The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AREGBESOLA

  • Kudos to Aregbesola on Gbongan-Akoda road

    SIR: I crave your permission to express my unfeigned delight with the comforting news that Osun State government under the leadership of Governor Rauf Aregbesola has awarded the contract for the construction of a 30km-dual carriage way from Gbongan to Akoda in Ede. As a businessman resident in Osogbo, I travel at least two times every week to Lagos. I can reliably inform that it can be very uncomfortable navigating through the road, what with its narrowness and bumpy nature.

    Therefore, it is a soothing relief that the state government has decided to put a permanent end to the nightmarish experiences of motorists on that road. By reaching the decision to expand the road, construct about four pedestrian bridges at Gbongan Junction; erect streetlights, road markings and signs; build culverts and ditches; and do landscaping with quality aesthetics, this government has yet again demonstrated its unparalleled attentiveness to the yearnings and collective wishes of the people who by votes engineered its existence. From the reports I read about the project, the state government is just not contented with expanding the Gbongan-Akoda Motorway, it is very genuinely interested in doing it with strict compliance with standard practices such that the road can endure for another 30 years after construction.

    As any informed mind would readily concur, the provision of viable road infrastructure and the accordance of quality periodic maintenance to it are very critical and inexorable to the actualisation of lasting and advantageous socio-economic advancement. This explains why I often get deeply horrified each time I travel on that highly portentous death path called Lagos/Ibadan Expressway. I get more particularly confounded when I hear the past and present presidents of Nigeria and their infantile poodles praise themselves for making life more comfortable for Nigerians when that major expressway remains an immoveable, lugubrious reference point of their starkest failings as leaders. If, as important as that expressway is to Nigeria’s economic affairs Nigerian leaders of the PDP stock still find it intractable to repair and expand for our benefit, I mince no word to say we don’t have to look for any other evidence of the incapability and hopelessness of the present ‘messiahs’ in Aso Rock to translate the vision of the oft-quoted transformation agenda into reality! Were the present government in Osun to have been at the centre for say four years, the seemingly insolvable purulent boil (the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway disrepair) delicately perched on the skin of our country would have been clinically lanced to the calming comfort of all.

    The contractors, Ratcon Construction Nigeria Limited must get cracking on the Gbongan-Akoda Motorway post-haste. As it moves men and material to site, it must adhere unavoidably strictly to the specifications handed down to it by the state Ministry of Works. At the expiration of the 18-month period it agreed to get the job done, the construction company should be delivering nothing short of excellent work. And while I applaud the State Government of Osun for this significant move, I encourage it to keep hoisted aloft the expansive banner of distinguishing governance.

     

    • Gbenga Awodele,

    Osogbo, State of Osun.

  • Councils, NURTW endorse Aregbesola for second term

    Councils, NURTW endorse Aregbesola for second term

    Members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Osogbo Local Government Area of Osun State and the National Union of Road Transportat Workers (NURTW) in the council have endorsed Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, for a second term.

    They said the Aregbesola administration has improved all sectors of the economy.

    They spoke at the Railway Terminus in Osogbo, the state capital, during a meeting of ACN members in the council.

    The meeting was attended by Mrs. Laoye-Tomori; House of Assembly Deputy Speaker Akintunde Adegboye; Commissioner for Special Duties and Regional Integration Ajibola Basiru and Alhaji Fatai Diekola.

    Basiru urged members to remain united and be good ambassadors of the party, adding that these would attract opposition members to the ACN. NURTW members from Oke-fia Motor Park, Osogbo, flocked the venue of the meeting, carrying banners with the inscription: “We are ready to give our full support to your government”.

    ACN members in Osun West Senatorial District also endorsed Aregbesola for a second term.

    At a meeting held at the District Council Primary School, Iwo, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, moved a motion for Aregbesola’s endorsement for a second term.

    It was seconded by the ACN’s Southwest Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ayo Afolabi.

    In attendance were Senator Mudasir Hussein (Osun Central); House of Assembly Speaker Najeem Salam; Hon. Ghafar Amere (Iwo/Ayedire/Olaoluwa Federal Constituency); Assistant Chief of Staff Mudasir Togun; Chief Isola Oyewumi and the secretaries of the 10 councils in the district.

    People from the 10 councils were also present.

    Adeoti said: “Aregbesola has distinguished himself as a leader and governor of the people. His achievements within a short period of time are too numerous to count. The people of this senatorial district know the governor’s worth.

    “They are feeling the presence of the government and the natural thing to do is to support the working governor. That is what the people converged here to do.”

    Salaam said: “Aregbesola’s performance is visible to everybody. The people are gathered here to give the governor the go-ahead to continue the good work he is doing.”

