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Tag: Osun State

  • Sacked LG bosses: Makinde to constitute OYSIEC in few days

    Barring any last-minute change, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state is concluding plans to set up members of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to conduct fresh elections into the 33 local government areas of the state.

    Additionally, the Governor said his administration will from the new academic session begin compulsory and free extra tutorials classes for students in terminal classes across all the private and public schools in the state.

    He said the mandatory classes is to help tackle mass failure in national and regional examinations, especially those conducted by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO), saying the move will also help to  boost and improve the standard of education in the state.

    This is as he also promised to meet with his Osun State counterparts, Governor Gboyega Oyetola on the possibility of severing the joint ownership of the institution to allow it to function better in the interest of the students.

    The Governor made the remarks on Thursday while appearing on a live television programme at the State-Owned Radio and Television programmes, Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) as parts of events to mark the first hundred days in office as the Eight Executive Governor of the state.

    Fielding questions on the Government plans for the local government in the face of the sack of the chairmen, Governor Makinde noted that his administration met a situation that left many litigations hanging on the legality of the last LG polls conducted by the immediate past administration but that many of the cases had been dispensed with.

    He said, his administration is working to ensure that it does not fall into the same trap of his predecessors who conducted election into all the 33 LGAs and additional 35LCDAs against the constitution of the country which only recognized the 33 council areas.

    Makinde said “We are working on the Council Chairmen. When we came in, we observed that there were lapses on the local governments and especially how the elections were conducted. But we thank God that some of the cases have been dispensed.

    “Within the next one week or thereabout, those that would conduct elections into the council areas will be inaugurated. Those we met there in office, we observed did wrong by conducting elections into more than the 33 LGAs known to the Federal Government and the constitution of Nigerian.

    “We know we have LCDAs but we can only appoint chairmen in there and not conduct elections because they have not been known to the constitutions.

    “We will appoint OYSIEC within the next ten days and we will conduct elections before the first quarter of next years. Give us time, local governments will not take long before elections are conducted into the council areas.”

    Read Also: Makinde to open six model schools

    Recall that Governor Makinde had on July 4, dissolved the board of OYSIEC, promising to offset the salaries and allowance of about two years left to the expiration of their tenure.

    While speaking on the plans for the education sector and especially the situation with the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, the Governor said his administration will do all the needful to ensure that the incessant strike actions that have rocked the institution owing to joint ownership will soon be addressed.

    “We have printed past questions which we are going to distribute free of charge to students in both the public and private schools across the state to tackle mass failure and poor performances of students in the state and we will start distributing to  students by next week.

    “We have also arranged for our teachers to give compulsory extra tutorials to students sitting for terminal examinations across all public and private schools because evaluations of general performances cut across both the public and private schools.

    “We will arrange a rotation of teachers across the various schools so as to add fresh impetus to teaching and learning and teaching and with all these; we can rest assured that the performances of our students will improve. I want to appeal to parents to please release their children to attend the extra classes because it is free.”

    On Lautech he said, “Only on Wednesday, the Governing Council of LAUTECH visited my office on a courtesy call and they told me that exams should start soon but that it might not because the staff might go on strike due to none payment of staff salaries.

    “When the file of LAUTECH was brought to when I assumed office, I signed all their request but the arrangement is that both owners rotate the payment of salaries in six months intervals. Oyo has done its bit but Osun has not.

    “I spoke with Governor Gboyega Oyetola when we had the security summit and I told him that I don’t mind a divorce between Oyo and Osun States as far as LAUTECH is concerned. Because we have students all over LAUTECH, which used to the best state university in this whole country.

    “If the marriage is not working, something has to be done about it especially if the marriage has produced several children who are looking forward to the parents to do what is right for their sake. I told the Governing Council that Oyo state will pay the salaries if Osun fails so that the staff won’t go on strike again.

    “Governor Gboyega Oyetola and I have agreed to meet to address the issues and I am optimistic that we will resolve the issues. What our people should expect is that the way they run Lautech will be different henceforth.

    “I didn’t want to say that I will take over Lautech from Osun state but I can say that even if it will be a divorce that would end all the crisis facing the school, I as the Governor of Oyo state will not shy away from taking the step.”

     

     

     

  • Oyetola and the policy of all-inclusive governance

    A somewhat melodramatic pose played out at a recent press briefing by the Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, held in Iragbiji, the Governor’s country home.

    A question, reminding the governor of his promise to run an all-inclusive, all participatory government and seeking to know if that would literally translate to possible appointment of members of the opposition parties into his cabinet had put to test the brilliance and intelligence of a man with few words but mighty action.

    The questioner had, perhaps, misconstrued the notion of all-inclusive leadership to mean a direct involvement of the opposition or he merely intended to generate such as controversial news feast for his medium.

    On the faces of some came an expression of disapproval and you could hear them susurrating like the wind fingering the pines. Then, there was sudden silence and, of course, suspense, as all waited with bated breath to hear from the horse’s mouth. It was the first time the governor would speak on what the composition of his cabinet would be.

    Before then, there had been concerns over a fake list of commissioner nominees circulating on social media. In his remarkably calm, unruffled nature, the governor had decided to keep mum over the fake list and keep people guessing.

    But this time, Mr. Governor must clear the air. His terse response would later douse the tension. No member of the opposition parties would make the list of his cabinet already being prepared through the instrumentality and thorough scrutiny of party nominations from across the federal constituencies.

    What is curious is that this iconic image of purposeful and responsible leadership that characterises Oyetola’s diplomatic approach to governance in Osun State would easily give him away as a true party patriot who has the excellent mastery of bringing standard and finesse to the age long global democratic practices of appointing people to positions of leadership on the basis of partisan loyalty.

    His approach is simple: the party should nominate the best from their respective constituencies, since the ruling party itself, with a wide spread across the state, parades a membership of brilliant progressives who share the same manifesto with ability and compulsion to drive the good programmes of government for the people and take the land of virtue to greater heights.

    It would have been a disservice to the good people of Osun State for Oyetola to allow an incursion of strange fellows from the opposition parties with ulterior vision and selfish agenda to loot and further put their future and destiny on a repeating loop.

    To draw a thin line between the patronage system and his all-inclusive policy, Oyetola said his government would remain open to good ideas from the opposition on how to better drive his government’s developmental programmes. That is just an aspect of his pledge to make its government an all participatory one.

