The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Amosun

  • I never said FG’ll write off bailout fund —Amosun

    I never said FG’ll write off bailout fund —Amosun

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has refuted claims that he said the federal government will write off the bailout fund extended to some states of the federation.

    “I was quoted out of context. I never said the federal government was going to write off the bailout fund,” the governor said.

    A statement issued by his media aide, Adejuwon Soyinka said, “Contrary to reports in some sections of the media, at no point during the opening session of the state Treasury Board meeting for the year 2016 budget held on Friday, November 20, did the governor categorically state that the federal government was going to write off the bailout debt of states.

    “What happened is that the governor, upon being briefed by the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, who attended the last National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held on November 19, said states of the federation spoke about challenges they were facing in meeting their obligations towards repayment of their rescheduled loans or bailout fund.

    “He said in view of this, states requested for some sort of moratorium or outright cancellation of their debts. Governor Amosun never said that the federal government has decided to write off the debt or give any sort of moratorium”.

    The governor also spoke about how Ogun State is the only state that opted for 10 year repayment plan as opposed to the 20 years that was originally proposed by the federal government.

    He assured that his administration intends to fully repay the bailout loan before the expiration of his tenure.

    In another development, the governor has notified the state House of Assembly of his readiness to present the 2016 Appropriation Bill on Tuesday.

  • Amosun and Mama H.I.D’s passage

    SIR: On Friday, November 25, Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo will exit the mother earth. Her passage reminds us of the words of William Shakespeare: “When beggars die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of Princes”. Now, these famous words are brought to the fore as the activities of her final exit are in top gear, with frenetic explosion of tributes, accolades and admiration.

    The chief host of this glorious exit is  the governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. The governor’s adorable style of governance is at the heart of activities of Chief (Mrs) Awolowo’s final passage. These activities will reverberate for years to come.

    Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo was a stabilising force in pre-independent and post-independent Nigeria. She left an enduring legacy of honesty, kindness, integrity, sincerity of purpose and commitment to the political ideals of her husband, Chief Obafemi Awolowo- the indefatigable nationalist and late Premier of Western Region. She was a family woman to the core; she raised the bar of family values and standards and the Awolowo family became a model that other families looked up to in Nigeria.

    Since Mama HID’s death on September 19, a whiff of respectability and candour towards her the final exit has been palpable in Ogun State. On Monday, November 16, the state Executive Council held a special session to eulogise her. Officials of the state government have taken the activities lined up for the final passage as a call to duty. The bell was sounded about two weeks ago by the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa who sent a signal about government’s readiness to give the late matriach a befitting burial. He had declared that Chief (Mrs) Awolowo was a mother to everybody in the state.

    Senator Amosun would remain one of the special sons of Chief (Mrs) Awolowo. As a son, he was always by her side. Senator Amosun is a frequent visitor to occasions involving the Awolowos, especially Chief (Mrs) Awolowo’s annual  birthday ceremonies and the remembrance services of her late husband. Apart from being a son to Mama, Senator Amosun, by virtue of his eminient postion as governor, is a father to all in the state. In this regard, the governor played a crucial role in the life and times of Mama.

    I wish to use this opportunity to commend Governor Amosun and other stakeholders for their cherished roles in giving this outstanding woman of virtue a befitting burial. History will record their names in gold for giving honour to whom it’s due.

    • Wole Elegbede,

    Imeko Ogun State.

     

  • Amosun: Ogun suffers 60 per cent revenue drop

    Amosun: Ogun suffers 60 per cent revenue drop

    •N80b needed to complete Akute-Agbado-Ijoko road

    Ogun State  has lost over 60 per cent of its statutory revenue allocation from the Federation Account.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun spoke yesterday at a Town Hall meeting with stakeholders on the 2016 budget.

    He said the state requires about N80billion to complete the 32KM Sango -Ijoko-Agbado-Akute -Ojodu road.

    The government awarded the contract to Messrs Prado E. Mercedos, a Brazilian firm, barely three years ago but work has slowed down, following increasing shortage of funds.

    For next year’s budget, he said the development of rural areas will be the priority.

    He said the decision to prioritise the rural area is because of the realisation that the bulk of the people reside in the rural areas as well as the need to open up the areas.

    Amosun said Deputy Governor Mrs Yetunde Onanuga has the responsibility of fixing rural roads and infrastructure.

    The governor, who promised that the new policy thrust of the budget would be vigorously pursued, however lamented the massive drop in the state’s revenue.

    His words: “What we receive has dropped considerably. In fact, our allocation coming from Abuja has dropped by as much as 60 per cent. It is so bad.