    Also in Olorunda Local Government, ACN members endorsed Aregbesola for a second term.

    They said it would enable him continue his “path breaking programmes”.

    They said the governor has transformed the state and should be allowed to continue the good work.

    In a statement after a rally at the Osogbo City Hall, signed by the Council Party Chairman, Mr. Abiodun Kilanko; Chairman, Elders Forum, Pa Samuel Oladepo; Mr. Adebayo Wasiu (Olorunda State Constituency) and the Secretary, Mr. Akeem Okunade, ACN members said: “We appreciate the efforts of a visionary, God fearing and fantastic leader, whose mountain of achievements has transformed the state into a safe haven for investors.

    “ACN members in Olorunda unanimously endorse Aregbesola for a second term as the governor of Osun State. We are proud of his performance in two years, with the engagement of 40,000 youths under the Osun Youth Employment Scheme (OYES) and his free medical missions.”

    Praising the governor’s agricultural intervention programmes and road projects, Kilanko said: “The unimaginable transformation going on in various cities, such as Osogbo, Ilesha, Ile-Ife, Ikinrun, Ejigbo, Ede, Ila-Orangun and Iwo, is a pleasant surprise to the people. All these would not have been possible, but for the effective management of resources and prudency of the governor.”

    Also at the rally were Alhaji Fatai Diekola; Alhaji Mufutau Oladapo; Mr. Johnson Koledowo; Mr. Sola Oladepo; Mr. Yisa Ojewale; Mr. Taiwo Sunmonu; Mr. Olaide Ajibola and Mr. Rasaq Adeosun, among others.

    All ward chairmen, women and youth leaders and the NURTW leadership were in attendance.

  • ‘Aregbesola, reference point in good governance’

    ‘Aregbesola, reference point in good governance’

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been described as a reference point in good governance and progressive politics.

    Former University of Lagos (UNILAG) Students’ Union Leader Olusegun Mayegun said this at the launch of a book entitled: “Rauf: Hero of the People”, in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

    The book was written by Mayegun and Abosede Kalejaiye.

    Mayegun said Aregbesola has paid attention to issues affecting the downtrodden in the society.

    He said: “There has been no looking back for Aregbesola since he joined politics in the late 70s as a progressive students’ union leader. His entry into politics opened for him a flood gate of linkages and contacts, with a broad spectrum of progressive politicians, opinion leaders, social workers, market leaders, professional organisations and other social movements across the country.

    “It is not surprising that through his political foray, Aregbesola has established a robust working relationship with leaders like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who provided eight years of quality leadership in Lagos State.”

    The book reviewer, Mr. Chijioke Uwasomba of the English Department, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, said the book explains the character of Aregbesola through the eyes of children and the younger generation.

    He said the Nigerian society has been hijacked by decadent and corrupt forces, such that cynicism and despair have become the order of the day.

    Uwasomba said since Aregbesola’s character was a deviation from the decadent leadership, it was imperative to celebrate and document his achievements for youths, who are future leaders, so that they would emulate the governor’s virtues.

  • My father’s murder was political, says Aregbesola’s aide

    My father’s murder was political, says Aregbesola’s aide

    For eight years Kareem Fola Olajoku, Senior Special Assistant to Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on General Matters, has remained in agony. Reason: the murder of his beloved father, Alhaji Sulaimon Hassan-Olajoku, a major supporter of Aregbesola’s governorship ambition on May 15, 2005.

    The slain Hassan-Olajoku, whom the governor once described as “a major financier of my campaign and left no one in doubt as to his support for and loyalty to our cause,” was gruesomely assassinated at Gbongan Junction in the presence of his teenage daughters and wife. It was a day after he organised a ceremony in Ifon-Osun to market the governor the people.

    “But eight years should be long enough to forget such an experience,” this reporter said. Kareem’s voice quaked in emotion in response: “How can I forget someone who was more that a father to me and our entire family? He was a man we could count on for anything. He was taken away from us at a period my siblings and I needed him most because we were very young at that time. He was a perfect gentle man; a strong grassroots politician, tax consultant, and a loving father. Words cannot explain how I feel. Sometimes, I wished it was just a dream that would soon fade away. Who on earth would shoot a man 24 times or more? That was pure assassination! They wanted him dead.”

    The governor’s aide seethed with indignation when he wondered why the police were yet to give his family any clue about those who killed his father and their motive, but was profuse in praises for Aregbesola who remained a dependable pillar of support for the bereaved family. “I appreciate our governor’s efforts to ensure that my siblings and I do not suffer as a result of this horrible experience. He has been our pillar of support; we can’t thank him enough. I also commend him for immortalising my father by building a mega park, named Hassan Olajoku Park, at the Gbongan Junction, where my father was brutally murdered. Ogbeni Aregbesola is a great and humane man who is rare to find on this earth. He has been there for us,” Olajoku said.

