The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Amosun

  • Amosun renovates college founded by Awolowo

    The Ogun State commissioner for Community Development and Cooperatives, Chief Samuel Duro Aiyedogbon, says the ongoing rehabilitation of the Social Development Institute (SDI) in Shasha Iperu Remo after decades of neglect, demonstrates, government’s commitment to improving quality of education service deliver in the state.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun has committed N50 million to renovate facilities at the institute, which was established by Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1956 to provide training for social and community workers, community leaders and people in governance.

    Aiyedogbon, in a statement signed by the head of media in the Ministry, Mr. Ayokunle Ewuoso, decried the neglect suffered by the 58-year old school by previous administrations which led to the degeneration of its facilities and teaching standards.

    “The situation of the institute was bad and becoming very worrisome when the governor visited. He was completely displeased with what he saw and as a man, who is determined to revolutionize the education sector, directed that N50million be released for the immediate renovation of the school. It is on record that no serving governor of the state has ever visited it since its establishment in 1956 which has led to the total neglect of the institution,” he said.

    The commissioner said the renovation would be completed by the end of this month and is also hopeful that the school would begin to attract foreign students in the neighboring African countries as was the case in Awolowo’s lifetime.

  • Amosun: A vision for now and future

    On August 22, 2013, I had a momentous journey to London. It was a trip that was planned in advance that circumstances nearly aborted. I was scheduled to attend the first ever Yewa Day in United Kingdom and Ireland, an inspiration of Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, the Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland in Ogun State. With my British Airways ticket for Wednesday August 20, 2013 I had arrived at Murtala Mohammed International Airport only to discover at the check in counter that though I had a valid UK visa, my international passport had expired about a month earlier! Trip aborted. I started a frantic effort at getting a new passport and at the same time looking for available seats on BA to London for Thursday or Friday to be able to attend the Yewa Day on Saturday. I managed it at a huge cost using my entire shopping budget for the trip. I got a seat for Friday that made my economy ticket to cost the equivalent of a business class ticket.

    But that flight was indeed divinely arranged for me to be with some VIPs at the point of dis-embarkation at Heathrow Airport. For unknown to me on that flight were my former boss and former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, the incumbent governor of Ogun State Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Minister of Agriculture Dr. Adesina Adewunmi, another Ogun State indigene. On arrival at the break of dawn I suddenly found myself in the same train coach with these VIPs for the trip from the aircraft to the immigration entry point. I exchanged courtesies with these powerful indigenes of my state and we proceeded together for the Immigration formalities. Incidentally, Senator Amosun, Adewunmi and I were cleared before Aremo Osoba and in deference to the elder statesman from our state, the three of us waited for him. In course of our waiting and small talk Senator Amosun made a profound statement that struck a resonating note with me. While we waited surveying the smoothness of the procedure and infrastructure at Heathrow, Amosun commented that it is amazing how everything works seamlessly here with solid infrastructure and facilities. He expressed hope and optimism that Nigeria as a nation will get it right one day to have such a system to which Adesina nodding, readily agreed. My input in this early morning sobering talk was to say that Senator Amosun’s urban renewal projects is laying a foundation for a future that may one day match the facilities we beheld in London. At this point Aremo Osoba joined us and we all went together to the arrival hall of Terminal 5 where we all went on our ways into the city of London.

    Later that Saturday afternoon, Amosun who came to London as special guest for the Yewa Day in London further exposed the theme at the airport in course of his speech to the effect that his vision and motivation for his activities in government was to provide infrastructure in all parts of the state to rival what we see in cities such as London or elsewhere where our citizens troop to for holidays or economic reasons. He said that in London for instance, you can hardly differentiate various neighborhoods or sections of the city as there is a seeming sameness in term of infrastructure and facilities.