    “When we came in, we were collecting between N3.5billion and N4.8billion monthly but with the recent slump in oil prices, the money coming to us has reduced.

    “Last month, we collected just N1.3billion and our wage bill is in the excess of N7billion monthly. How do we do it? We have to enthrone prudent financial management.”

    The governor announced that no new roads would be awarded next year, saying “we won’t award contract for any new road in 2016. We will only complete the roads that are presently under construction across the state”.

    Amosun told the audience that the state would be 40 years in February, adding that “we will be inaugurating 40 projects across the state.

    “Our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, will be coming to our state to commission the projects. We will be making it real because our state is now 40 years.”

    Amosun decried landlords’ refusal to re-connect their homes with public water supply.

    He said indigenes have snubbed all efforts to reconnect to the public water after the reconstruction of the roads that passed their areas.

    “We are determined to ensure that that is reversed. We observed that people take jerry cans to public taps. We will soon discourage that because we will soon be installing metres on those public water taps and ensure landlords reconnect to public water mains.”

    Answering questions, he said his administration has put in place verifiable assets worth over N103billion while it has also incurred a debt of about N40billion.

    Commissioner for Budget and Planning Ms Adenrele Adesina noted that the event was to get public opinion on the 2016 budget.

    At the event were Mrs. Onanuga, the Olu of Ilaro, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa.

     

     

  • Eulogies as Amosun, exco members receive remains

    Eulogies as Amosun, exco members receive remains

    Members of the Ogun State Executive Council, led by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday officially received the body of the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Mrs. Hannah Idowu Dideolu(HID) Awolowo.

    The remains, encased in gold casket and conveyed in a grey Mercedes hearse marked TOS 9,  arrived the Sagamu interchange on the Ogun stretch of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway in a convoy at 3.30pm.

    The body, accompanied by her children- Mrs Omotola Oyediran and Dr Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu-, grandchildren and other family members, was received by Amosun, Deputy Governor Yetunde Onanuga and other exco members on its arrival from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    The governor, who addressed the gathering, described Mama HID as a great woman, who would be missed by all.

    Amosun said: “Little did we know that the celebration we were preparing for her will be another way of celebrating her in a grand style because we were all preparing for her centenary birthday. But we will still celebrate on that day she would have turned 100, we are happy for her life.

    “Here lies an example of what a woman should be, an example of what a daughter should be, an example of what a good wife should be, an example of what a good mother should be, an example of what a grandmother should be, an example of what a great grand mother should be; not many people are this lucky.

    “Here lies the remains of that precious woman, a nice woman with inestimable value not just to Papa Awolowo but to all of us. Mama was one woman you can continue to read like a big book. Is it determination? Is it being steadfast with her husband even in those trying times, Mama was a solid rock for Baba Obafemi Awolowo.

    “She did have her challenges but if you see the way she carried on with those challenges, you will know that Mama was an exemplary woman.

    “Mama set so many good examples; the foundation all of us are still struggling to attain. Mama, all the good people of Ogun State will miss you. We are already missing you before your interment.”

    Earlier, the state executive council paid glowing tributes to Mrs. Awolowo for her sterling roles in nation building.

    The council, led by Amosun, described Mama as an icon of excellence and epitome of womanhood.

    The members said the late matriarch did not only make her Ikenne home a Mecca of sorts, but also turned it to a rallying point for all politicians, irrespective of political class.

    “Mama was a woman of virtue and humility. She was an icon par excellence, an epitome of womanhood and a source of inspiration. We are aware of her mental alertness which helped her in her motherly role to the nation, even at her old age.

    “The support she gave her husband is a lesson that you can achieve greatness by doing family things. Besides being a pillar of support, Mama upheld the legacies of her husband for about 30 years even after his demise.

    “Mama’s life is a textbook of a wife worth recommending to everyone where good chapters are available on how to be a good wife, mother and grandmother. Her life is a compass of a woman who wants to be remembered,” the Council said.

    They noted that the best way to remember her was to nurture her virtues of selflessness and service to humanity.

