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Tag: Governor Ibikunle Amosun

  • Budget town hall meeting an expression of true democracy, says Amosun

    Budget town hall meeting an expression of true democracy, says Amosun

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has said the state’s budget town hall meeting is a practical expression of true democracy where people’s decisions are recognised and appreciated in running the affairs of the state.

    Amosun spoke during a town hall meeting at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, the state capital, on next year’s budget.

    He said: “The town hall meetings have been genuine platforms where all opinions are not only explored but are critically examined for the growth and development of our dear state.”

    The governor noted that people-oriented budget has been the priority of his administration since inception.

    He added that this had contributed to his Rebuilding Mission.

    Amosun said a State Development Plan (SDP) was initiated early this year and would run till 2030 as a critical element for agricultural production and industrialisation.

    The governor said it had been helping in increasing financial and technical supports from the state’s development partners.

    According to him, it will boost agricultural production, reduce dependency on oil and empower youths through technical and vocational capacity building as well as strengthen good governance.

    The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Ms. Aderenle Adesina, said the meeting was aimed at educating the public on government’s plans for next year.

    The commissioner said it would enable the government to get their thoughts and contributions for inclusion into the budget.

    She recalled that previous meetings added values to the administration’s achievements.

    Ms Adesina enjoined the people to join hands with the government to ensure that the state’s potentials were adequately explored.

  • Abandoned project in Ogun

    Abandoned project in Ogun

    When the idea of establishing model schools in Ogun State was mooted by Governor Ibikunle Amosun during the early stage of his first term in office, it was greeted with great enthusiasms by parents and pupils across the state.

    According to Amosun, the concept of the multi-million naira model schools was to redefine secondary school education in the state, make it a reference point in teaching and learning, revolutionise the education sector and set the pace in access to quality education as well as help decongest some of the over populated long established public secondary  schools that routinely admit students far beyond their carrying capacities to the detriment of the optimal performance of both the students and teachers.

    And the enthusiasms knew no bound with the commencement of construction works in earnest at the designated locations of those model schools spread across the state’s 20 local government areas.

    Today, there are 28 of such model schools with 95 percent of the construction jobs completed in about half of them while work had practically ceased in others.

    The model school located in Ewekoro, in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state, partially took off last year with 250 students who were taken in for Summer Camp coaching classes. However, regular school activities are yet to commence in others despite repeated promises of the state government to open their gates to would- be – pioneer students at the approach of every new academic session.

    However, even if the state government elects to open some of them this academic session, the schools at Olokuta– Kemta (Abeokuta) and at Isara in Remo North Local Government Area certainly won’t be counted among them. The two and similar others have continued to remain as a foot-dragger and a sore thumb to Amosun’s whole idea of model school as they are a constant ugly spectacle to both residents and passers – by.

    The Nation visited one of the sites and observed that construction workers have since left with their tools. The scaffoldings were already giving way and wild birds, reptiles and rodents have converted it as their homes.

    The whole premises is also  overtaken by weeds while the structure itself, unprotected from the elements, is also experiencing some degree of depreciation even as there are noticeable traces of human habitation, a possibility that miscreants may be congregating there.

    A resident near the area, who identified himself as Ola, told The Nation that the abandoned model school in Olokuta – Kemta was a dashed hope to them.

    He said they had thought the coming of the school to the area would address the students population surge at the Abeokuta Grammar School, its immediate neighbor, which is few meters away from it and also enhance access to education because of its “accessibility and proximity” to residents of Kempta and its environs. She lamented that the expected succour they hoped to get from it may not come soon.

    “We were happy when the state government sited the school here and our joy multiplied when construction began because we believed it is nearer to us, our children will attend it but our hope appeared to have been dashed today.

    “Works have stopped and we don’t know what may happen to it if the administration completes its tenure. Sometime early this year or late last year, some people came to clear the bushes around the building and we thought works will resume but you can see that the situation has remained the same,” he said.

    The Commissioner for Works, Arc. Olamilekan Adepite, when contacted, was silent on the model school in Kemta that appeared abandoned but said some of the model schools are ready to open.

    Olamilekan however referred The Nation to the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Modupe Mujota, for further details on the matter.

    “Some of the schools are ready for opening, such as Kobape, Onijanganjangan, Akinale, Ado-Odo, Sagamu, Ikenne and Ago-Iwoye. You may see Honourable Commissioner, Education, for further details,” he stated.