    Oyetola’s policies and programmes are driven by citizens’ needs, which were harvested during the “thank you tour/town hall meetings, where the people presented their yearnings and aspirations to the government. This responsible and all-inclusive approach has been validated in a report of the United Kingdom Department for International Development’s (DFID) funded Citizens’ Needs Assessment exercise in Osun recently submitted to the governor.

    The report recommends that the government should integrate citizens’ demands into the state’s planning and policy development and implementation frameworks. The report also recommends the need for the government to establish and strengthen the platform for feedbacks from citizens on project implementation. The last recommendation in the report centres on the need for government to build trust with citizens through fiscal implementation and accountability.

    Also contained in the report presented to the governor was a plethora of demands by the citizens of the state, including farmers, youths, women and children from Oyetola administration. Part of the short and medium-term demands of the citizens, according to the report, included sensitisation of adult citizens to parental responsibilities, creation of an enabling environment for business and setting up of monitoring team on waste disposal.

    Other needs include a direct dealing by the government, provision of infrastructure, irrigation facilities for farmers in the rural areas, improved security, improved water and power supply, among others.

    While receiving the report, the governor thanked the foreign agencies that conducted the exercise for further assisting the government in reaching out to the residents and citizens to know their needs.

    He assured that the government would implement all the recommendations in the report which he described as constructive and being in tandem with the plan of his administration for the state and the people.

    Since he received the baton of leadership in November last year, Oyetola had hit the ground running; offering the best at an appreciable pace, in spite of paucity of funds. Cabinet or no cabinet, commissioners or no commissioners, his achievements in the last nine months have been a quantum leap.

    From stemming the tide of insecurity, revamping the health sector, boosting the educational profile of the state to continuous infrastructure development, the race to greater heights has continued unabated.

    As the Chief Security Officer of the State, the governor’s efforts at securing the lives and property of residents and people of Osun State have been very rewarding, so much so that the Osun State has continued to retain, sustain and maintain its age long status of being the most secure and peaceful state in the Southwest if not in the country.

    An elder statesman and former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) attested to this during his visit to the state early this month with his Nigeria Prays Movement team. Another testimony of this feat is the just-concluded Osun Osogbo Festival, which pooled over one million participants, including tourists from different parts of the world. They all came, had a great time and left in peace.

    The success story continues in the area of education. With the newly established Ileri Oluwa Fulfilling Promises Educational Programme, educational sector now awaits a new phase of transformation. The programme, according to Oyetola, comes with a consolidated approach whose key elements are rebuilding, remodeling and total rehabilitation of existing school buildings and construction of new blocks of classrooms in a redesigned and repackaged approach to school infrastructure renewal, intended to reach every nook and cranny of the state within available human and material resources.

    As part of its educational support programme, the government of Oyetola also founded Osun Edu Marshals with core responsibility of enforcing discipline and regular attendance by pupils. It is believed that this intervention will substantially improve the profile of education and nudge it to the frontline among educationally performing states in the nation.

    Already, the government has commenced action on implementation of this laudable programme with recent inauguration of school projects at both Telemu Comprehensive Middle High School and Morinu Community Elementary School in Ola-Oluwa local government and Iwo local government areas respectively.

    What is more interesting in this government’s developmental programmes is its aggressive drive toward improving the health sector through the deployment of technology-based approach, to ensure quality and affordable health care delivery to the people. This administration had, on assumption of office, commenced work on the revitalisation of nine general hospitals and 332 primary health centres – one in each ward – across the state. About 100 PHs have already been completed, waiting inauguration.

    The government’s revitalisation programme is holistic. It comes with the use of technology to boost health care delivery, provision of modern equipment, training and re-training of members of staff for efficient health care services. The essence of this aggressive focus on health, which experts say is wealth, appears to be borne out of a resolve to power all the sectors of the state to deliver prosperity and good life to the people.

    In order to give prompt vent to this resolve, Oyetola executed the flag-off of the facilities in Ejigbo (Osun West) and Ifetedo (Osun East) Senatorial Districts, barely three months into his administration. Work has reached advanced stages on the two projects. They will be delivered very soon.

    A few days ago, the governor moved to complete the one-per-senatorial district revitalisation of hospitals with an expansion project at the State Specialist Hospital, Asubiaro, Osogbo as he turned the sod of 120-bed ward and 30 doctors’ quarters within the hospital, being the flagship of the facilities under the Hospitals Management Board.

    It is instructive to note that this administration had earlier carried out major works on the theatre complex, blood bank building, medical laboratory, trauma centre, hope clinic and the external wall of the hospital.

    This year, the government of Oyetola has executed six major campaigns and capacity efforts to boost impact and efficiency. These are maternal, neonatal and child week; immunisation plus days; exclusive breast feeding campaign; polio eradication campaign; net hanging campaign and facility level training for the activation of basic health care provision fund in Osun.

    And to cap it up, Osun State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (O’SACA) will soon start a project that will involve the introduction of incentives for expectant mothers who attend ante-natal clinic and have HIV test results.

    The story of Governor Oyetola’s all-inclusive approach to governance cannot be narrated in a hurry. The impacts of his administration are being felt by the people, both in the rural and urban settlements. Everybody is being carried along. His commitment to the welfare of workers (both active and passive) remains unshakable. Workers have been getting their full salaries as and when due while huge amounts of money are being released from the available resources, time to time, to pay the pension benefits of retirees.

    More than 500 kilometers of mechanically maintained roads are being constructed in rural communities across the state, with 228 kilometers already inaugurated while the remaining 306 are at various completion stages.

    These roads would aid easy transportation of farm produce from rural to urban areas. Eleven fully equipped fire service stations have been reconstructed across the state, with 14 fire fighting vehicles. Two of the fire stations were recently inaugurated by the governor in Ede and Ejigbo. All these, to mention a few, are in addition to the ongoing rehabilitation and maintenance of all existing roads within the state and the state’s huge contribution to the ongoing collaborative efforts of the states in the Southwest in building a formidable security network to fight crimes in the region.

    What is most amazing is how Oyetola has managed the available meager resources to achieve so much within the short time frame. And for him, the work has just begun. It is no surprise that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu described him as an encyclopedia of finance.

    Personally, I see him as a gift to humanity and a deserving blessing for the people of Osun State. It may appear too early to begin showcasing his score card, but those who can fathom the depth of the numerous achievements of his administration in the last nine months would quite agree that Oyetola deserves applause.

    • Oyekunle is Senior Special Assistant (Media) to Governor Oyetola

  • Cash, intrigues delay cabinet formation in Ogun, Abia, Niger, Cross River

    INSUFFICIENT funds and political intrigues are delaying the constitution of the  Ogun, Abia, Niger and Cross River States cabinets almost 100 days since the inauguration of  their governors either for a first or second term, The Nation can reveal today.

    Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State who was sworn in on November 27, 2018 is also yet to constitute his cabinet.

    Investigation by The Nation correspondents in the affected states showed that pressure are still mounting on the governors to assemble their team.

    Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, according to sources, is weighing his options carefully in view of the combination of the highly influential political forces that helped him into office against all odds by his immediate predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

    He is said to be seeking an amicable formula to satisfy at least the majority of the interest groups that worked for his victory.

    Abiodun’s situation is not helped by alleged booby traps laid for him by the last administration in the state such as the many decisions that were taken a few days to the exit of the former governor.

    It was gathered that the  is bidding his time  and striving first to remove all the landmines and deactivate all booby traps before appointing his  Commissioners.

    Again, assembling a cabinet team early in his administration means huge running cost in order to maintain the commissioners at a time the Governor cried out that he inherited almost an empty treasury beside the debt burden left behind by Amosun.

    The Governor had to run to the bank – friends for a N7b loan facility to pay this first salary of workers on his assumption of office in May.

    Women in the state have been particularly visible in mounting pressure on the governor to give them a fair representation in his cabinet.

    Last month, a coalition of women organisations in the State seized the entrance gate to Governor Abiodun’s office, demanding 50% women representation in his yet – to –  be – constituted cabinet.

    The women drawn from Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Justice Development and Peace Centre(JDPC) among others, stormed the Governor’s Office  to  make their position known early enough before he summits his list of  nominees to the State House of Assembly (OGHA).

    The women led by Dr. Biola Akiode (WARDC) and  former Commissioner of Information in the state, Mrs Doyin Ogunbiyi, said: “We are here to make some request, we have sent formal letters across ahead of time, we have done what we call an open letter which we have circulated in the media. We know that we are in the season where governors from different state sending their nomination to the state Assemblies across the country.

    “As at today by record, there were just seven women among the 43 ministerial nominees the president sent to the National Assembly.

    “We don’t want to react rather to be proactive to make our request clear and by empirical evidence of this state that we know.

    “About eight years ago, there are about 42 per cent woman representation in the state governance and it was also sustained in 2015. We believe that this present government would consider that to have the people’s representation in this coming cabinet.”

    But Governor Abiodun said the reason he was yet to assemble his team has nothing to do with paucity or absence of funds.

    Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Kunle Somorin, the Governor said he is carefully scouting for his team and would announce their names upon conclusion of the search.

    He explained that it is not going to be “job for the boys” thing, saying “competence, character and commitment” would determine who makes the Cabinet team.

    “That’s not exactly so. The Governor is carefully selecting his team and will announce his cabinet once he concludes his search

    “His major criteria are competence, character and commitment.  The search is on. He has promised an inclusive, participatory and focused governance.

    “(Is it) job for the boys? No. You must merit the appointment and that’s why the cabinet may not be peopled by job seekers and political jobbers,” he stated.

    Anxiety in Abia over Ikpeazu’s cabinet

    Residents of the states are worried by the inability of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to constitute his cabinet fully since his inauguration for a second term in May.

    One of them Nduka Ogbonna said: “Since we are running a democratic government, everybody has something to contribute to making government work.

    “Commissioners should be there to do the needful to impact on the people or to deliver what they call the dividend of democracy. To me, not constituting his full executive is affecting the governor as well because he cannot be everywhere at the same time.

    “Those commissioners are supposed to be his eye in those different sectors. I know that we have permanent secretaries, but permanent secretaries are not politicians. They are like the engine of the state; what they do is administrative work. It is the politicians that know the policies of the state government. The permanent secretaries may not know because they don’t attend the Executive Council meetings. They don’t know the party policies as well. It is only when they know what the policy of the government is through the commissioners that they can now act and work towards helping the government achieve the same purpose.

    “So, the governor should do well to constitute his cabinet and quicken governance. He may be thinking that he has time, there is no time and if the governor is choosing his commissioners, he should choose those that understand where the government is headed and not those that will be recommended by his godfathers.”

    The chairman Aba Unit of Civil Liberties Organization, Dr. Charles Chinekezi said: “The governor doesn’t have any option but to constitute his cabinet. There is no reason why the commissioners and other top government functionaries shouldn’t have been completely constituted by now.

    “I know that there are adequate people and qualified people who can fill in the positions but you know that political infighting and intrigues will always come to play in such appointments. But whatever that is the case, he should know that he is the man that is in charge.

    “Not having his complete cabinet sends a wrong signal telling the public out there, that there is a problem within the circles of government.”

    However, in a response to why the state government is yet to constitute her cabinet, the State Commissioner of Information, Chief John Okiyi-Kalu stated that the names were already compiled.

    Okiyi-Kalu stated that the governor would have had his cabinet members’ complete if not for the ongoing recess by members of the State House of Assembly.

    According to him, the names would be formally presented to the legislature as soon as they are back from recess later this month.

    Sani Bello still searching in Niger

    Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State is still searching for members of his next cabinet according to sources in Minna.

    It was gathered that the governor is not particularly happy with the general performance of his  commissioners in the last dispensation and now wants   fresh  hands.

    The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mary Berje told The Nation that setting up a cabinet involves a process and the Governor would constitute his cabinet at the end of the process.

    The State House of Assembly is currently not in session as the complex is undergoing rehabilitation.

    Speaker Abdullahi Bawa Wuse hopes the rehabilitation is completed soon enough to enable the Legislators return to their legislative duties.

    Lack of funds, likely cause of cabinet formation delay in Cross River

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State dissolved his first cabinet last May.

    He also let go about 8, 000 appointees in his first term as governor.

    Ayade had gone ahead to drop a hint about those that would be appointed into his next administration, promising that some members of the dissolved cabinet would be reappointed into government.

    But since then, the new executive council is yet to be set up and there seems to be no indication that it would be in the near future.

    The governor had operated a food-on-the table policy in his first term, where he believed distributing government funds directly to as much people as possible would do much to circulate cash in the system and solve the pervading problem of poverty, which explained the thousands of appointments he made.

    With the cabinet dissolved and the governor yet to announce a new one knows at the moment exactly what plans the governor has in mind.