     

  • HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of Cs of O

    HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of Cs of O

    The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has distributed the ninth batch of Homeowner’s Charter Scheme Certificate of Occupancy to beneficiaries in Abeokuta, the state capital. He was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa.
    The Governor used the occasion to assure citizens that all programmes aimed at realising the re-building mission of his administration would be realised and all on-going projects would be completed and delivered as scheduled.
    He applauded all concerned agencies for ensuring the success of the programme, pointing out that critics, who had despised the initiative at inception, had seen its sincerity of purpose from the cooperation and number of C of O dispatched so far.
    He, therefore, appealed for support and understanding of the people in the face of dwindling economic challenges, promising that no stone would be left unturned at making the state self-sustaining.
    “We are working round the clock to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) so that our state can be self-sustaining and reduce over-reliance on the federal allocation,” he said.
    In a similar vein, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Amope Chokor, said the Home-Owners’ Charter programme was designed by the state to enable property owners possess legal titles on their land. She said it would be a continuous process as it would help government to know the areas where there was serious infrastructural deficit.
    Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Motunrayo Ogundipe commended the state government for its sincerity, saying that many people, who doubted the government’s good intentions on the scheme at inception, have now seen that the Amosun government is sincere.
    It would be recalled that on December 16, 2013, the state government had initiated the Home Owners’ Charter Scheme aimed at making landlords obtain their Certificates of Occupancy at 78 per cent discount.

  • Lagos-Ibadan expressway: The Amosun Intervention

    Just as literature mirrors the society, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway mirrors Nigeria. Indeed, the fall of Nigeria is fully reflected in the collapse of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. That highway is the shame of the Nigerian nation. One wonders what the successive governments did or failed to do that resulted in the ruin of the most economically strategic road in the country.

    Lagos-Ibadan motorway is the blood that runs in the veins of Nigeria. It is the life-wire of the nation. It is arguably the busiest in West Africa, conveying men and materials from the sea port of Lagos, the commercial hub of the nation, through Ogun State, the emerging industrial capital of Nigeria, to other parts of the federal republic.

    Time is life; it’s no surprising we waste lives on the highway on a daily basis. How did we descend to this level? The most important road pockmarked with craters; horrible sights of vehicles nearly submerged or simply packed up in flooded valleys and puddle-filled gullies created by neglect; pathetic scenes of market women with babies on their backs  leaving behind their merchandise at the mercy of the elements or standby merchants of death while seeking safety for their souls. What a come-down for the nation!

    This caricature of a road, which has been a source of stress, sorrow, agony, trauma and death to thousands of commuters that ply it daily belongs to the federal government. The nation has lost billions if not trillions of naira over two decades due to the prostrate state of the highway. And the  economic haemorrhage continues from government to government.

    But why should Ogun State government be  pilloried on account of the carnage and humongous man-hour loss that have become the permanent features of the highway? Why should a new government of President Muhammadu Buhari be made to carry the can; worse, for a government that inherited an empty federal till from the last spendthrift administration, which emptied the nation’s treasury to prosecute the 2015 elections?

    At exactly 10:00pm on Tuesday, Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, led members of his cabinet and top echelons of the bureaucracy to some of the portions of Lagos-Ibadan highway that have brought life, directly and indirectly, to a standstill across the country.  The intensity of  the governor’s exasperation could be felt as he mobilised men and materials to these derelict sites on the highway earlier in the day. Yet, at this time of cash crunch!

    “The suffering on that road is beyond human tolerance,” he said plaintively.

    Amosun and his team inspected the progress of work by the state’s Ministry of Works, empathised with commuters who had been in the traffic for lamentable hours  and those that resorted to trekking even at that late period of the day. Some, I later gathered, reached home by 4am the next day!

    His earlier decision to go in the day was shelved in order not to compound an already horrendous situation. As you read this, palliative work is in progress on the road. This intervention is not an isolated one. Indeed, Ogun State expends about N400 million almost on monthly basis on palliative works on all the federal roads scattered across the state. From Lagos-Ibadan highway to Atan-Agbara road, from Owode-Ilaro motorway to Sagamu-Ikorodu road, Sagamu-Ore Expressway and from Lagos-Abeokuta highway to Abeokuta- Ibadan road, it is the same story of the governor spending the scarce resources of the state in rehabilitating completely failed portions of federal roads, because residents don’t differentiate between federal and state roads. And for political reasons, even those who know the difference pretend not  to know!

    Over 70 per cent of Lagos- Ibadan motorway is located within Ogun State. The state shares the longest border with the Republic of Benin. It hosts various religious organisations and their millions of followers across the country every week or month. Indeed, it is the gateway to Nigeria. Such a state deserves a special status on account of pressures that are exerted on its territory by all compatriots and foreigners.

    The redeeming feature is that we now have a new federal government that is prudent in financial matters. According to Governor Amosun, the president is very much aware of the state of the road, indeed the appalling state of all federal roads in Nigeria. As the new central government takes stock and settles down, there is no doubt that the synergy between Ogun and federal authorities will hasten the pace of the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to the eternal relief of Nigerians and Nigeria.