    One cannot but agree with such a vision and the ongoing attempts to bring it to live by Amosun of All Progressive Congress APC, administration in Ogun State. I had written in the past of Amosun’s road infrastructure that signposted his attempt at realizing his “Mission to Rebuild” vision. Since the publication of that report, I have received a mixed review from various individuals across the world online and in face to face encounters. Most, including rabid political opponents, readily agree on the merit of the urban renewal programme that is not only necessary but gear toward future generations. Others agree that for once we have a governor spending “our money” usefully for what we can see and appreciate. Note the phrase “our money”. For there is this argument that the governor is doing the job he was elected to do in the first place. This line of thought often forget that the governor could as well just run a business as usual system of patching a road here and there or engaged in some projects without any multiplier effect or futuristic investment attractions potentials.

    However one finds it curious that even some supposedly enlightened folks mouth the ignorant position that the current urban renewal effort is “a misplaced priority”! The line of argument has it that the massive roads, flyovers and giant culvert for drainage are not really needed NOW. Such myopic thinking fails to take into consideration the dynamics of development and ceaseless population explosion as well as the mega city status of Lagos state, the closest neighbour to Ogun State. It is certain that spill over to the state is an ongoing process that will task infrastructure to no end.

    For me it is definitely a pedestrian view of development to be overly fixated to mostly social dislocations and short term financial setbacks accompanying long term development initiatives of government. As often said all pregnancies must be delivered with some pain or discomfort over a time but the end result is a new life. So it is with Amosun’s developmental initiatives. Nobody denies the foreseen and unforeseen fallouts of developmental policies. Such denial will not only be uneducated but self-serving. All development comes at a cost in economic terms and otherwise. The holistic view of the process is for the benefits presently and in future to be far above the cost in terms of human impact and multiplier effect on the economy. The same with the fixation with loans for these infrastructures; governments, corporate organizations and even individuals worldwide take loans that they repay overtime for capital projects. This is an economic issue and I want to be educated on how the massive works that are ongoing in Ogun State can be done with internal/federal allocation revenues alone in view of an ever growing recurrent expenditure.

    One sees the dogged pursuit of the “Mission to Rebuild” as taking the bitter pill for a healthy body. Somebody has to take the bull by the horn, think out of the box and in the now popular jingo “do the needful” for the state to move out and away from its rustic status to a modern  developing enclave ready to absorb the impact of a creeping mega city from Lagos. If the funds are available through Internally Generated Revenue, loans and other means and Amosun remain resolute, there is no doubt that sooner than anybody thinks, Ogun State will have the infrastructure comparable to the Dubai and Londons of this world. Such places were built by men and women of vision like Amosun. To think it is not possible or costly is to be visionless, atavistic or just playing to the gallery of partisan politics.

     

    • Chief Odunaro, a Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abeokuta

     

  • Amosun, Fayemi, Keyamo mourn Ajayi

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and his Ekiti State counterpart, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, have sent their condolences to the legal community on the death of Chief Godwin Olusegun Kolawole Ajayi (SAN).

    Amosun described the late Ajayi, popularly called G.O.K., as “consistent, forthright and famous”, noting that he “championed the cause of progressives” in several high profile cases.

    He said: “I remember cases such as the 12 2/3 suit of Awolowo vs Shagari over the 1979 presidential election; the Abdul Rahman Shugaba vs Minister of Internal Affairs and the legal battle of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, among others, which are still reference points till today.”

    In a statement by his media aide, Mrs. Funmi Wakama, Amosun said he joins members of the bar and the bench, as well as other Nigerians, to mourn the passing of this “last colossus of the first generation of Nigerian lawyers”, adding: “He was a progressive lawyer and that explains his closeness to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. His death is a great loss to the legal community.”

    Amosun urged the family, friends and associates of the late Ajayi to take solace in the fact that the deceased led a disciplined life and etched his footprints in the sands of time.

    He prayed to God to grant the late Ajayi eternal rest and his family the fortitude to bear the loss.

    Fayemi described Ajayi’s demise as “the end of a chapter that shaped the legal profession in Nigeria”.

    In a statement by his media aide, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, he said Ajayi’s role in the evolution of democracy in Nigeria cannot be forgotten.

    Describing Ajayi as a fearless lawyer and people’s advocate, Fayemi said the deceased chose to stay on the side of the people by defending the mandate given to the late Abiola in court at the risk of his life.

