The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AREGBESOLA

  • Party accuses Aregbesola of evading tribunal’s papers

    Party accuses Aregbesola of evading tribunal’s papers

    OSUN State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the August 9 governorship election, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, was evading service of the election tribunal processes.

    The PDP Publicity Secretary, Prince Bola Ajao, told reporters yesterday that the party had been unable to serve Aregbesola with the necessary papers relating to the matter since eight days after filing its petition before the tribunal.

    “From the antics, practices and the body language of the APC and its representatives, they are out to delay, prolong and frustrate due processes required to diligently prosecute this matter before the tribunal. We have even had course to complain to the tribunal about this as time is of the essence.”

    The PDP alleged that the APC and the INEC were conniving to tamper and alter some materials and documents used for the last governorship poll.

    But in a reaction on behalf of Aregbesola, the Commissioner for Special Duties and Regional Integration, Ajibola Basiru, said the action of the PDP’s lawyers was unprofessional.

    H said: “Our response is that the legal counsel to Iyiola Omisore and the PDP are acting in an unprofessional manner. This is unbecoming of them. It is despicable that they have decided to conduct the petition of their client on the pages of newspapers. Even, the Law School students know that originating processes like a petition must be served personally.

    “As I am speaking with you now, the governor is out of town. He is currently in Ibadan, attending the regional meeting of the APC. Or did the PDP expect the governor to wait in his house to be expecting service from them and leave other government jobs undone?

    “If the PDP lawyers are professionals and know what to do, they should stop conducting their case on the pages of the newspapers and do what is right as professionals, which they claimed to be.”

  • Aregbesola seeks better varsity funding

    Aregbesola seeks better varsity funding

    The State of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has said the proliferation of universities would not help the education system except they are well-funded.

    He spoke when the Governing Council and management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, paid him a courtesy visit in Osogbo, the state capital.

    Aregbesola said universities are called citadel of learning because they are well funded to provide knowledge and wisdom that are beneficial to the society.

    He said any university that is worth its salt must be funded enough to provide what the society needs in terms of beneficial knowledge.

    He lamented that some of the nation’s university are poorly funded and, therefore, unable to meet the academic need of the society.

    Aregbesola said funding is one of the most essential ingredient for the  growth of any university, promising that out of the meagre resources available to Osun, his government will jointly fund LAUTECH with Oyo State.

    “A university does not just answer that name unless it is able to provide for the needs of the society.

    “I fancy one great university that is all in all. A university that is well-funded to meet all the academic needs of the society it is founded to serve.

    “Most of the universities we established here are poorly funded and finance is key to the administration of any university.

    “In the case of LAUTECH, our commitment, Osun and Oyo states, is to jointly fund the institution to realise the dream of its founding fathers,” Aregbesola said.

    LAUCTH’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Adeniyi Gbadegesin, promised the management’s and staff’s cooperation with the joint owners of the institution to move the varsity forward.

    “We promise that the management and staff of the institution will continue to cooperate with both the governments of Osun and Oyo to move our institution and states forward,” Gbadegesin said.

  • Aregbesola faults CBN’s delay of farmers’ incentive

    Aregbesola faults CBN’s delay of farmers’ incentive

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has decried alleged delay by the Central Bank in operating Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) for the state’s farmers.

    The governor spoke at the weekend at the third anniversary of the Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP)and turning of the sod for the state Soil and Food Laboratory Complex.

    He said: “We have embraced the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), which unfortunately is being unduly delayed. This unproductive delay has its root in the non-operation of NIRSAL. For our counterpart fund of N300 million in the N600 million QIIP 2, we made available our N9 million NIRSAL Premium for its first year of operation.

    “Unfortunately, NIRSAL, which was supposed to be in operation, was not and could not avail the premium and the money had to be returned to our treasury without the supporting benefits we intended to get for our farmers and for which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earlier assured us.”

    Aregbesola called on the CBN to “speedily” ensure that NIRSAL begins operation before the end of the year.

    He said an effectively functional programme as NIRSAL would boost and speed up agric-financing by the financial institutions.

    The programme, he said, would encourage financial institutions to support a large number of small and large-scale farm-holders and “promote revolvability of loans and build up the necessary wide pool of agric-financing expertise in our economy for consistent and sustainable growth and development of agriculture.”

