OSUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the state and National Assembly lawmakers are set to meet “to proffer an enduring solution to the financial challenges facing the state”.
A lawmaker representing Ayedade/Isokan/Irewole Federal Constituency, Mrs. Ayo Omidiran, said this at a news conference at the weekend in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
She added that the meeting, entitled: “Osun Stakeholders’ Conference”, is scheduled to hold today.
Mrs. Omidiran, who spoke in company of other lawmakers, including Ajibola Famurewa, representing Ile East/West and Atakumosa East/West Federal Constituency, Mojeed Alabi, repenting Iwo/Ola-Oluwa/Ejigbo Federal Constituency, and Bosun Oyintiloye, representing Obokun State Constituency, said no fewer than 1,000 stakeholders from the state will attend the conference.
The lawmakers added that technocrats, the state’s former governors and their deputies, formers speakers of both the national and state House of Assemblies, traditional rulers, labour unions, non-governmental organisations, religious leaders, elder-statesmen, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), market women and others have been invited to the conference.
She noted that the National Assembly lawmakers, under the aegis of Osun Legislators Forum, initiated the meeting.
Mrs. Omidiran said the conference was necessary following the financial crisis facing the state, the incessant industrial actions over non-payment of salaries as well as abandonment of critical projects that the governor had embarked on to actualise the state’s “mega city vision”.
She said: “We realised that the times are very hard for our people. Whatever we are doing in Abuja, if our people are not happy, we too cannot be happy. It then means that the laws we are making won’t make sense. We want to let our people know that we are committed to their wellbeing.
“The conference will present an opportunity for all stakeholders to hear from the horse’s mouth on how we got to this stage. Governor Aregbesola will explain in clear terms during his submission the what, when, why and how. He will answer all our questions and lay all his cards on the table.
“Stakeholders are expected to contribute intellectually through submissions based on facts and experiences, so that at the end of the summit, we shall together and by the grace of God, proffer lasting solutions to the myriads of problems confronting our dear state.”
Omidiran noted that the recommendations from the summit would be submitted to the government, which has the prerogative for implementation.
But the candidate of the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has denied receiving an invitation to attend the meeting.
He said if he had received the letter, he would attend, since the agenda was to deliberate on how to move the state forward.
The former deputy governor, who spoke with our correspondent on phone from Washington DC, said he was attending a World Bank’s meeting in the United States (U.S.).
He noted that the invitation must have been dropped in the wrong hands because he understand all the state’s stakeholders were invited.
His words: “I wasn’t invited by the lawmakers. I also read about it on newspapers. Presently, I am attending a World Bank’s meeting in Washington DC. Maybe they sent the invitation through wrong persons because I heard all the stakeholders were invited to brainstorm on how to take Osun State forward and proffer solution to challenges facing the state.
“I left Ife for Lagos on Friday and from Lagos to Abuja before I flew out to United States, where I will be attending the meeting slated for Monday 10 to August 11.
“I could have attended the meeting, if I receive it because I can teach basic rules of economics on how to manage resources.”