    He said the late Ajayi was an inspiration to the late Abiola and other pro-democracy activists in the struggle to revalidate the result of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which is widely acknowledged as Nigeria’s freest and fairest poll.

    Fayemi described the late Ajayi as “a legend of the legal profession”, whose contributions to human rights, advocacy and jurisprudence will remain indelible in the memory of Nigerians.

    He said the deceased, through hard work, built one of the foremost law chambers in Nigeria, adding that his name was not tainted in his almost 60 years of active practice.

    Fayemi urged the deceased’s family, friends and associates to take solace in the fact that their patriarch lived a fulfilled life and positively touched his generation.

    Popular lawyer Festus Keyamo described Ajayi’s death as an “irreplaceable loss” to the legal profession.

    Keyamo said: “He was one of the last of the finest breed of first generation lawyers in Nigeria. He was remarkable in his impeccable forensic advocacy, which he often delivered with a soft but piercing voice. In terms of the skills of advocacy, he was my personal hero.

    “My sincere condolences go to his family, friends and the entire legal profession. The late Ajayi remains one of finest lawyers this country has ever produced.”

    Historian and Chairman, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, Chief Johnson Ayomike said: “The news of Chief Ajayi’s death came to me as a shock. As a leader in Ugborodo, Escravos, Warri Southwest Local Government Area, I had close contact with him when the community employed his services in the 1970s in some of our cases in court, which had to do with accountability of community funds.

    “What attracted him to me was his humility, honesty, forthrightness and his uncanny knowledge of the law. His advocacy was unparallel. He could push through highly technical points of law in court with the simplicity of a teacher. There will be none like him.”

  • Group pledges support for APC, Amosun

    A group, ‘The Ark Group’, has been set up in Ogun State to drum support for the second term ambition of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

    The group, which consists of professionals from diverse fields, also promised to support the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 general elections.

    In a statement in Ijebu-Ode, its co-ordinator, Mr. Gbolade Oduwole, promised to mobilise financial support for the party, ahead of the polls. He also said that members of the group will be actively involved in voter’s mobilisation and other sensitisation programmes.

    At its inaugural meeting in Ijebu Ode last week, the group reviewed the activities of the political parties. It expressed satisfaction with the on-going infrastructural renewal programme of the Amosun Administration.

    Oduwole said: “Our view is that our state has never had it so good when compared with the eight years of the PDP-led administration.

    “We seize this opportunity to warn our people not to allow themselves to be fooled by the reactionaries gathering in other parties.

    “The APC has proven that it has what it takes to take our people to a higher level of development that all patriotic citizens envision for our state”.

  • Amosun directs OOU to pay arrears

    Amosun directs OOU to pay arrears

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has ordered the management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, to effect the immediate payment of the outstanding one month salary arrears owed lecturers of the institution.

    Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa in a statement issued in Abeokuta also said the governor has promised that all other outstanding arrears would be paid without delay.

    He stated that Amosun-led government inherited a backlog of arrears from the immediate past administration, many of which have been cleared.

    Adeoluwa said despite the significant infrastructural development initiatives going on across the state, the government does not owe salaries and was one of the first to show commitment to the new minimum wage in 2011.

    The SSG added that since its assumption, the Government had committed N1 billion to clear part of the accrued allowances, saying there was also an agreement with all the unions to commit a further N500 million towards the payment of related allowances.

    “In the 32 months of our administration, we not only had cleared between nine and 11 months of wages arrears left by the last government, the staffers of Olabisi Onabanjo University, and workers everywhere in Ogun State got their salaries. In OOU, some of the backlog of unpaid allowances (as distinct from monthly salary) that is now touted as the reason for the Monday protest action dated back to six to seven years.

    “Since we came on board, government had committed N1 billion to clear part of the accrued allowances. In addition, there is agreement with all the unions to commit a further N500 million this financial year towards the payment of related allowances,” Adeoluwa said.