    The governor added that in addition to the loan scheme, QIIP had worked to implement other projects.

    “One of them is the Osun Modern Beekeeping, Queen Honey Bee Rearing Project (O-Honey.) We have established a modern apiary with queen bee rearing capacity and extractor – the first  in sub-Saharan Africa. It is expected that this will boost production and plant pollination in the state, specifically at Odo-Otin Local Government Area.

    “The focus of the project includes training of unemployed youths in modern beekeeping and queen honey bee rearing, production of honey and wax, distribution of starter package to beginner beekeepers, increasing bee pollination for increase in crop yield and export of honey. Compensation has recently been paid to the land donors at Oyan, and work is ongoing to complete the construction of the factory and the installation of the honey processing equipment.

    “Let me also add that programmes like O’REAP (Osun Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Programme), O’REAP Youth Academy, the Osun Broilers Out-Growers’ Production (O’BOPS), the Osun Fisheries Out-Growers’ Production (O’FOPS); the Osun Beef Value Chain project (O’BEEF), and the Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme (O’MEALS) have effectively seen to the empowerment of many of our people,” he said.

    Aregbesola added that through the Osun Agricultural Development Corporation (OSADEC), the government distributed 10 sets of garri processing machines, 10 sets of cassava chips machines and three sets of yam flour processing machines at subsidised prices to interested cooperative groups and other members of the public.

    He noted that farmers have also benefitted from highly subsidised fertiliser, solid herbicides, liquid insecticides, solid insecticides, fungicides and other agro chemicals.

    On the Soil and Food Laboratory, the governor said the programme would move the state forward in its quest to “become a formidable emporium of food production, food security, and economic growth.

    “This momentous initiative is a product of the collaboration between our state and the State of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Our German partners designed the complex whose foundation we are laying today.

    “When completed, this laboratory will be a key resource for increasing the quantity and quality of food production in the state, as well as provide jobs for some of our unemployed scientists and technologists.”

  • Ajimobi, Aregbesola, Kalu console with ex-governor

    Ajimobi, Aregbesola, Kalu console with ex-governor

    Governors Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo State), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun State) and former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu were part of those who consoled with the former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja yesterday over the death of his mother, Alhaja Alimot Ladoja.

    Ajimobi, in his condolence message, said the death of Ladoja’s mother was unfortunate.

    He said: “Even though our dear mama, Alhaja Halimotu Ladoja, died at the ripe age of 94, we are still saddened with her demise.

    “She was a not only a devout Muslim, but also a quintessential mother, who was caring, loving and an epitome of motherhood.

    “Besides, mama was also a good example in philanthropy. She was always ready and prepared to share whatever she had with the less-privileged.”

    He prayed the Almighty Allah to grant her Aljanah Firdaus and the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

    Aregbesola, in a statement by his Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, expressed gratitude to God for the late Alhaja Ladoja’s  “enviable life style.”

    While praying for the repose of her soul, the governor extended his condolence to the Ladoja family, the government and the Oyo people.

    “Personally, I consider her as a mother-figure and source of inspiration, who remained a devout Muslim and committed to improving the lives of others up to the time she breathed her last. We will miss her a lot,” Aregbesola said.

    The governor noted that her death was not only a loss to her immediate family, but also to the people of Ibadan land and the state.

    Kalu urged Ladoja not to mourn, but rejoice that not only did his mother live long enough, she also lived a fulfilled life.

    Kalu, in the message by his Special Adviser, Oyekunle Oyewumi, said what Ladoja needed now was to pray to God for strength to put the loss behind him and focus on contributing his quota to the nation’s development, especially with the 2015 general election in sight.

    He prayed for the repose of the soul of Alhaja Ladoja and the fortitude for her family to bear the loss.

  • Aregbesola’s finest hour

    Aregbesola’s finest hour

    In the heat of the global human carnage that was the Second World War, Britain’s famed politician and war-time leader, Winston Churchill, gave a famous speech on the floor of the House of Commons to update the House on the progress of the war. He addressed many themes and then rounded off on the pungent rallying note to his compatriots: ‘Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”’

    And on this very note, Churchill gave a significant new insight into the affairs of humankind. He facilitated our capacity to see that every human being, irrespective of his stations in life, must have some moments in his existence that can truly be adjudged to be ‘his finest hour’. The only difference is that, more often than not, famous men and women enjoy the privilege of public inquest and assessment into their lives such that it is they alone who are most frequently thought to have such moments in their lives.