    The Nation contacted the Education Commissioner, Mrs. Mujota, on phone for reaction but she said she was in a meeting and requested that text message be sent to her.

    Although two messages were sent via SMS and WhatsApp platforms, no reply has been received.

    However, Governor Ibikunle Amosun had, while addressing teachers during the last World Teachers Day in Abeokuta, skipped mentioning uncompleted model schools but merely expressed his shock that parents were not cooperating to ensure the take-off of the model schools constructed by his administration.

    He said despite the subsidised charges announced by his administration, many parents were not ready to pay for the model school.

    The governor said the rationale behind constructing the model schools was to bring back the boarding school policy which, he said, will serve as model for other schools in the state.

    He said, “We want all the model schools to start; we are running around every day but again, I am truly at a lost as to what’s happening because, we have the number and everybody wants to go to that model school but nobody wants to pay anything.

    “Indeed, I have been accused ‘yes, you used government money, why are you collecting money?’ And I said we went to school too and our parents were buying the uniform, they were buying all the things we were wearing and for those at the boarding school, we paid for what we ate, it wasn’t as if everything was free.

    “And we are saying that, we want to bring back boarding houses; we want to change the entire life of this young ones, these are our future generation, clearly, if you’re in the boarding house, it is different.

    “The schools are there, ready since but nobody want to pay. Even when the government has subsidised it, nobody wants to pay. They said its Ogun State money, give us the uniform, go and buy the canvass for us, etc. There are different things in the hostel, their uniform is different, their sportswear is different, their ceremonial dress is going to be different, all of those are what we aggregated together,” Amosun said.

     

  • Infidelity: Never had a girlfriend in the past 26 years – Amosun

    Infidelity: Never had a girlfriend in the past 26 years – Amosun

    The last has not been heard about Governor Ibikunle Amosun alleged infidelity with a certain female corp member who deliver a set of twins for the governor.
    The governor on Friday threatened to fish out those purveying rumours and falsehoods against him, and have them sent to jail.
    Amosun accused some unnamed  politicians, whom he said, are  aspiring to govern Ogun State in 2019, of being responsible for the spate of falsehood churned out against him and his administration.
    The Governor who cited the reported raid of his Lagos home by
    the Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the latest in the series of falsehoods being circulated against him, vowed to “smoke out” the perpetrators and jail them.
    He dismissed the recent rumour of EFCC raid on his home as a “concoction of idiots” while speaking at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during a Town Hall meeting of stakeholders for the 2018 Budget.
    The meeting was organized by the state’s Ministry of Budget and Planning for the purpose of collecting inputs of all stakeholders and build them into the preparation of the 2018 Executive Appropriation Bill, but Amosun used the avenue to clear air on rumours being circulated against him.
    He said instead of those aspiring to govern the state to tell residents how they intend to transform the state and make it better, they have resorted to engaging some “idiots” who would sit in a room space to concoct falsehood in the vain hope that lies and rumour mongering would help the governorship aspirations of their masters.
    Amosun also  broke his silence on a case of a lady on National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who was rumoured to have had twin – babies for him in less than a year ago.
    The Governor said the rumour gained so much currency that his Mother – In-law had to call him to confirm if what she heard about a ‘second wife’ having twins for him was true or not.
    He said has been married to his wife, Mrs Olufunso Amosun, in the last 26 years and had never kept a girl friend, let alone having one that delivered twins for him, adding that the rumoured twins issue also got to the notice of his wife.
    He noted that task of keeping one wife is even challenging today in Nigeria and had no plans whatsoever to double such challenges with additional baggage.
    He noted that those  purveyors of falsehood could beat James Hadley Chase to it in “fiction concoction” in bids to malign him.
    On the expected 2018 budget, Amosun said his administration would make judicious use of it, adding that he work round the clock to ensure that all on – going programmes and projects were completed on or before May, 2019.
    He called on the Federal Government and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to make provision for special funds to be disbursed to  some states which had put infrastructure in place to prevent flooding.
    According to him, giving fund and relief materials to the states ravaged by flood is good but others that put measures in place to avert flooding in their respective states should also be rewarded with fund as a form of encouragement.
  • Ipokia indigenes to Amosun: Don’t move Ogun Poly to Idiroko

    Ipokia indigenes to Amosun: Don’t move Ogun Poly to Idiroko

    The people of Ipokia in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, on Wednesday urged Governor Ibikunle Amosun, not to renege on his pledge to move the proposed Ogun State Polytechnic to Ipokia town in Ogun West Senatorial district.