    He declared that his father was murdered by the anti-progressive elements in the state, adding: “We all know the truth. My father was killed when the political scene in Osun State was tense; and we all know it was a political killing. Some people’s thirst for power shows they are myopic. But in the end, the same power which they thought was their birth right was taken away from them by God and the judiciary. Where are they today? They didn’t want the then opposition party to redeem the mandate they stole.”

    When reminded that Osun State would soon hold local council elections he replied: “ACN in Osun State has shown the world that we are working. Have you not heard of the Opon-Imo, Ipad look-alike tablets that are being distributed to secondary school pupils in the state and which contain all their syllabuses and subjects? The computer system is even solar- powered. Osun State is moving and I can tell you that in any election, our great party will win all the available seats. The forthcoming council election will be another litmus test for us as a government, but we are fully prepared to win all the seats as we had done in past elections. This is because the governor has touched the lives of all Osun people positively, and they are happy for it.”

    He spoke further: “Aregbesola’s government is the best administration Osun State had had since its creation in 1996. Before the coming on board of the administration in 2010, flood destroyed lives and property in the state so much that people lost their means of livelihood and their loved ones, but now, the story is different. Before now, roads in the state were in dilapidated conditions, but now, the governor has been roundly commended for his good works, so much that he has even been nick-named “Oba baba ona”, meaning, “king of the roads repairs.” Is it the Oyes (Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme), which employed over 20,000 youths, thereby drastically reducing unemployment in the state? Or, is it the agricultural sector he revitalised by providing arable lands and funds to farmers to ease their age-long burden of lack of government’s support? The governor has redefined governance in the state.”

     

  • Ooni, others advocate support for Aregbesola

    Ooni, others advocate support for Aregbesola

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, has urged the people of Osun State to support Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s efforts to develop the state.

    He spoke in Osogbo, the state capital, at a dinner organised for Yoruba monarchs in Nigeria and Benin Republic in commemoration of the first Oodua World Children’s Day.

    The Ooni described the governor as “a listener and a goal getter”.

    He said Aregbesola has a great job ahead of him, considering the state’s limited resources, and urged the people to always discharge their civic responsibilities to the government.

    Oba Sijuwade said the governor has always been a friend of monarchs and refuted claims that Aregbesola was not in good terms with some monarchs.

    He said: “Since assuming office over two years ago, our governor has not behaved badly to any monarch. He is always supportive and listens to us whenever we need him. He is a good person and is very humble.”

    Other monarchs urged the people to support Aregbesola’s vision of regional integration.

    The Owa Ooye of Oye-Ekiti said his closeness to Aregbesola has opened his mind to the governor’s vision for the Yoruba, including those in the Diaspora.

    He said Aregbesola is not in power to serve the state alone, but the race, and solicited support for him in all Yoruba states.

    The Onisabe of Isabe in Benin Republic, Oba Ola Oyedepo, said: “With a leader like Aregbesola in Nigeria, there is hope for suffering Yoruba people in the Diaspora, especially in Benin Republic, where they have been neglected by the government.”

    The Olowu of Owuland in Ogun State said the Yoruba and Nigerians are blessed with Aregbesola, who he said would lead the people to the Promise Land.

    He pledged to drum support for the governor’s vision when he returns to his domain and urged his colleagues to follow suit.

    President of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) Mr. Gani Adams urged the people to key into the governor’s agenda, saying he has a plan to take the Yoruba race to stardom.

    The event was graced by over 30 monarchs from Yoruba speaking communities within and outside the country.

     

  • We’ve achieved a lot with meagre resources, says Aregbesola

    We’ve achieved a lot with meagre resources, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola said at the weekend that his administration has surpassed the people’s expectations with landmark projects, despite the state’s meagre resources.

    Aregbesola, who marked his 56th birthday on Saturday at the 11th edition of the Walk to Live programme in Ejigbo, Osun State, told the crowd that participated in the exercise that his administration has achieved a lot because of its prudence.

    He said the money coming to the states is very small compared to what the Federal Government takes from the Federation Account.

    The governor said while the Federal Government takes 51 per cent of the resources, states and local governments share about 48 per cent.

    He said: “Within three years, there is apparent difference between yesterday and today. The difference between us and those people is that before we came to power, we sought divine guidance.

    “We prayed to God for guidance and God answered our prayers. Not only that, He promised to lead us as we go.