    Though he is yet to constitute his cabinet, the governor had so made a few appointments since he won his re-election. He retained his Chief of Staff, Martins Orim as well as appointed Mr. Godwin Nyiam as the acting Director General of the Department of Public Transportation (DOPT) and Engr Oxford Egbe as the acting Director General of the Cross River State Development Control Agency. He had also retained Mr Christian Ita as his Chief Press Secretary as well as appointed a few Special Assistants on Media.

    At the moment ex-cabinet members keep turning up for state functions despite the fact they presently hold no portfolios in government. This is because most of the invitations sent from Government House for state events are also extended ex-cabinet members, though it is not clear what this about.

    The governor at a public event had said those to be considered for appointments in his current  administration would be those who delivered in their polling units in the last general elections. The purpose again for this is not exactly clear as his party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) generally did well across the state in the elections.

    The most likely reason it seems the governor is yet to constitute his cabinet is lack of funds. It appears the directive by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about local government funds has put the state in a financial quagmire at the moment. For a government that regularly pays salaries promptly, workers for the first time started experiencing delays in payment of their salaries.

    An indication that the governor may not have any intention of constitution his cabinet is his setting up of various task forces, mostly most of which are made up of former cabinet members from his first term.

    The governor’s decision to set up task forces had drawn the ire of some people, who wonder how the governor would achieve his goals without a proper cabinet.

    For instance, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Mr Goddie Akpama, who described the development as degrading, said there can be no financial approvals of state resources; hence he questioned how the governor would implement the projects.

    “Why does the governor have to set up task forces instead of appointing commissioners? For us as a state this is very degrading. We have heard he intends to wait until around November. That means there shall be no financial approvals of state resources, as they cannot approve money without an exco. How would governor implement those gigantic protects? How would the state function? Is he taking us forward or back. To me he is not taking us anywhere,” Akpama, a former governorship candidate, said.

    Akpama also lambasted the governor’s former commissioners for accepting to work as members of the various task forces, describing them as desperate and cheap.

    Osun may soon inaugurate cabinet

    Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State may soon constitute his cabinet. Since the governor and his deputy, Mr. Benedict Gboyega Alabi, were sworn in last November 27, the people of the state have been looking forward for formation of the government cabinet and there had been no end to the waiting game.

    It was gathered that the delay in the formation of the cabinet to drive the policies and programmes of his administration could be linked to the governor’s adoption of a new process of nomination which includes direct involvement of   politicians, particularly at the grassroots.

    However, an informed source said the governor being a technocrat may assemble ae mixture of experts and politicians.

    The Supervisor for Information, Mr. Lani Baderinwa, said the governor lately had been preoccupied by providing a strong foundation for his administration and will soon constitute a formidable team to work with him to deliver his campaign promises to the people of the state.

    He said what was paramount to the governor is  good government, adding that his administration as the continuation of the immediate past administration of the Rauf Aregbesola is well positioned to meet the yearnings of the people.

    He said Governor Oyetola had shown concern for the state House of Assembly and the National Assembly elections, which he said will largely determine the performance of his administration.

    He said: “In the past few months, the governor concentrated more on the state House of Assembly and the National Assembly elections because of the importance and constitutional roles of their members to the executive arm of government. And to the glory of God, the ruling party in the state, the All Progressives Congress, has the majority figure of 23 out of the 26-member assembly.

    “Also, in the last few months, Governor Oyetola has been trying to integrate the state into the federal government programmes. For instance, his frequent visits to Abuja to draw the attention of the Federal Government to Osun, is already yielding good results in solid minerals. And now that he has achieved giving his administration a strong footing to make him forge ahead and deliver on his campaign promise the next in line is the formation of the cabinet to work with him to deliver the dividend of democracy to the people of the state.”

    Advising the people to exercise patience with the governor, Baderinwa assured that they will not be disappointed with the caliber of people to be in the cabinet because “Oyetola as an experienced public officer and a distinguished technocrat is well positioned to lead the state.”

    There is no mistaking about it what is imminent in the state is the formation of the cabinet. But what is not clear, however, is if the ruling All Progressive Congress in the state will want to share power with other political parties as members of some of these parties are angling for inclusion.

     

     

     

  • Cash, intrigues delay cabinet formation in Ogun, Abia, Niger, Cross River

    INSUFFICIENT funds and political intrigues are delaying the constitution of the  Ogun, Abia, Niger and Cross River States cabinets almost 100 days since the inauguration of  their governors either for a first or second term, The Nation can reveal today.

    Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State who was sworn in on November 27, 2018 is also yet to constitute his cabinet.

    Investigation by The Nation correspondents in the affected states showed that pressure are still mounting on the governors to assemble their team.

    Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, according to sources, is weighing his options carefully in view of the combination of the highly influential political forces that helped him into office against all odds by his immediate predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

    He is said to be seeking an amicable formula to satisfy at least the majority of the interest groups that worked for his victory.

    Abiodun’s situation is not helped by alleged booby traps laid for him by the last administration in the state such as the many decisions that were taken a few days to the exit of the former governor.

    It was gathered that the  is bidding his time  and striving first to remove all the landmines and deactivate all booby traps before appointing his  Commissioners.

    Again, assembling a cabinet team early in his administration means huge running cost in order to maintain the commissioners at a time the Governor cried out that he inherited almost an empty treasury beside the debt burden left behind by Amosun.

    The Governor had to run to the bank – friends for a N7b loan facility to pay this first salary of workers on his assumption of office in May.

    Women in the state have been particularly visible in mounting pressure on the governor to give them a fair representation in his cabinet.

    Last month, a coalition of women organisations in the State seized the entrance gate to Governor Abiodun’s office, demanding 50% women representation in his yet – to –  be – constituted cabinet.

    The women drawn from Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Justice Development and Peace Centre(JDPC) among others, stormed the Governor’s Office  to  make their position known early enough before he summits his list of  nominees to the State House of Assembly (OGHA).

    The women led by Dr. Biola Akiode (WARDC) and  former Commissioner of Information in the state, Mrs Doyin Ogunbiyi, said: “We are here to make some request, we have sent formal letters across ahead of time, we have done what we call an open letter which we have circulated in the media. We know that we are in the season where governors from different state sending their nomination to the state Assemblies across the country.

    “As at today by record, there were just seven women among the 43 ministerial nominees the president sent to the National Assembly.

    “We don’t want to react rather to be proactive to make our request clear and by empirical evidence of this state that we know.

    “About eight years ago, there are about 42 per cent woman representation in the state governance and it was also sustained in 2015. We believe that this present government would consider that to have the people’s representation in this coming cabinet.”

    But Governor Abiodun said the reason he was yet to assemble his team has nothing to do with paucity or absence of funds.

    Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Kunle Somorin, the Governor said he is carefully scouting for his team and would announce their names upon conclusion of the search.

    He explained that it is not going to be “job for the boys” thing, saying “competence, character and commitment” would determine who makes the Cabinet team.

    “That’s not exactly so. The Governor is carefully selecting his team and will announce his cabinet once he concludes his search

    “His major criteria are competence, character and commitment.  The search is on. He has promised an inclusive, participatory and focused governance.

    “(Is it) job for the boys? No. You must merit the appointment and that’s why the cabinet may not be peopled by job seekers and political jobbers,” he stated.

    Anxiety in Abia over Ikpeazu’s cabinet

    Residents of the states are worried by the inability of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to constitute his cabinet fully since his inauguration for a second term in May.

    One of them Nduka Ogbonna said: “Since we are running a democratic government, everybody has something to contribute to making government work.

    “Commissioners should be there to do the needful to impact on the people or to deliver what they call the dividend of democracy. To me, not constituting his full executive is affecting the governor as well because he cannot be everywhere at the same time.

    “Those commissioners are supposed to be his eye in those different sectors. I know that we have permanent secretaries, but permanent secretaries are not politicians. They are like the engine of the state; what they do is administrative work. It is the politicians that know the policies of the state government. The permanent secretaries may not know because they don’t attend the Executive Council meetings. They don’t know the party policies as well. It is only when they know what the policy of the government is through the commissioners that they can now act and work towards helping the government achieve the same purpose.

    “So, the governor should do well to constitute his cabinet and quicken governance. He may be thinking that he has time, there is no time and if the governor is choosing his commissioners, he should choose those that understand where the government is headed and not those that will be recommended by his godfathers.”

    The chairman Aba Unit of Civil Liberties Organization, Dr. Charles Chinekezi said: “The governor doesn’t have any option but to constitute his cabinet. There is no reason why the commissioners and other top government functionaries shouldn’t have been completely constituted by now.

    “I know that there are adequate people and qualified people who can fill in the positions but you know that political infighting and intrigues will always come to play in such appointments. But whatever that is the case, he should know that he is the man that is in charge.

    “Not having his complete cabinet sends a wrong signal telling the public out there, that there is a problem within the circles of government.”

    However, in a response to why the state government is yet to constitute her cabinet, the State Commissioner of Information, Chief John Okiyi-Kalu stated that the names were already compiled.

    Okiyi-Kalu stated that the governor would have had his cabinet members’ complete if not for the ongoing recess by members of the State House of Assembly.

    According to him, the names would be formally presented to the legislature as soon as they are back from recess later this month.

    Sani Bello still searching in Niger

    Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State is still searching for members of his next cabinet according to sources in Minna.

    It was gathered that the governor is not particularly happy with the general performance of his  commissioners in the last dispensation and now wants   fresh  hands.

    The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mary Berje told The Nation that setting up a cabinet involves a process and the Governor would constitute his cabinet at the end of the process.

    The State House of Assembly is currently not in session as the complex is undergoing rehabilitation.

    Speaker Abdullahi Bawa Wuse hopes the rehabilitation is completed soon enough to enable the Legislators return to their legislative duties.

    Lack of funds, likely cause of cabinet formation delay in Cross River

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State dissolved his first cabinet last May.

    He also let go about 8, 000 appointees in his first term as governor.

    Ayade had gone ahead to drop a hint about those that would be appointed into his next administration, promising that some members of the dissolved cabinet would be reappointed into government.

    But since then, the new executive council is yet to be set up and there seems to be no indication that it would be in the near future.

    The governor had operated a food-on-the table policy in his first term, where he believed distributing government funds directly to as much people as possible would do much to circulate cash in the system and solve the pervading problem of poverty, which explained the thousands of appointments he made.

    With the cabinet dissolved and the governor yet to announce a new one knows at the moment exactly what plans the governor has in mind.

    Though he is yet to constitute his cabinet, the governor had so made a few appointments since he won his re-election. He retained his Chief of Staff, Martins Orim as well as appointed Mr. Godwin Nyiam as the acting Director General of the Department of Public Transportation (DOPT) and Engr Oxford Egbe as the acting Director General of the Cross River State Development Control Agency. He had also retained Mr Christian Ita as his Chief Press Secretary as well as appointed a few Special Assistants on Media.

    At the moment ex-cabinet members keep turning up for state functions despite the fact they presently hold no portfolios in government. This is because most of the invitations sent from Government House for state events are also extended ex-cabinet members, though it is not clear what this about.

    The governor at a public event had said those to be considered for appointments in his current  administration would be those who delivered in their polling units in the last general elections. The purpose again for this is not exactly clear as his party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) generally did well across the state in the elections.

    The most likely reason it seems the governor is yet to constitute his cabinet is lack of funds. It appears the directive by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about local government funds has put the state in a financial quagmire at the moment. For a government that regularly pays salaries promptly, workers for the first time started experiencing delays in payment of their salaries.

    An indication that the governor may not have any intention of constitution his cabinet is his setting up of various task forces, mostly most of which are made up of former cabinet members from his first term.

    The governor’s decision to set up task forces had drawn the ire of some people, who wonder how the governor would achieve his goals without a proper cabinet.

    For instance, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Mr Goddie Akpama, who described the development as degrading, said there can be no financial approvals of state resources; hence he questioned how the governor would implement the projects.

    “Why does the governor have to set up task forces instead of appointing commissioners? For us as a state this is very degrading. We have heard he intends to wait until around November. That means there shall be no financial approvals of state resources, as they cannot approve money without an exco. How would governor implement those gigantic protects? How would the state function? Is he taking us forward or back. To me he is not taking us anywhere,” Akpama, a former governorship candidate, said.

    Akpama also lambasted the governor’s former commissioners for accepting to work as members of the various task forces, describing them as desperate and cheap.

    Osun may soon inaugurate cabinet

    Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State may soon constitute his cabinet. Since the governor and his deputy, Mr. Benedict Gboyega Alabi, were sworn in last November 27, the people of the state have been looking forward for formation of the government cabinet and there had been no end to the waiting game.

    It was gathered that the delay in the formation of the cabinet to drive the policies and programmes of his administration could be linked to the governor’s adoption of a new process of nomination which includes direct involvement of   politicians, particularly at the grassroots.

    However, an informed source said the governor being a technocrat may assemble ae mixture of experts and politicians.