    Acting under the aegis of Ipokia Youth Development Council (IPYDC), they said the appeal becomes necessary following alleged pressure being mounted on Amosun to take the Polytechnic to Idiroko town, also in Ogun West.

    In a statement made available to journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the Publicity Secretary of the IPYDC, Dare Olawin, he appealed to the Governor to “stand firm in his decision to situate the Polytechnic in Ipokia Township and should not bow to pressure.”

    Olawin noted that aside the fact that the existing facilities as well as enabling laws made the choice of Ipokia town an appropriate location for the temporary and permanent host for the Polytechnic alleged certain inhibiting traditional practices in Idiroko, makes moving such institution to Idiroko an inappropriate step.

    “We are concerned of the ongoing intense lobby of the government by certain individuals to start off the Polytechnic in Idiroko and possibly, site the institution permanently in this same location.

    “This will go against the Law that establishes the Polytechnic which expressly emphasizes Ipokia Town as the temporary and permanent site for the institution.

    “We wish to recall that in 1982, late Governor Olabisi Onabanjo, during his administration, proposed a College of Education to be situated in Ipokia. The proposal was duly gazetted.  However, the plan was aborted by the sudden takeover of government by the military, a situation that has continued to put our youths in shackles of illiteracy and poverty.

    “We also wish to inform Your Excellency that all efforts made by Ipokia Community during Governor Gbenga Daniel’s Administration to relocate the Tai Solarin College of Education at Ijebu-Ode to Ipokia Township following the upgrade of the College to a University of Education, proved unsuccessful. Instead, the College was relocated to Omu-Eleni.

    “Similarly, the Government Model School earmarked for Ipokia Township being the Local Government Headquarters, is now situated in Idiroko. Thus, Ipokia Township remains the only old Local Government Headquarters without a Government educational institution.

    “We need to make it unequivocally clear here that some individuals are ready to snatch everything allocated to Ipokia town just because the local government was named after Ipokia. Why?

    “The ongoing rivalry between Ipokia community and the other neighbouring communities may have been necessary if the location in which the Polytechnic is to be situated is not indicated in the Bill.

    This type of unhealthy competition, if not discouraged, is capable of breeding conflicts between and among the communities.

    “Suffice it to state that Idiroko was not part of Ipokia Local Government when the Local Government was initially created in 1995 by General Sanni Abacha’s Administration. It was merged with Ipokia Local Government along with Ilase, Ifonyintedo and Ihunbo following their agitation.

    “Indeed, to ensure the safety of staff and students, it will not be advisable to locate the polytechnic in Idiroko, a border town prone to sporadic shootings between customs and the smugglers.

    “Moreover, Idiroko in spite of its hustling and bustling still dwells in the old system of imposing curfew on people, closing down all commercial and academic activities for days, all in the name of ORO FESTIVAL.

    “Sometimes they prevent students from attending classes or taking national examinations like WASSCE, NECO or UTME. A similar scenario just took place on Tuesday. Isn’t that barbaric? It doesn’t happen like this in Ipokia town.

    “It is against the above background that we appeal to the Governor to stand firm in his decision to situate the Polytechnic in Ipokia Township as we know he is not the type that bows to pressure,” Dare Olawin said.

     

  • Workers jittery over coming of MAUSTECH, OGUN POLY

    Workers jittery over coming of MAUSTECH, OGUN POLY

    In September, two new institutions will take off in Ogun State.  The Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology (MAUSTECH) will take off in Abeokuta; the Ogun State Polytechnic in Ipokia.  The birth of these institutions is giving  workers of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, who have a stake in both the jitters report KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE and ERNEST NWOKOLO.

    Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology (MAUSTECH), Abeokuta, a product of the recent upgrade of Ogun State’s premier polytechnic, the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), is yet to commence operation, but a crisis appears to have started.

    Even at conception by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, many questioned the propriety of having another state university when the existing two are reeling under the weight of underfunding and inadequate staffing.

    Critics anchored their misgivings on an earlier decision of Amosun, who shortly after his election as governor for the first term in 2011, moved to scrap the thriving Tai Solarin University of Education (TSAUED), Ijagun, and fused it into the Education faculty of the troubled Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye.