     

  • Amosun orders payment of OOU lecturers’ salary arrears

    Amosun orders payment of OOU lecturers’ salary arrears

    Gun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has ordered the management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, to pay the one month salary arrears of its lecturers.

    In a statement yesterday, Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Taiwo Adeoluwa said other arrears would be paid without delay.

    Adeoluwa said the Amosun administration inherited a backlog of arrears and had paid some of them.

    He said despite the projects going on across the state, the 32-month old government do not owe workers.

    The SSG said: “In the 32 months of our administration, we cleared between nine and 11 months arrears left by the previous administration and have paid salary promptly.

    ‘’In OOU, the backlog of unpaid allowances (which are distinct from monthly salary) given as the reason for Monday’s protest dates back to six to seven years.

    “Since we came on board, the government has committed N1 billion to clearing part of the arrears. In addition, there is an agreement with the unions to commit N500 million this year to the payment of related allowances.”

    He blamed the delay in the payment on the dwindling allocation to states from the federation account and Ogun’s poor Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR).

    “The hiccups began in the middle of 2013 as a direct fallout of the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) cash crisis. This is public knowledge and our esteemed comrades in the Ivory Tower, OOU, understand the issues.

    “In spite of the dwindling resources both from FAAC and IGR receipts, our administration has maintained a disciplined stand against casual borrowing to pay salary. We believe that borrowing to pay wages to engender temporary industrial and labour peace in the short term will hurt the long term interests of the state.”

    Adeoluwa thanked the lecturers and other workers for supporting the administration.

  • OOU lecturers boycott classes, protest irregular salary payment

    OOU lecturers boycott classes, protest irregular salary payment

    Lecturers of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago – Iwoye, Monday marched through the mini and main campuses of the institution, protesting the irregular payment of their salaries, allowances and poor funding by the Ogun State government.

    The lecturers who began the protest march by 10:15am at the Mini campus in their hundreds, proceeded to the permanent site, a distance of about seven kilometres, saying for three years running, their salaries are irregular.

    Protesting under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) OOU branch, they said members would stay away from classes indefinitely with effect from Monday  pending when the authority takes definite steps to address their grievances.

    The Chairman of the OOU branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr. Deji Agboola, accused the management of insensitivity to their plights and appealed to Governor Ibikunle Amosun to put the salaries of the OOU lecturers as one of his priorities.

    Agboola said: “in the last three years, salaries have been irregular. This unfortunate trend has persisted, thus making our members irresponsible and unable to meet their socio-personal and financial obligations. It is embarrassing that our wards at university-run institutions like OOU staff school and OOU international school are sent home for non-payment of fees.

    “This has no doubt embarrassed and ridiculed our members some of whom cannot even pay their rents and meet other basic needs. This situation, the union feels, is capable of exposing our members to the temptation of unethical practices. It is ironic that the university currently waging war against such unethical practices could be failing in discharging its primary responsibility of paying the salaries of its workers knowing full well that this is the main source of income they depend on.

    “While we are mindful of the implication of any action that may cripple the university’s tight calendar, at the same time we can no longer condone an insensitive and harsh working condition that would be injurious to our members’ productivity. We are tired of working for two months and receiving one month salary. Our members have affirmed that they have been deprived the opportunity to come to work as salaries are not paid.”

    At the permanent site, they presented a letter of grievance to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Saburi Adesanya, for onward transmission to Amosun.

    Also, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Dr. Adesola Nasir, rued that the state government had failed to develop infrastructure in the institution and assured the lecturers that of the support of the ASUU national secretariat.

    However, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Saburi Adesanya, pleaded with them not to shun classes, saying the management of the institution had started working on measures to correct the anomalies in the payment of salaries.

  • Opposition can’t deny Amosun’s good work, says Obasanjo

    Opposition can’t deny Amosun’s good work, says Obasanjo

    Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that the manifestation of the good works of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s administration in Ogun State are such that even the opposition and critics in the state can’t deny.

    Obasanjo who lauded the Governor for his performance in the last 34 months, said though accurate assessment of elected or appointed office holders are better done when such people are out of power, but added that he would “stick out” his “neck” to appraise Amosun now.