    Ultimately, my oft-stated position over the years remains tenable: “It is cheaper for states to own these federal roads. For instance, the ongoing repair work on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos has continued to consume avoidable administrative costs. The Minister of Works and other federal officials who come all the way from Abuja to supervise and inspect the road will certainly collect allowances running into millions of naira, whereas it would have amounted to a routine duty for the Lagos Commissioner for Works and other officials. And when you consider that the Abuja officials will have to do the same thing again and again in all the 36 states of the federation, the preventable wastage of tax-payers’ money stares you in the face… Contiguous states to these federal roads will naturally collaborate to reconstruct and maintain them at far cheaper costs than moving money and officials first from Abuja to the regional office, and from the regional office to the states. There is so much wastage of public funds in Nigeria.”

    And as it happens, for the Ogun State cabinet members and top government functionaries that accompanied the governor to Warewa, Arepo, etc. it was just a matter of routine.  But imagine how many millions of naira in out-of-station, hazard, etc. allowances that would have been incurred by the federal purse if they had come from Abuja to inspect the road!

    I believe we also need prayers in this country. Why is it now that we have a President Muhammadu Buhari that is committed to good governance and accountability that we are  confronted with paucity of cash? Why has the price of oil chosen this momentous time to plummet to this level? Even if the new government achieves complete diversification of the economy, will it fructify overnight, in one, two or three years? Why should it be at this time that we have a highly conscientious and honest central government that we should have this kind of financial situation as a country? So we need prayers in this country.

    Meanwhile, Senator Amosun should not be deterred by the campaign of calumny  but  remain focussed on delivering the dividends of democracy to the masses who trooped out in their thousands to reward him for a good term.

    • Soyombo writes from Abeokuta

     

  • HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of C of O

    HomeOwners’ Charter: Amosun distributes ninth batch of C of O

    The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has distributed the ninth batch of Homeowner’s Charter Scheme Certificate of Occupancy to beneficiaries in Abeokuta, the state capital. He was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa.

    The Governor used the occasion to assure citizens that all programmes aimed at realising the re-building mission of his administration would be realised and all on-going projects would be completed and delivered as scheduled.

    He applauded all concerned agencies for ensuring the success of the programme, pointing out that critics, who had despised the initiative at inception, had seen its sincerity of purpose from the cooperation and number of C of O dispatched so far.

    He, therefore, appealed for support and understanding of the people in the face of dwindling economic challenges, promising that no stone would be left unturned at making the state self-sustaining.

    “We are working round the clock to increase our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) so that our state can be self-sustaining and reduce over-reliance on the federal allocation,” he said.

    In a similar vein, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Amope Chokor, said the Home-Owners’ Charter programme was designed by the state to enable property owners possess legal titles on their land. She said it would be a continuous process as it would help government to know the areas where there was serious infrastructural deficit.

    Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Motunrayo Ogundipe commended the state government for its sincerity, saying that many people, who doubted the government’s good intentions on the scheme at inception, have now seen that the Amosun government is sincere.

    It would be recalled that on December 16, 2013, the state government had initiated the Home Owners’ Charter Scheme aimed at making landlords obtain their Certificates of Occupancy at 78 per cent discount.

  • Open letter to Amosun

    My name is Habeeb Whyte and I am still obliged with the responsibility that life placed on me to constantly suggest better pathways for achieving the desired development, especially as regards the youth constituency in general. I am writing this to you as a concerned youth of Ogun state, and not as someone who wants to gain cheap attention from your Excellency. I write this as a pen pusher that is ready to change the cause of his generation, using the pen and advocacy.  I hail from Abeokuta where residents do not speak out of fear, but where they speak so that changes could be effected. My purpose comes with justification – your administration cheated on my colleagues and I.

    Your Excellency, I want to say that your administration has in no doubt done a lot of good things in our beloved state. Beyond sentiments, my state is now enviable among states in Nigeria. The infrastructural developments are really worth the commendation, and they pass as adorable. I have no option than to say thank you for this. I guess this was part of the reasons why the good people of the state insisted that you are elected into power to continue the good work. I thank God you are elected again because if not, I would not be writing this letter to you.

    I want to state for the records that I was part of the Nigerian Law School students for the 2013/2014 session from Ogun State. I want to say that it was really a good thing to have hailed from the state that produced students from various universities in the country and still emerged victorious despite the fact that your administration gave no support to us. We are done with the Nigerian Law School and we are now lawyers. The struggles of our parents were never in vain.  We were never supported by your administration in any way and dare say that any attempt by your administration to boast that the law school students of the 2013/2014 session were aided with cash of any amount is nothing but a blatant lie and a grave attempt to deceive the populace. Your Excellency, I concede that it is not only a moral shame, but also a grave distortion of fact that such a release emerged and your revered office stands to garner encomium for such omission.