    The Supervisor for Information, Mr. Lani Baderinwa, said the governor lately had been preoccupied by providing a strong foundation for his administration and will soon constitute a formidable team to work with him to deliver his campaign promises to the people of the state.

    He said what was paramount to the governor is  good government, adding that his administration as the continuation of the immediate past administration of the Rauf Aregbesola is well positioned to meet the yearnings of the people.

    He said Governor Oyetola had shown concern for the state House of Assembly and the National Assembly elections, which he said will largely determine the performance of his administration.

    He said: “In the past few months, the governor concentrated more on the state House of Assembly and the National Assembly elections because of the importance and constitutional roles of their members to the executive arm of government. And to the glory of God, the ruling party in the state, the All Progressives Congress, has the majority figure of 23 out of the 26-member assembly.

    “Also, in the last few months, Governor Oyetola has been trying to integrate the state into the federal government programmes. For instance, his frequent visits to Abuja to draw the attention of the Federal Government to Osun, is already yielding good results in solid minerals. And now that he has achieved giving his administration a strong footing to make him forge ahead and deliver on his campaign promise the next in line is the formation of the cabinet to work with him to deliver the dividend of democracy to the people of the state.”

    Advising the people to exercise patience with the governor, Baderinwa assured that they will not be disappointed with the caliber of people to be in the cabinet because “Oyetola as an experienced public officer and a distinguished technocrat is well positioned to lead the state.”

    There is no mistaking about it what is imminent in the state is the formation of the cabinet. But what is not clear, however, is if the ruling All Progressive Congress in the state will want to share power with other political parties as members of some of these parties are angling for inclusion.

     

     

     

     

  • My 32 days in Ife Prisons

    He held sway as the deputy speaker of the Osun State Assembly for eight years and took an active part in the struggle to reclaim the mandate of former Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola during the latter’s first term in office, ruffling the feathers of the powers that be and paying heavily for it by way of persecution that landed him in prison. Akintunde Adegboye, a lawyer, engineer and estate consultant spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI about his prison experience, life as a deputy speaker, the misconceptions a lot of people have about political office holders, especially lawmakers, among other issues. 

    You participated in the struggle that brought Aregbesola to power. How was the experience?

    We started the struggle in 2004 when we formed the Oranmiyan Group. I was at the forefront with the likes of Chief LayiOyeduntan. We were having meetings in his house at the Oroki Estate. Aregbe (Aregbesola) later came to join us with their own group and we came together.  We were in the Alliance for Democracy (AD) then and he was a member of the AD in Lagos. That was how we started until the election in 2007.

    He was our governorship candidate while I was the candidate for the House of Assembly to represent Osogbo. Before then, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) had metamorphosed into Action Congress (AC) and then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Election came and we won. We had 11 members in the House.

    On the day of the election, you know that PDP was in power with Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the governor, so it was a matter of do or die. The PDP was running down the members of CAN. Eventually, we won the election. We believed that we won all the seats, that was the reason we went to the court. Aregbesola was not declared the governor. We had 11 members out of the 26 in the House, meaning that 15 were for the PDP. But after the election, some of us were declared wanted for disrupting the peace of the land because our members protested.

    In my own case, I had to run out of town. I was in exile for 52 days because I was declared wanted ‘dead or alive’. But we needed to come back to collect our certificates of return and get sworn-in as members of the House. We couldn’t do that until the last day, which was June 2nd, 2007.

    At the point of entering for the inauguration, some of us were arrested; I think three out of the four that were declared wanted. We were arrested and taken to police custody. The following day, we were arraigned and were remanded in Ife Prisons. I was in the prison for 32 days before we regained our freedom and went back for our inauguration. That was how we started going to court. We were discharged and acquitted after four years; that was in 2011.

    You know that Aregbesola regained his mandate on 26 November 2010, after three and a half years, and in my own case, it was after two years. There was a party going for nomination but the logo was not on the ballot paper—PPA, which was being used by PDP to see that I was not the accredited candidate after polling 27,000 against the 8,000 polled by the PDP.

    So the case was at the tribunal here and we won. But when we got to the Appeal Court, the court said any election in which the logo of a party was not on the ballot paper, the Electoral Act 2006 stipulates that the election remains void and the election should be rerun. My party said no, we were not going for a rerun. That was on November 2nd, 2009. We didn’t go for the rerun and the PDP candidate came for the election and they completed that tenure. So by 2011, it was an automatic ticket for me because of the pains I went through. I was the candidate for the 2011 election, which I won with 29,000 to 4,000 against PDP. That was how I came back in 2011.

     

    Talking about your 32 days in Ife Prisons, how was the experience, considering the fact that you were not a common criminal?

    There are two different cases for whosoever is in prison. It is either you are awaiting trial (we call them ATM) or you have been sentenced. In our own case, we thought it was going to be for a few days. The days we were arraigned, the lawyers applied for bail. Initially, it was at the magistrate, but the Magistrate said he had no power to handle the case and that we should be remanded. He said he could not admit bail verbally but written bail application.

    The time we knew this could not be treated was when we eventually went to the high court. The judge now said: ‘We are sorry, we just have to look at the written bail whether it matches what can be used to give us the bail. Since our own was not just ordinary, it was political, that was the reason we went for so long. It was an experience that was not too palatable. We still have pains till today. I had never been to the police cell not to talk of prison. What they called your bed was nothing to write home about, and prisons services were not good. After how many years I have left there, I still go to the prisons to see prisoners and talk to them.  It was not a good experience. The 32 days were like one year.

    Considering that you had a taste of what prisoners go through, did you eventually do something about the prison when you became a member of the House of Assembly?

    We have been saying that it is better for whosoever is going to lead to visit places like the prisons and health centres to see how they fare. I told you that I have been going there to render necessary assistance not only to the prisoners but at times the people working in the prisons. At times, you will see some inmates who are supposed to go to court not going because there is nobody to fuel their vehicles. The prison service itself is worrisome. Some people will just collect the money but they won’t do the necessary things. Some inmates won’t have legal assistance; they won’t have anybody to visit them.

    I had an experience of somebody who was charged for armed robbery, even the case file was missing and he was there for many years.  The government would not know that somebody is in their custody. Family would come, but it would get to a stage they won’t be able to come again.  Somebody will be there for 10 years for an offence whose sentence will be just for six months or one year; nobody to ask of him, nobody to fight for him.  It is an experience that is not palatable.

    With the state of political development in Nigeria, do you see politicians still being given the treatment you got when you were in opposition?