    According to Obasanjo who was a former Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amosun’s performance is “good.”

    The former President made this known in Abeokuta, the Ogun State, on Wednesday, at the occasion marking his 77th birthday in his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).

    He said: “normally I don’t like to say things about politicians especially when they are still in power. It is only when politicians are out of power that you can assess them accurately but this one, I will stick out my neck a little bit. So far, so fairly good.

    “Those of you who were here in Ogun state will testify. Even if you belong to a party which doesn’t like the governor, you must say yes I didn’t lie. I must thank you for what you’re doing for all of us.”

    Governor Amosun who was among the dignitaries that graced Obasanjo’s birthday, described the former President as a “leader” whose love for the continued progress, unity and survival of Nigeria is second to none.

  • Amosun advises school proprietors

    Amosun advises school proprietors

    The Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, has advised proprietors of private schools to continue to contribute to the development of education in the state and beyond.

    Amosun, who spoke during the opening of Thames Valley College, Ijagba, Ogun State, said collaboration between the government and private sector was necessary to improve the education sector.

    Represented by the state Commissioner for Education, John Olusegun Odubela, Amosun said the school boasts of infrastructure that would help in enhancing growth.

    He said the institution is one of the best in the state, in terms of its facilities and curriculum.

    Also, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Muyiwa Oladipo, said the shool chose a combination of American, British, and Nigerian curricular to provide the best services for the pupils.

    Oladipo, also a director of the school, said Thames would churn out graduates that would compete with their counterparts in Nigeria and outside the country.

    He listed the facilities to include well- equipped science laboratory, library, clinic, multi-purpose hall, and sporting equipment.

    The founder, Nurudeen Fagbenro assured that the school would provide quality education for pupils in the state and its environs. He said the institution would help in re-defining teaching and learning in the country.

    His words: “We believe every child has some unique attributes. Our teachers would identify the learning pattern of the student and leverage on that to improve them. The coming of the school is like a revolution in the sector and the country in particular.”

    He commended people who contributed to the school, assuring them of good, quality, and enduring services.

     

  • Group slams critics of Amosun’s N19b loan request

    Group slams critics of Amosun’s N19b loan request

    Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Abeokuta, the Rebuilders, has slammed critics of a N19 billion loan request by Governor Ibikunle Amosun

    The governor is seeking the approval of the House of Assembly to take the loan facility.

    It accused those condemning the request of playing politics with the people’s welfare and the state’s growth.

    In a statement by its Chairman, Adebayo Sheriff, after a meeting to commemorate its first anniversary, the Rebuilders said Amosun’s critics were out to “distract the administration from fulfilling its Mission to Rebuild Ogun State.”

    It accused former Commissioner for Information and Strategy Sina Kawonise, who is a Labour Party (LP) governorship aspirant, of trying to “score cheap political points and confuse the people with his uninformed analysis of the state’s debt profile.”

    The Rebuilders also accused the opposition of unnecessarily heating up the polity, adding that the administration had “judiciously utilised loans secured earlier.”

    “The government’s ability to repay the loans substantially has put it in a good position to receive favourable response from the banks. The governor’s resolve to go back to the House of Assembly is a demonstration of his openness in financial management. Since the money has been included in the 2014 Appropriation Law, he is at liberty to act within the confines of the law.

    “Kawonise’s analysis of Ogun’s debt profile has further exposed his lack of understanding of simple financial matters, as the position of the government presented to the public is explicit.

    “The man should stop exposing himself. He should step up his game as a politician because his current trend is not befitting of someone who intends to represent Ogun State, even at the lowest office.

    “Kawonise and his cohorts are only planning to cause disaffection among House of Assembly members and plunge the state into the crises that characterised former Governor Gbenga Daniel’s tenure.”

    The Rebuilders advised the legislators not to be distracted but to adhere strictly to their constitutional functions. It urged Amosun and members of the State Executive Council (SEC) to focus on restoring the state’s glory.