    But the truth is that such moments of indisputably outstanding performance in whatever one does is far from being the exclusive preserve of the famous and the celebrated of human species. Rather, even the most lowly placed and unassuming do have such moments in their lives. The crucial distinction is the fact that such moments in the lives of the ordinary man are unknown to the public and are therefore left unsung.

    But then it is one of those uncanny sociological realities of human life that we cannot all have the same share of limelight and public glory. It does not mean that many of us do not have achievements in our little lives that are worthy of celebration; it is just that most of us will have such achievements unnoticed and uncelebrated. But this would not also detract from the truth that the famous and the celebrated do have achievements to their credit that are worthy of laudation.  And so it is with the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola –a man whose character qualities have earned him a deserved place in the sun.

    At a distance, he is most likely to give you an impression of a non-personable individual and one of those typical ilk of Nigerian politicians. But a close contact with him would reveal a man of strong character and amiability. One who knows exactly what he wants and goes for it. He aims high and matches those high aims with steely determination and doggedness. He is an engaging speaker whose high intellect contrasts sharply with what you tend to see from afar. He is a man of deep conviction who stubbornly clings to his beliefs.

    Perhaps this explains why he has the capacity to attract opposite emotions in equal measure of intensity. Those who love him are unflinchingly loyal. Those who don’t are die-hard opponents. But in fairness to the man, and contrary to what one might be tempted to deduce from his political activist posture, he is someone with genuinely accommodating spirit. He engages with the people across all social strata right from the political ‘tree top’ to the grassroots.

    All of these have come into play in his political career in recent years. His rise to the governorship seat occurred in extraordinary circumstances that were filled with mortal dangers and high-wire political intrigues. It took over three years of resolute and relentless battle through the courts to prove his victory at the 2011 polls. His re-election for a second term of office on Saturday August 9 happened in no less intriguing political fashion.

    The election was a battle for the soul of Osun and by extension that of Nigeria in its present political configuration. In a significant way the Osun governorship election outcome would affect the electoral contest for Aso Rock in 2015 between the two leading political parties in the country, the PDP and the APC. Accordingly, having achieved a largely unforeseen victory at the Ekiti gubernatorial poll barely two months ago, the PDP became emboldened to emasculate the APC in its strongest-hold, the South-west, which would have been achieved with victory in Osun.

    Hence, the PDP-led federal government threw everything at it, including placing Osun under a security lockdown, not to mention the inexplicable and inexcusable arrests of APC party functionaries, along with members of Aregbesola’s cabinet on the night preceding the election. But the people of Osun stood firm. They did not succumb to intimidation and the federal government’s unwarranted show of force. They voted massively for the incumbent to reaffirm his genuine popularity among his people.

    But Aregbesola’s greatest moment was to come the day after the election on Sunday when he rode triumphantly to the Nelson Mandela Freedom Square to address his supporters. Incidentally, he was formally declared the winner by INEC on that Sunday morning after hours of waiting. The announcement was greeted by a spontaneous outburst and tumultuous gathering of mammoth crowds all over Osogbo who then converged on the Olaiya intersection as the governor’s convoy emerged from Okefia Roundabout.

    It was some of the biggest crowd I have yet seen assemble just to welcome only one man. As I watched the man and his crowd inch their way towards Freedom Park at Old Garage, I remembered those memorable words of Churchill. However, as humans, it is in our nature that until we actually cease to breathe, it is difficult to definitively say that we’ve had our most glorious moments. So Aregbesola may yet have greater days of glory ahead of him.

    But this much can be said– that irrespective of what greater glory he may still step into in the days, months and years to come, Aregbesola’s triumphant entry to Freedom Square on Sunday August 10, and his grand reception by an enthusiastically massive crowd, would go down in history as arguably his Finest Hour.

