in Teacher Training, School Reclassification , School Feeding , Tablet of Knowledge (Opon Imo) for High School Students to prepare for WAEC Exams, School Infrastructure Revamp among others are bearing fruits.
“Osun has set its course right in the area of education and is becoming a shining example in the area of public educational reform for the Nation and beyond”.