    The pioneer education varsity in the state – nay the country – was established in January, 2005 by the former Governor Gbenga Daniel-led administration, ostensibly to train high-level manpower – teachers and school administrators, among others.

    Amosun almost succeeded in his move to merge TASUED with the OOU. His argument was that the state’s finances were too lean to accommodate proliferation of state-owned tertiary institutions and that the university had also veered from its core mandate of offering teaching or education-based programmes.

    However, following stout opposition and criticisms by the academic staff of the university, students and members of the public particularly, the Ijebu people who host the instituion, the Governor dropped the idea.

    So, when on March 13, Amosun, who had hitherto canvassed paucity of fund as the overriding reason for scraping TASUED, signed a law changing the 38-year old Moshood Abiola Polytechnic to Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology (MAUSTECH) coupled with its subsequent approval by the National Universities Commission (NUC) earlier this month, stakeholders were surprised.

    Workers’ worries

    The workers of the institution in particular are worried about the speed of the transition (the new university and polytechnic are to take off in September) and its implication on their jobs.  While the technical committee mid-wifing the birth of the university and polytechnic said the workers would not lose their jobs, they are not convinced it will not happen.

    On July 12, members of the MAPOLY chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) went on strike to protest allegations that the technical committee, headed by Prof Peter Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary, NUC, allegedly sacked all 250 workers of the institution and directed them to reapply.

    Okebukola denied the allegation about the strike.  In response to the issue in an email to The Nation, Okebukola restated that none of the workers would lose their jobs. On the contrary, he said the creation of MAUSTECH and Ogun Poly in Ipokia would create new jobs.

    He said: “This is to refute in its entirety the report that the Technical Committee on the newly-established Moshood Abiola University, Abeokuta (MAUSTECH) has ordered the sack of over 250 staff of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY). It is in complete contrast to the position of the Committee that no member of staff will suffer job loss as a consequence of the upgrading of MAPOLY to MAUSTECH and the establishment of Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia as the successor of MAPOLY. Indeed, the Technical Committee has no power to sack anybody.

    “We held a meeting with all staff at the beginning of our assignment and conveyed our position on job security. This position has been re-echoed in subsequent meetings with staff unions. It is curious that some persons have taken undue liberty of misinforming the general public with the spread of such fake news.

    “It should delight all staff that the establishment of two institutions from MAPOLY will open new job opportunities rather than shrink the workforce. We urge all staff to be vigilant and shun misinformation that may be peddled in some quarters.”

    When contacted, ASUP Chairman, Kola Abiola, told The Nation on Tuesday that the union’s strike was suspended, not because of the reassurances of the committee but the promise of Governor Amosun that no one would be sacked. He said the committee did not meet with the workers to resolve the strike.

    “We did not meet with the committee; we went to the Governor and the intervention of the governor made us call off the strike.  This is the second week afterwards and we have not heard from the committee.  The governor debunked the allegation; he said he did not send them to do what they are doing.

    “We want to give the Governor a benefit of the doubt that there would be no sack.  We are waiting for the modalities on transiting to the new university to come out,” he said.

    Despite the governor’s assurance, Abiola expressed concerns about the situation on ground lending credence to coming crisis when the institutions are to resume in September.

    While the new university would take off with the facilities of the MAPOLY, which has five schools consisting of 27 Departments, 3-in-1 1,000-seater hall housing the School of Communication and Information Technology and central store for academic materials and other equipment, Abiola said the new polytechnic has no facilities yet.

    He said: “Presently, there are 27 departments in MAPOLY with accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).  The NBTE only gives accreditation for programmes after inspecting physical facilities.  In Ipokia, where the Ogun State Polytechnic is to start in September, there is no structure on ground.

    “There are concerns that lecturers could lose their jobs. Nobody has come to tell us what are the courses accredited in the Ogun State Polytechnic.  For instance, if I don’t want to stay in the university and I want to go to the polytechnic, I don’t know whether my course has accreditation in the new polytechnic, what happens to me?

    “Today (Tuesday), Dr Ebenezer Nkom (a member of the committee) said on OGTV that the new polytechnic will admit ND and HND students in September. The whole of the polytechnic is to start in a model school in Idiroko. The Governor said they will start from Idiroko and move to Ipokia after three months. But there is nothing on ground there now and they say they will finish building in three months.”