    I can say we can still have such, but not in this part of the world. When Aregbesola came into power, he said whoever among his followers would want to hound the opposition would be disowned. There was a case of some people in Ijeshaland and even here (Osogbo) and Ejigbo where our party members were happy that we had won the election and would want to do to the opposition like they did to us. He said the police should arrest those people. In Ilesha, some PDP stalwarts arrested a lady and she was raped. They even inserted a stick in her private part. But when we came to power, Aregbe said we should leave them to God. That is how a true democrat should behave.

    A true democrat believes that today I may be in power, tomorrow I could be in opposition. If you hound opposition today, that means tomorrow you would be hounded and the cycle will continue.  You see, we have had peace since. That is why you see PDP coming into APC and APC going into PDP, because they still believe they are together.

    Talking about people changing parties, nobody would ever believe that Aregbesola and Oyinlola would sit down together. What lesson has that taught you as a politician?

    In my own case, if I’m tired of the APC today, and APC is not moving into another party or APC is not transforming into another party, I won’t join another party. There is nothing that can happen that would make me say I want to defect to another party. I’ve never done that in my political history. I’ve been in politics for almost 30 years, and in all my political life, it has been just in one way. If I’m not satisfied with the APC, I will sit down, because I see politics as pastime.

    Here in this part of the world, nobody is teaching politics. If they say what is your profession, nobody will say it is politics. I have my profession; I’m a lawyer, an engineer by profession and politics by calling or pastime.

    What you’re saying in essence is that legislating should be made part-time…

    There was a time we went to the US, particularly the state assembly in Atlanta, Georgia, and this question came up. It was part-time. Their own part-time is not like the part-time we are thinking about here. You can’t do the two together here, but you can do it there. In the US, you can go for your teaching job and later come to the House. But here, it is almost 24hours per day. Unless we sit down very well and couch it, work it out on how it can be done, it will be difficult.

    It is not possible to have part-time state or national assembly. People will be coming to you that they are your constituents; they are the one sending you to the House, unless you want to tell them not to come to your house. They won’t come to the gallery at the assembly to see how you are performing. What they come for is money. At least you must know your representative, you must see how they perform. That is the essence why we have the gallery. Come to the gallery to watch, but they won’t come. What they will come for is for you to give them money. Somebody cannot go to the farm and come back to work as a part-time lawmaker for now.

    Even the economy is so bad that if you want to do part-time, there is no way you will not steal, that you will not be corrupted. For now, I can’t see it working, but it would have been better.The young ones now are becoming members of the assembly. I hear that a 31- year-old is now a Speaker in a state assembly. Will you say that person should have part-time plan for the house of assembly? What has been the experience? Somebody who has not been a councilor, who has not been a chairman of a particular area, it can’t work. But I believe it would have been the best for us. The economy too is not encouraging.

    I read in a report that when you were a lawmaker, at a point, you could not fuel your generator. What could have gone wrong?

    That was then. Some of us would want to say it as we see it.

    But many believe that politicians, especially lawmakers have so much money?

    When I was saying it, I meant it and I still stand by it. It was at the birthday special programme for Mr. Special then. We couldn’t fuel our generator and the government could not pay for electricity. There were two things but it was only one that was reported. Why did we have generator in the first instance? It was because there was no light from the national grid. We needed to do our legislative duties of going to the house at least three or four days in a week and getting there, there was no light, there was no fuel and there was no money. The executive would give certain amount of money per month for running of the office. Normally, we have three tiers of government: the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. Of these, nobody would say one is superior, but we know it should be the legislative first before the executive. But since they have the money, they have the custody of the entire money, we just have to go and beg since they have the money.

    However, when people look for power and such power does not include money, they are powerless, and that is why legislature would go and beg the executive. We’re entitled to certain amount of money per month to run the government. It is supposed to be at the first week because we want to run that month. At times they would owe two, three months and even salaries. When I was there, our salaries would be the ones to be paid after paying all the agencies. And the running grant would not be paid as and when due. So we begged them. There was a time we needed to travel officially out of town. We needed certain amount of money and we had to go to Wema Bank. The Wema person said ‘Oga, it is 15 per cent o’. That was the interest. But when they are paying you, would they pay with interest? This was the experience. That was why I said some people are looking at us and they are seeing us as bad people.

    At least if the hospital was not giving all free because there was no money, the other facilities that you constituents and electorate must have enjoyed, it is you that they know. They will come to you. And we have been telling them, we’re sorry o, it is only that some of you won’t move nearer to us, you would have known these problems. We can’t at times fuel our generator.

    What are the things you are missing right now as a private person?

    When you’ve been with your people for a very long time, you still want to at least serve them once you have signed that you want to serve your people. But now, you have moved from being a public person to private person, some people, even if they want to come, they will say I’m sorry I have other things to attend to or may feel this one has left. That is the only thing I see there, but I’m enjoying myself.

    A prominent politician once said deputies are spare tyres. You were a deputy speaker. How true is this?

    Whoever made that statement is right. If somebody is a deputy, he can only perform ultimately, optimally if the Number One is not around. So it shows they are spare tyres. But in some cases, you have some Number One that would delegate, but not total. He will delegate the power of leadership of such organization or institution to his deputy, but not always. We have seen experiences where Number One will exchange words with his deputy. Some will not delegate authority because they don’t want their deputies to know anything about the running of that place.

    But in my own case, at least I can say I didn’t experience such. But it was not total. Because if it were to be total, that means he was not capable. If somebody is capable, he would leave some duties to the deputy. It can’t be total. But I enjoyed working with my Number One because he at least gave me the opportunity to showcase my experience.

    If you were given an opportunity to be made a speaker or deputy speaker again, what would you do differently?

    You know in this life, the more you grow, the more you learn. That is the reason for somebody who has the experience to still move forward so that you would use past experience. You will figure out where you tried, where you failed and see the necessary innovations to put into it. It is only when I’m there that I know we have done this in this way, why can’t we put more efforts into this? But I believe that I will still do more in terms of legislation. This is the number one duty of a legislator, and moving closer to the executive without jeopardizing the power of the legislature. Because at times, your friendship with the executive will cause you many things since you’re expected to introduce checks and balances.

    Challenges like insecurity and religion were alien to the South West but now they are issues. What is the way out?

    Do we say alien?

    Aregbe was the governor, religion nearly became an issue. On insecurity, Fulani were never a threat in the South West, but now things have changed. That is what I am saying.