    “Therefore, what we have achieved today is beyond human comprehension because God is in control. We are only representing Him in government.”

    Thanking the people for their support, Aregbesola pledged to continue implementing people-oriented policies.

    He hailed the people of Ejigbo for their faith in him during the struggle to reclaim his mandate and their continued support for his administration.

    Aregbesola said: “Ejigbo has always stood by us. We have never been disappointed by you. Ejigbo supported and stood by us through thick and thin.

    “The same goes for other towns in the state. We will continue to serve the people with all our might and the available resources. Our mission is to leave Osun better than we found it and that exactly we shall do. The massive development going on in all sectors and across the state will continue.”

    House of Assembly Speaker Najeem Salaam praised the governor for his visionary leadership and assured him of Ejigbo people’s support in next year’s governorship election.

    Senators Jide Omoworare (Osun East District) and Mudasiru Hussein (Osun West District) said “but for Aregbesola’s vision, mission and prudence, not much would have been achieved”.

    The lawmakers lamented that Osun has little or no federal presence in terms of physical development.

    At the event were Deputy Governor Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; Secretary to the State Government Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; Chief of Staff to the Governor Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; the Head of Service, Mr. Sunday Owoeye and the Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyesosin, among others.

  • Respite for Aregbesola

    Respite for Aregbesola

    With the recent decision of the teaching and non-teaching members of staff of the four state-owned tertiary institutions to call off their two-month old strike, Governor Rauf Aregbesola can now once again concentrate fully on delivering the dividends of democracy to his constituents.

    The governor recently confided in some close aides that the prolonged strike was a serious source of concern for him while it lasted because he couldn’t bear to see the precious time of students being wasted.

    The ending of the strike followed Monday’s agreement between the striking workers and the state government on the implementation of the 2009 Consolidated Salary of Tertiary Institutions (CONTEDISS) and Colleges of Education Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS).

    Sources close to Ogbeni added that the governor is now ready to roll out his many developmental plans for all the state owned-tertiary institutions in the state.

  • Osun wears new look

    Osun wears new look

    Aregbesola consolidates clean environment policy

    The traffic on Gbongan Road, Osogbo, Osun State was unusually heavy. A group of new green trucks formed a straight line, moving at snail speed. As you tried to count, you discovered that they were too many. On the median was an excited crowd of people cheering what they saw as novel in this part of the world.

    In the procession was Mouka Ray, an actor, entertaining residents of the town. He, alongside other residents, stood in the morning sun to see the new set of green painted trucks procured by the state government to add to the number of existing waste disposal trucks in the state.

    As you began to wonder what the excitement was all about, you heard a voice.

    “This government is very serious about the environment. These are O-Clean trucks,” someone said excitedly from the crowd.

    Would you blame them for being happy? Many of them were there when their environment was rusty and neglected. The recent efforts by the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to create a friendly environment is paying off.

    Buoyed by the success recorded with O-Clean, which the governor has described as personal and environmental cleanliness, the government took further steps to launch the new intervention project tagged O-Clean Plus.

    The O-Clean Plus is an effort of the state government to make the task of cleaning the environment, not just that of government, but also of citizens. According to the Special Adviser to the Osun State Governor on Environment & Sanitation, Hon. Bola Ilori, the programme entails a lot initiatives like: Private Partnership in Waste Management, Tree Planting, O’ Clean Gas, O’Clean Marshal, Highway Managers, Mosquitoes Reduction Programme, Environmental Awareness & Advocacy, Nylon/Plastic Buyback Programme and Local Government Technical Committee on Waste Management, among other things.

    For those who are smart enough, aside the initiative of creating employment for jobless youths, it will afford them the opportunity to make money with less sweat from the nylon buy-back project. The government is now ready to buy ‘pure water’ sachets which are not only environment-friendly but constitute a nuisance to the public.

    A modern dumpsite has also been constructed with modern facilities to convert all the waste into biogas. Good enough, the bio-gas is currently being used by the governor to cook. At the launch of O-Clean Plus, the governor came out boldly to vouch for the bio-gas, saying, “it is safe and healthy”

    The occasion was another opportunity for the governor to tell the people of Osun that the present government is a responsive and responsible government. He disclosed that the waste collection vehicles were bought on credit; the citizens have to pay a token to dispose their waste of so that the state would be able to pay for the trucks.

    The trucks will be stationed in designated parts of the streets to collect refuse.

    For those who think the project will not last, Ilori was quick to point out that the government did its home work before embarking on it. The streets were enumerated five months for easy operation of the project.