    The ASUP Chairman also complained that the lecturers had not been told the modalities to be considered to be absorbed into the new university by the technical committee, which he accused of having a different position from the governor.

    “Nobody has communicated with us. We don’t know the modalities.  All we are hearing is from the television and radio,” he lamented.

    On the contrary, Okebukola said the committee will work with the workers’ unions.

    He said: “We will actively engage the unions and other stakeholders so that the two institutions take-off this academic session. It will be a win-win situation for all. It needs to be stated that the Technical Committee has delivered on its mandate as “midwife” having successfully delivered a set of twins- MAUSTECH and Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia. By our mandate, we are to hand over to the Councils of these two institutions as soon as they are inaugurated so that these organs can take on their roles as assigned by the laws of the two institutions.”

    However, he said talks have not happened because the union has not allowed the committee to meet on campus. He said this was delaying setting modalities for transfer of services to the new institutions.

    He said: “The Committee is yet to meet to set any criteria since it was barred from entering the campus. We plan to work with staff through their unions to reach mutual agreement on these criteria.

    “It is curious that some people are crafting incorrect information about such criteria and misinforming the public. For sure, all stakeholders in the discussion will be guided by the minimum standards specified by the regulatory authorities, making adjustments for our local peculiarities in these early days.”

    Abiola also doubts the capacity of the two institutions to absorb all the workers in September.

    “They are saying no one will lose their jobs. But with what is on ground, people will lose their jobs.  When the university starts, it will admit only 500 students or at most 1,500 students if they use influence.  Take the cleaners, how many will they need to clean the university for 500 students?  If they are sent to Idiroko, they will be more than enough to clean the place.

    “This government has less than one year to functionally work. Another government will come and declare the workers redundant,” he said.

    Zonal Coordinator of ASUP, Zone C in charge of South West, Olawale Adetunji, who argued that the government and the Committee have not put the rights of the other stakeholders in their decision, assured that whatever legitimate steps taken by the lecturers would be  backed by  the National body.

    While workers are pessimistic, members of MAPOLY alumni association and the students are not.  The Director of Media and Publicity of National Association Nigerian Students (NANS) Ogun State axis,  Olasunkanmi Akinlotan, said the students hailed the upgrade and appreciated the state for the initiative but said that NANS would not accept whatever that would affect the students negatively.

    Olasunkanmi, a final year student of Mass Communication in MAPOLY, said the current students would complete their National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes.  He also said the academic staff were assured of job security.

    “The Transition Committee has assured that no staff will be sacked and that all staff will have chose either to lecture in the university or in the polytechnic in line with the NUC standards,” he said.

    The National Secretary, Alumni Association of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Mr Goke Ishola, told The Nation that the body welcomed the transformation of the institution to a university as a sign of good things.

    Goke said the fear of job loss being entertained by ASUP was unfounded, saying the apprehension was driven by “rumours and fear of change.”

    Goke noted that even though all stakeholders may not have been carried along, the said directive given to the lecturers by the Transition Committee to resign and reply into MAUSTEC was normal and in order.

     

    Benefit to students

    A student, Ifedayo Ogunyemi, also studying Mass Communication, said he was glad the university status would improve the acceptability of the institution’s products in the labour market and make it easier for them to do conversion programmes to get their first degrees.

    “Students are very happy because of the dichotomy between HND and BSc.  I believe when I finish my HND I will be able to return and convert it to BSc.  It means our four years in school will not be just for HND but BSc,” he said.

    Like Ifedayo hopes would happen, Okebukola said current MAPOLY students would get the opportunity to apply to the new university to do their degree programmes.

    “Current students of MAPOLY are to look out for internal advertisement on admission and qualifying criteria so they can take advantage of being among the foundation students of MAUSTECH,” he said.

     

    Surviving the recession

    With the poor economy and limited government funding, Okebukola said the committee has worked out a 10-year plan for MAUSTECH to weather the economic recession.

    He said: “In the Academic Brief of the university, we have projected a 10-year income and expenditure plan which has factored in survival strategies in the time of scarcity. We are anticipating some injection of funds from the Ogun State Government to be supported by other funding sources. Being a new university, its funding needs are not expected to be gargantuan in the early days. Over the next several years, we anticipate that the managers of the university (Council and Management) will be creative and innovative in fundraising.”