     

     

    • Jimoh is a University of Ibadan graduate student of political science

     

  • Residents get kudos for Aregbesola’s victory

    Residents get kudos for Aregbesola’s victory

    A non-governmental group, Oranmiyan Support Group, has hailed the Osun people for standing behind Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola.

    The group also praised the residents “for standing for the truth” in the state’s last governorship election.

    Its leader, Mr. Ayo Akinola, spoke during an interaction with reporters in Osogbo, the state capital.

    He added that the people demonstrated their political maturity in the face of what he referred to as “intimidation and reckless inducement by reactionary agents who invaded the state with the evil aim of forceful take-over as they did in the past.”

    He described the governor as an Ajagungbade (one who goes to war to get enthroned).”

    Akinola said: “If you cast your mind back to 2007 gubernatorial election in Osun, it was really a war of sorts between him and the then governor, who was fraudulently declared as winner in a massively rigged election.”

  • ’Aregbesola‘s victory proof of APC‘s acceptance’

    ’Aregbesola‘s victory proof of APC‘s acceptance’

    The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Information & Strategy, Mr. Lateef Raji, has described the victory of Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9 election as a proof of the acceptance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the populace.

    He added that it was a victory for democracy.

    Raji spoke yesterday at a ‘thank you victory party’ organised by the Mandate Group in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State to celebrate Aregbesola’s victory.

    He said the victory showed that APC was loved by the masses, adding that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met its Waterloo.

    His words: “Aregbesola`s victory is a proof of APC`s acceptance by peace-loving and progressive Nigerians. Although it is an act of God, it is also an indication of the end of PDP’s tyrannical government.”

    Raji hailed APC members and other Nigerians for preventing a recurrence of what happened in the Ekiti State governorship election and for supporting Aregbesola.

    A chieftain of the party in the area, Mr. Kayode Tinubu, said the governor was re-elected because of his people-oriented programmes, which improved people’s lives.

    “His performance is good enough to earn him a ticket for a second term,” he added.

    A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 1, Lawrence Ayeni, said the commitment of the party’s supporters played a key role in Aregbesola’s victory, adding that APC members showed loyalty on the election day, which prevented PDP from rigging the poll.

    An APC stalwart, Alhaji Kehinde Olorunoje, lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for doing a good job.

    He said although the election was free and fair, its militarisation by the PDP-Federal Government was an abuse of power.

  • Osun declares public holiday

    Osun State has declared today a public holiday in commemoration of the yearly Isese Day.

    Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, in a statement, said the day was set aside by the United Nations (UN) as the “Day for Indigenous Religions” globally.

    He added that the day, since last year, has been part of the effort of the Aregbesola’s administration to ensure equality among all religions.

    He said: “Traditional religion worshippers usually set aside the week running to August 20th every year for celebrating with their own adherents while the day usually witness parades, lectures and display of other traditional apparels to attract tourists from other parts of the world.”

  • The President’s false self-congratulation!

    The President’s false self-congratulation!

    The gubernatorial election of Saturday August 9 in Osun was a significant event in many ways. It was one of the most peaceful in the history of elections in Nigeria. It witnessed massive voter turnout and palpable good conduct on the part of the electorate and the competing politicians, particularly those in the camp of the incumbent Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

    After putting the nation on edge in what is the longest wait for result declaration, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced Aregbesola as the winner. This was followed by a gale of congratulatory messages, including, surprisingly, from President Goodluck Jonathan whose message has the sinister inference of self-congratulations for allowing the opposition to win. However, the circumstances surrounding the conduct of the polls clearly suggest that, contrary to the false self-congratulations, nothing so good can be said of the role of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled federal government, whose duty it is, thanks to our warped federal system, to provide security and all other logistics for the poll.

    Under the guise of carrying out its security obligations, the government at the centre placed the state under siege. Nobody, whether residents in or visitors to Osun, during the period, would be able to dismiss the thought of being in a war zone.

    The situation was that of a complete lockdown in which the state was crawling with security personnel of different hue and ilk – DSS, police, civil defence corps, soldiers and others, all armed to the teeth. There were at least 5,000 DSS agents alone deployed to the state during the election period.

    Thus, as the polls came to a peaceful conclusion, the federal government immediately went to the media to take a devious advantage of the situation. It quickly congratulated the incumbent and winner of the election and expectedly went on to congratulate itself as the unbiased umpire in the electoral game.