    The environmental enforcement marshals were inaugurated by the governor and mandated to enforce environmental laws by arresting environmental offenders. Aregbesola did not mince words when he warned that the days of flouting environmental laws with impunity were over.

    Though the launch was full of fanfare, Ilori also pointed out that the state was serious about making Osun State clean. “We have done a lot of public awareness in terms waste disposal and managements, we have also provided very many alternatives for our people to get rid of their waste properly. So anyone seen dropping refuse indiscriminately would be handled by our Oclean Marshals under the various existing laws. “

    With the present arrangement, each local government will have O-Clean offices with representatives.

    The occasion was also used to launch a tree planting project in the state. About 2.5 million tree seedlings of various species are ready to be given free to citizens of the state for planting. The Commissioner for Commissioner of Environment & Sanitation, Olubukola Oyawoye, who was upbeat at the launch, reiterated the commitment of her ministry to the tree-planting, saying that the ministry has zero tolerance for indiscriminate waste disposal and breaching of the state environmental laws.

    All things being equal, mosquitoes are going to relocate from the state as the state government is bent on continuous aerial spraying with its helicopter. The helicopter acquired by the state had generated much controversy before the launch of O-Clean Plus. At the launch of O-Clean Plus, Ilori put paid to the controversies surrounding the purchase of the helicopter. The state has saved N4billion which would have been used in fighting mosquitoes.

    “After calculating how much we would spend in hiring helicopters, we discovered that it would be more that what we would use in buying the helicopter that would do the aerial spraying of the state. With the helicopter, the governor is saving the governor is saving N4bn which would have been spent on fighting mosquito alone.”

    Speaking at the occasion, 50-year-old Ramota Salami, a petty trader, was happy, especially with the way the state has been able to control the perennial flooding. She welcomed the recent N500 monthly levy on refuse collection, saying “it would go a long way in stopping from indiscriminate dumping of refuse in rivers and streams.”

    Joseph Alebiosu, who recently relocated from the northern part of the country, was happy about the tree planting initiative, saying “government should sensitise people more on tree planting as tree makes environment friendly.”

    Steve Adeyemi, a student in one of the secondary schools, was happy about the buying back nylon/ polythene projects, saying he would do the business to support his family. “I’m not ashamed to collect nylon in exchange for money.”

    The Chief of Staff to the Edo State Governor, Hon Patrick Obayagbon; wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola; representative of the wife of Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Mrs Doyin Olusoga; traditional rulers, politicians, unions and associations, were around to witness the launch of O-Clean Plus.

    Aside the 500 commercial motorcycle riders who came to add colour to the event, artistes like Alabi Pasuma, Saidi Balogun, Mouka Ray, Kayode Sadiq, 70- year- Alabi Ogundepo and others were around to sensitise the citizens on the need to embark of clean environment.

  • ‘Aregbesola is following Awolowo’s steps’

    The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, has said Governor Rauf Aregbesola is aspiring to the legacies of the former Premier of the old Western Region, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

    Speaking with reporters yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, he said Aregbesola’s references to the late Awolowo’s legacies were to remind the people of exemplary democratic governance, which every Yoruba person is proud of.

    Akere said the Aregbesola administration, through its Six Point-Integral Action Plan, has recorded unparalleled achievements, despite the paucity of funds.

    He said Aregbesola met an empty treasury and “mountains of debts” when he assumed office, adding that his fiscal discipline and administrative skills were responsible for the completion of projects that impact directly on the lives of the people.

    According to the commissioner, the record has shown that the Aregbesola administration’s achievements on road construction, empowerment, food security, health, security and creation of job opportunities have surpassed those of his predecessors.

  • My critics are jittery, says Aregbesola

    My critics are jittery, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola at the weekend said his administration’s performance has made his critics jittery.

    He said: “The unimaginable massive projects going on across all sectors have created fear in them.”

    Aregbesola spoke at the Sodik Adeleke Central Mosque in Osogbo, the state capital, after the Jumat service on Friday.

    He debunked the allegation by his critics that his administration borrowed N300 billion.

    Aregbesola said: “We have prayed to God to make us the example of His government on earth and that is why we are making headway. They were here for seven-and-a-half years and they destroyed the system. But because God has been with us all the while, we have been able to achieve what we have achieved.

    “The maximum allocation accruable to the state is N240 billion, but they are alleging that we have borrowed N300 billion. Does that make sense at all?

    “What Osun State can earn in the four years of our tenure cannot cater for the projects we are embarking on. But because we believe in God and His love for us, we are succeeding in all what we are doing.

    “Because they could not point at anything they achieved in their seven-and-half years in power, our massive projects have created fear in them. What we have done is enough for a government to say it has done enough, but in our case, we have just started.”