    Focus of the new university

    To stand out, Okebukola said MAUSTECH will exploit science and technology programmes to the benefit of the state.

    “Being a university of science and technology, it will steer its programmes at the cutting-edge of these disciplines in its service to Ogun State, Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.

     

     

  • Southwest Governors subscribe to 25-year master plan

    Southwest Governors subscribe to 25-year master plan

    Governors of the six southwest states yesterday agreed to work in line with a 25-year master plan.

    The 11-point communique read by host Governor Ibikunle Amosun, said the governors would set up an inter – State security task force to tackle the menace of fulani herdsmen and other crimes, establish agricultural produce export processing facilities, adopted the 25 years Master Development Plan designed by the DAWN, and hold regional agricultural summit in Ibadan, Oyo State, to tackle food challenges.

    They also agreed that the artificial boundaries of states, religions and political affiliation will not act as barrier to the regional development, adding that all the states had been encouraged to improve bilateral cooperation and foster development.

    The forum revealed that it would set up a committee to codify the values and ethos of the Yoruba race, in order to strengthen the identity and unity of the people of the region. It was also decided that the forum would henceforth be known as the Western Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

    Southwest governors yesterday lamented that the splitting of the Old Western Region into six states robbed the people of their spirit of oneness and hampered the pace of socio – economic development.

    The six governors – Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) and Rotimi Akeredolu(Ondo), expressed this sentiment at a meeting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during a regional meeting.

    At the end of the meeting, they approved the 25-year decelopment plan designed by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) and agreed to collaboprate on security of the region, agricultural development and improvement of infrastructure.

    Amosun, who hosted the meeting, said instead of state creation to “build bridges,” it left the Yoruba land  “digging trenches for protection against their own brothers and sisters” as well as fostering boundary disputes and security challenges among them.

    The Governor recalled that many landmark achievements were recorded in Yoruba land when it was under one regional economic umbrella during the time of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as Premier. He advised that  the time had come for them to unite, promote  and re -enact the pre-eminence and achievements of the South-West in the Nigerian federation.

    According to him, the onerous task on the hands of  the Southwest governors today  is to lead the  people to further prosperous living and  “Economic Self-Determination for South-West Nigeria” which formed the meeting’s theme.

    “We will recall those laudable feats made us the envy of other Regions.

    “We have physical infrastructure such as the Cocoa House at Ibadan, which was aptly named after the source of its funding; the Agodi Secretariat at Ibadan; and the different roads that connect our towns and cities some of which are still standing the test of time. We also have the educational infrastructure of which we are still benefitting from today.

    “Indeed, many of us seated in this room are beneficiaries of the Free Education Programme of that time. It is the same Free Education Programme that culminated in the establishment of a University that was once the most beautiful campus in Sub-Sahara Africa, the then University of Ife, and now appropriately named the Obafemi Awolowo University, at Ile-Ife.

    “We cannot also forget the economic infrastructure; we have the O’odua Group as the umbrella Investment House for the commercial enterprise of the Region such as the Sketch Publication; the Wemabod Estates; the Lafia Hotels; the Premier Hotel at Ibadan; the Area J4 Forest Reserve, etc.

    “However, the creation of States from the old Western Region in 1976 which should have been an impetus for further socio-economic development have been allowed to create artificial boundaries between our people.

    “And to further worsen the situation, some of our people are also making themselves available as instruments of division because of their selfish political gains. The consequence is that our people begin to see themselves as a people of one state or the other rather than as a sub-unit of the entity of the Yoruba people.

    “This is not without its attendant challenges of intra and inter-state boundary disputes which have worsened security in some states and, hampered socio-economic development. Instead of building bridges, some of our people are digging trenches for protection against their own brothers and sisters.

    Aregbesola said the old Western Nigeria recorded greater feats when it operated as single state than what obtained today as six states.

    “We must be mindful of the fact that as singular state then, we achieved more than now when we are divided into six states.

    “We must identify our strengths, unify those strengths and explore the strengths for the benefit of our people. We use the development to galvanise our potentials,” Aregbesola said.

    Ajimobi explained that there were gains to be tapped from the numerical strength of the Yoruba,  stressing that should the six Southwest states elect to pull together, they would amount to over 60 million population and fit to become a country.