    But a more careful and diligent dissection of the facts of the situation would give a different picture. Contrary to what obtains in the advanced democracies, there is no institution of state in Nigeria that is capable of asserting any institutional independence from the Presidency.

    It is common knowledge that our institutions are simply appendages of and tools in the hands of the federal government which happens to be a partisan in the Osun election.

    Hence, we must differentiate fact from appearance for the sake of clarity. There is a qualitative difference between providing security and imposing a state of siege. The requirement of security at elections is to assure voters of their safety and democratic freedom. It is thereby meant to enhance their participation in the process.

    On the other hand, placing the electorate under siege betrays a badly disguised intent to intimidate and bully them in order to make them shy away from exercising their franchise, which was the case in Osun.

    When we put this together with other facts in the election, it gives a clearly different indication of the real motive of the Jonathan-led administration. How, for instance, does the federal government explain the harassment and arrests of several All Progressives Congress (APC) members by its security agents on the nights before the election, including members of the incumbent governor’s cabinet?

    At least, 200 of the APC bigwigs were arrested without any charges whatsoever on the night preceding the poll, only to be released without any reasons or explanations.

    What plausible reason can the Jonathan-government give to rationalise the embedding of Niger Delta militants in the ranks of the DSS agents deployed to Osun – they were distinctly wearing balaclavas to cover their faces while most of their colleagues were going about their business, and mingling with people, without any face coverings.

    How does the President explain the presence of Asari Dokubo in Ilesa or that of Tompolo in Osogbo, the state capital, during the election? Were they in Osun as tourists at a time when the state was in a security lockdown by the Jonathan government? Or is it the case that they came as part of the team to carry out the ulterior and dastardly plan of their paymaster?

    What about the deliberate bombardment of the Osun government with false intelligence regarding ballot paper stealing and thump-printing by PDP members throughout the night prior to the election day? The false information is a tale that accords with widespread expectation that the PDP candidate is incapable of winning in any free and fair manner.

    However, the real purpose of the intelligence is to tempt the opposition into taking precipitate action which would then be used as an excuse to use the security agents for the real objective of their deployment – pacification.

    It would then have paved the way for the PDP candidate to emerge victorious from the orchestrated chaos. The sitting governor and his party would have been blamed for bringing about disorder and for losing the election.

    But thankfully, it all failed. Reason and restraint prevailed in the opposition camp; they refused to take the dangerous bait of the powers that be. The PDP candidate lost massively and incontrovertibly.

    Consequently, the claim by the federal government to the effect that President Jonathan is a benevolent democrat would certainly ring hollow. We have all read The Prince. We are very familiar with that tactic. It is classic Machiavelli: make yourself appear very generous and magnanimous while harbouring grievously evil intention.

    The Osun election is not a tribute to President Jonathan’s magnanimity. Far from it! It is a victory to the good people of Osun who defied all the bully and show of force to come out and exercise their democratic right and freedom.

    They refused to be intimidated or browbeaten by the gunpoint magnanimity of President Jonathan. They trooped out on election day; they conducted themselves in a most orderly and peaceful manner; and they exercised their inalienable rights to freely choose their own leader.

    The people of Osun refused to have a leader foisted on them. They taught us all a useful lesson in democracy: that, with their power to wield the ballot paper, they can trump the power of the federal government to wield the guns.

    • Ogundele lives in Osogbo

     

  • Kogi APC congratulates Aregbesola

    Kogi APC congratulates Aregbesola

    The Kogi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) hascongratulated Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on his re-election.

    The party chairman, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, described Aregbesola’s victory as a victory for democracy.

    He said the result of the August 9 poll is a divine intervention against rigging, “especially the scientific method used to manipulate the people’s mandate in Ekiti State.”

    Ametuo urged Kogi indigenes to have faith in God, saying He would repeat what happened in Osun in Kogi.

    His words: “There are signs of the end for the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) in the state. The party leaders and followers are conscious of this.

    “APC is divine intervention for Nigerians against PDP’s violence, fraud, rigging and bad governance.

    God Almighty will surely remove PDP from power next year.”