    I need to bring to your notice, that Your Excellency had misled the Nigerian populace in your address on Ogun State website. The piece is titled:Address Delivered by the Governor Of Ogun State, His Excellency, Senator IbikunleAmosun FCA, on the Second Anniversary of His Administration, where, in Paragraph 8, Line 12 – 13, your Excellency emphatically, but falsely said that: “we also invested N120million on Bursary, Scholarship and grants to 10,770 students of Ogun State Origin ranging from N100, 000 paid to students in the Law School to N10, 000 each pupils with special needs in primary school.”

    Sir, my concern in this letter is the aspect where you said your administration gave N100, 000 to Law school students. This information you sold to Nigerians across the globe is false sir. Your administration did not give us money as a form of bursary throughout and after our stay in the Nigerian Law School. No doubt you raised our doubts in your campaign that you were going to increase the law school bursary from the conventional 50,000 to 100, 000. This we only benefitted on papers, not in reality. I remembered during our stay at the Nigerian Law School at the Bwari campus, we had a particular meeting with the liaison officer of Ogun state in Abuja and he told us categorically that bursary was never our right and that we should not expect anything from the government. He said if the government has, we would be given and if not, we should forget about it. After several attempts from our executives back then, we did not get a penny. However, we know that the then Governor of Lagos State and his Kano counterpart did fulfilled their own promises to students from their states.

    Sir, this false statement made by you is very disheartening to us. It means that money were actually released from the state treasury but were not disbursed to us. Your speech, having proven to be false can be described as a gross demonstration of lack of accountability, and this has been reputed to haunt down a million and one institutions. If it is about the Nigerian Law School set of 2013/2014 which you claim benefited from your administration, I make bold to say that your Excellency lied. I would urge you to please respect us as not only indigenes of Ogun state, but as youths that believed in your governance even after you have betrayed our electoral confidence and sense of accountability. I would urge you to please in no time as you read this make an open apology to all Nigerian Law School students of the 2013/2014 session for alleging that you paid us when you did not. Such act is unbecoming of any man, let alone a person in whom the populace reposed their collective confidence via votes.

    I must let you know that all of us are now lawyers and we are doing well. The non-payment of the bursary never stopped God’s glory in our lives. I would urge you to please set the records straight for the sake of posterity. We can take all things, not lies that are made at our expense for the purpose of covering what is open to God. This is not an allegation on your Excellency but a fact devoid of falsity. I dare challenge anyone form your office or your Excellency to say boldly that we have been paid the money as stated in your speech. We take solace in the fact that we are where we are today by God’s grace, and for cheating on us, we forgive you. If others have not or cannot, I have forgiven you.  I would urge you to please endeavour to pay the 2014/2015 Ogun Law school students the bursary because I gathered authoritatively that they have not been paid also.

    Thank you.

  • Emir’s death a great loss, says Amosun

    Emir’s death a great loss, says Amosun

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has expressed sadness at the death of the Emir of Borgu Kingdom,  Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro III.

    Amosun described the death of the first class emir, one-time senator and former minister as “a great loss not just to Borgu kingdom and Niger State, but to the nation”.

    He said the wise counsel and wealth of experience of the late emir would be greatly missed.

    The governor described the late emir as a thoroughbred politician and seasoned administrator with a pan-Nigerian disposition.

    Amosun said Dantoro was a bridge-builder across the different ethnic groups in Nigeria and a successful businessman as well.

    He commiserated with the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, the people of Borgu Emirate Council, members of the family of the late monarch, the people and government of Niger State, praying that “Allah grants the late Emir Aljana Fidau”.

  • Amosun’ll do more in Ogun, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State has said the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration will sustain its massive socio-economic achievements, following the reconstitution of the Executive Council.

    Its Publicity Secretary, Sola Lawal, in a statement in Abeokuta, said the government was positioned to ensure the speedy completion of projects and also undertake infrastructural projects in line with its five cardinal programmes.

    Lawal said the Mission to Rebuild Ogun State, which the Amosun administration embarked upon in its first term, would take a new toga by enhancing infrastructural development.

    “The APC ruling government in its first term left no one in doubt that it was committed to fulfilling its promises.

    “The significant improvement in security, free education in primary and secondary schools, massive infrastructural development as well as the provision of affordable health care services are among the programmes that have renewed the people’s hope.”