    “I will like to plead for not only inter-governmental relationship but also inter personal relationship. Six of us combined, we are talking about more than 60 million people and that is more than a country.

    “We are also talking of landmass of 60km square. With that we can stand as a mini country. If you look at each state in Southwest, if we make use of the potentials available to us , we are bigger than many nations in the world.

    “We are as a region, very formidable region, we must not only talk it, we must act it. We reinstate and reinvigorate the concept of Omoluabi. Success is not money but character and industry,” he said.

    Ambode aligned with the economic and political integration of Southwest states as espoused by his colleagues, saying it was of great significance to the nation while his Ekiti State counterpart said the forum represented the interest of the Yoruba nation.

    Fayose said there was the urgent need for the cooperation and collaboration of all the governors to make the region a place of success again.

    For Akeredolu,  the “development agenda for Southwest Nigeria is a great idea”.

    “It is a forum where the governors meet to discuss issues of common interest. It is a great task for all us. We have great challenges and we must be prepared to face these challenges; united we stand, divided we fall. This meeting transcends political interest, we are brothers,”  Akeredolu said.

  • Amosun mourns Onagoruwa’s death

    Amosun mourns Onagoruwa’s death

    Former Attorney – General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Olu Onagoruwa, SAN, has passed away.

    The Constitutional lawyer who hailed from Odogbolu, Ogun State, died on Friday morning at his Lekki home, Lagos. He was 80 last year.

    Prof. Angelicus Onasanya who told The Nation that he is a cousin of Onagoruwa, said the late elder statesman died in Lagos.

    And reacting, Governor Ibikunle Amosun mourned the loss of Olu Onagoruwa, saying the demise of the former human rights activist is sad and would be deeply felt by the downtrodden and oppressed Nigerians whose cause he passionately championed.

    In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Otunba Dayo Adeneye,  Amosun recalled how the commitment of the late Senior Advocate of Nigeria towards the emancipation and better welfare of ordinary citizens, made him a subject of attack by the authorities, particularly during military regimes.

    “We cannot also forget his patriotism, which was in the interest of the generality of Nigerians, when as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, during the regime of the late Gen. Sanni Abacha; he condemned and dissociated himself from some draconian decrees promulgated without his knowledge.

    “This action caused him and his family great discomfort but he was uncompromising. Even when his health was failing, he continued to speak against bad governance and human rights abuses,” the Governor added.

    He described the  late Onagoruwa as a distinguished human rights advocate and exemplary public officer and said his stand, during his brief tenure as minister, was worthy of emulation by elected and appointed government officials that truly desire a vibrant and people-orientated public service.

    He prayed that God will be merciful unto him and grant his family the fortitude to bear the big loss.

  • Badoo: Ogun govt, security chiefs meet

    Badoo: Ogun govt, security chiefs meet

    ….warn cult group to steer clear of Ogun

     

    Ogun State government and security chiefs from the Army, Police, Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) among others, met on Wednesday to fashion out ways to prevent the deadly cult group – Badoo, from entering the state from Ikorodu – Lagos.

    The meeting which was chaired by Governor Ibikunle Amosun followed intelligence reports that the badoo group which had been visiting residence of with bloodshed, were planning to infiltrate the Gateway State.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, who issued the warning while speaking with journalists on behalf of the government in Abeokuta, the state capital, after the meeting, said   the administration has taken proactive measures to secure the lives and property of its people against badoo cult group or other criminal elements.

    “We just rose from a meeting with the Governor and all the Security Chiefs where we evaluated the current challenges, especially as it relates to the Badoo cult group. We want to sound a note of warning to them not to come to Ogun State as we are determined to make our State uncomfortable for them to operate.

    “We have mapped out our plans to deal with them and we are leaving no stone unturned in this regard,” Adeoluwa said.

    He reiterated the Government’s commitment to investing heavily in security, and urged residents to remain calm and go about their lawful activities peacefully without any apprehension.

    He explained that security agencies in the state were working hand in hand to ensure their safety at all times, as the state government would not fold its arms and watch criminal elements, under whatever guise unleash terror on people.

    And Speaking on behalf of the Service Chiefs in the state, the Commissioner for Police, Ahmed Illiyasu said “the security agencies in the state are united and committed,” adding that they “are ready to dislodge any criminal and bring them down.”

     

  • June 12: Amosun urges FG to declare Abiola President of Nigeria

    June 12: Amosun urges FG to declare Abiola President of Nigeria

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun, his wife, Olufunso, and Deputy Governor Yetunde Onanuga on Monsay led human rights activists, pro – democracy organizations, transport unions, students, market women and scores of others in a commemorative Democracy walk in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, in honour of the undeclared winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election in Nigeria, late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO Abiola).

    The over two kilometres walk which began around 7.a.m at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto Abeokuta courses through major streets of the state capital, terminated about two hours laterat the Oke Ido family house of the late politician where a prayers were also offered to God for Abiola and the family left behind.

    State Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi, former Governor of Kwara State, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Commissioners and top government functionaries were also among the dignitaries who joined Amosun at the Abiola’s family compound for the brief prayers there.

    The Governor in his remark, said Abiola paid the Supreme price for the democracy being savoured by Nigerians today, adding that the essence of June 12 transcended Ogun State, South West Nigeria and beyond.

    He lamented that MKO Abiola was the President Nigerians elected but never declared and allowed to govern.

    Amosun pleaded that the late Politician and Philanthropist, should be recognised President of Nigeria and treated as such.

    “He (Abiola) labour so much for us, he paid the supreme price for Nigeria’s democracy. The struggle he died for transcends Abeokuta, Ogun State, South West and Africa too and we are happy about that. Nigerians trust him and that is why they voted for him and he must be recognised as an elected President. It is a history we must continue to recognised. He was the President elected but denied the opportunity to govern.

    “He lives on. We (office holders) must the path Abiola tolled. M.K.O will continue to live on and generations will come to know what June 12 is all about. June 12 will continue,” Amosun said.

    The Governor pledged that the State would continue to honour June 12, saying the government would take the celebration next level in future.
    Also speaking, the President. Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei -Odumakin urged the Federal government to make a posthumous declaration of MKO as Nigerian President.

    She said: “June 12 is our own watershed. June 12 votes cut across tribal and religious lines, it helps in promoting national integrity. June 12 was about three choices.

    “It was non-violent, it was a raining day and people went out in a non-violent approach. MKO defeated Bashiru Tofa in his own place so Nigerians set aside colonial interest and overwhelming voted for a Muslim, Muslim ticket”

    “24 years after June 12, we want to insist that there should be a post humous declaration of MKO Abiola as the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria. June 12 will be declared our democracy day.

    “I also want to say this in the spirit of June 12, we cannot move forward until we restructure Nigeria. As we are gathered here today, I want us to know that MKO died for so it is our collective responsibilities to keep the spirit of MKO Abiola alive. MKO Abiola paid the ultimate price so he lives forever, “she said.

    For the Publicity Secretary of Campaign for Democracy (CD), Mr Sunday Ogunyinka, the spirit of June 12 still lives on, noting that ” You can kill a soul but can’t kill the June 12 legacy.”

    And speaking on behalf of the family, Alhaji Tajudeen Abiola, hailed the state government for supporting the family.

    “The government has been supporting us, the Governor always help us and all his team too. Whenever they hear you are from Abiola’s family, they always help. We really thank the Governor for his support always,” he said.

  • Ogun declares June 12 public holiday

    Ogun declares June 12 public holiday

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun has declared Monday, June 12, 2017 as work free day as a way of identifying with and keeping the ideals of June 12 alive in Ogun State.

    The annual holiday is in honour of the late illustrious son of the state, Chief Moshood Kasimawo Olawale Abiola, widely believed to have won the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential election, which marked a unique watershed in Nigeria’s democratic development.

    This year’s celebration will feature the annual “Democracy Walk”, which will be led by the governor, starting from the JUNE 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta at 7am.

    The walk is expected to take participants through major roads in the state capital to the Abiola family homestead, at Oke-Ido, Gbagura, Abeokuta North Local Government Area, where special prayers and speeches will be made.

    Later in the day, an inspirational stage play, “Oju Kelekun” (farewell to reproach), directed by Prof. Bakare Ojo Rasaki, will be performed at the June 12 Cultural Centre, between 3:45 and 6:00pm.

    According to the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, all government functionaries, activists, civil society organisations, democracy volunteers, civil servants, labour/trade unions, students, market women/men and other stakeholders are expected to participate in the events, designed to further draw awareness to the continued relevance of June 12.