    Let us detach the two. One is religion. In every house in the South West, you see Christians, you see Muslims living together. Even some are living together as husband and wife. Almost every family has either religion. In Aregbesola’s case, it was only the system that escalated religious imbalances. Here you would see pastors inviting an Alhaji for programmes. I’ve been to churches. Last Sunday, I was in Ilesha in a church, Cherubim and Seraphim. But in a situation that some people want to be mischievous, they now want to pitch religion with politics. The two cannot go together.

    During Oyinlola’s regime, the governor was a Christian, the deputy was a Christian, the SSG was a Christian. Even during Aregbesola’s regime, among the executive members, Christians were in the majority. In the House, the Christians had the majority. Yet they claimed Aregbe wanted to Islamize the state.

    On insecurity, first it is because the economy is bad. We have the herdsmen. But I read in a paper that not the herdsmen but the rustlers that are causing insecurity. You can see a case where somebody was given a cow and he is bringing the cow down South. On the way, the rustlers stole all the cows. Instead of going back to tell the owners of the cow that the cows had been stolen, he would come down to find the means of getting arms and ammunition, because he wants to replace the lost cows. I think that is the reason we have kidnapping. But here, we have been living with the Fulani since I was a toddler. We have some of them who even their parents were born here. Such people, can we call them the Fulani herdsmen that are killing our people?  Though we have cases of Fulanis and farmers clashing in Osun here, we have a team that looks into it.

    While you were in the prison was there a time you were frustrated being a politician?

    In the prison, they knew I was not what I was arrested for. When you see a criminal, you know this is a criminal. They knew I was put there unjustly. I won an election in April 2007 by a wide margin. Could I have gone out the following day to start burning the houses of the opponents? My father’s house was burnt on the 16th of April 2007 and my father was 90-years old then and he was to be burnt in that house, because they went around 1 am, thinking that my father was in the house. I didn’t even have that in mind, but somebody just called me and said can’t we go and take Baba out of that house? I said go. But I knew of my late father; he would say whatever would kill him would kill him inside his father’s house! It was the family house. The house is built inside our family compound.

    When they got there, they said Honourable said we should bring you. He said for what? They said they didn’t know. He said okay. He went inside and dressed. They didn’t  even go with a car, they went with motorcycle and they brought him to our house. That was between 7pm and 8pm. By 1 am, the house got burnt.

    The following day, somebody came and said his father’s house was burnt the previous day. He came to look for the burnt honourable elect’s father. How frustrating that was. Before then, we had been declared wanted.

    Inside the prison, those people saw us as people being victimized. They said I should not worry, that there was a reason God kept me there. That was the way we looked at it. But the experience was bitter. How could I have won an election and be kept in a prison? We thought that the court would just sit and give us bail, but it was not so. It was an experience we can never forget. In spite of that, because we wanted to serve our people, we knew we could experience such. It is easy now. Somebody wins an election and he is sworn-in. It was like we made way for the people coming in now.

    As for my children joining politics, for me whatever the Lord has ordained, whether you like it or not, it must come to pass. But my children are young because it was late before I started having children. They are still toddlers. If they grow old and they want to go into politics, I won’t stop them. But I would guide them on the type of politics they must play. I believe that it is only God that can give and it is only God that can take. Some don’t believe in that. I don’t because of political position go to pastors or Alfas. If you pray for me, I allow you to pray for me. But to just go to somewhere because there is a powerful man of God there, no, no. It is only God that is powerful. I believe in my God.

    So if my children they want to go into politics, the only thing I’ll do is to advise them on the type of politics to practice. Some join politics for position. It is never done. You will discover that you can’t plant in a farm today and start harvesting. Some people they jump from one party to the other because they were not given tickets. I wanted to go to the House of Representatives in 2018 but I was not given the ticket. I was made the chairman of the campaign in our federal constituency. I was the one taking candidates to the nook and crannies of my federal constituency, the senator, the reps and the members of the State House of Assembly.

  • Vigilante chief urges Aregbesola to prioritise internal security

    THE Head of Harmonised Vigilante Group in the Southwest, Alhaji Rilwan Yasalam Hussein, has urged the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to prioritise the re-arrangement of the nation’s internal security architecture.

    In a statement he personally signed, Hussein stressed that Nigeria’s internal security arrangement needs to be overhauled. The vigilante leader said an heterogeneous society like Nigeria cannot effectively police itself without the active participation of all members of the society.

    Hussein, who advised the minister to set up a virile committee that will monitor the nation’s porous borders and find a lasting solution to it, said the menace had contributed to internal security challenges.

    He said: “I am convinced that the new Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, will take the issue of community policing serious and give it necessary attention and consideration, going by his antecedents in Osun State in the area of security.

    Read Also: Aregbesola vows to set new internal security agenda

    “By the mandate of his office, he must strive to come up with a robust arrangement for internal security that will make a difference and reflect community participation.

    “Paramilitary organisations, like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), among others, are strong agencies that could be used to effect formidable internal security arrangement in collaboration with communities.

    “The minister made this work in Osun State while he held sway as governor for eight years. He came up with virile security measures that gave responsibilities to all strata of the society to be vigilant and involve in policing their communities in collaboration with security agencies.

    “My group played a significant role in this arrangement, and it turned out to be a huge success as the state under Aregbesola was peaceful all through.

    “I will want him to work closely with the Ministry of Police Affairs and other security agencies to thoroughly fine-tune modalities for the implementation of community policing.”

     

  • ‘Presentation of certificate to INEC not mandatory’

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have faulted a core argument by Atiku Abubakar and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in their petition that the President was not qualified to contest the last presidential election.

    The petitioners allegedly that President Buhari allegedly failed to submit his secondary school certificate to the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC).

    The President and the APC argued that the Constitution does not mandate any candidate seeking to contest an election for the office of the President to attach his school certificate among documents to be attached to the Form CF001 to be submitted to INEC.

    “Section 131(d) of the Constitution provides that a person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if ‘he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent’.

    “From this clear constitutional provision, the question of tendering a certificate, or the mountain, which the petitioners have unfortunately made out of the molehill of a particular certificate, does not arise.

    “All that the Constitution requires and demands is education up to school certificate level or its equivalent. While this section of the Constitution is very clear and unambiguous, giving no room for no conjecture, the Constitution goes further to define what ‘School Certificate or its equivalent’ means under Section 318,” they said.

    This formed part of the arguments by President Buhari and APC in their final written addresses filed before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in reaction to similar final addresses filed by Atiku and the PDP.

    The President and his party, while arguing that the petitioners failed to lead evidence in support of their claim that President Buhari lacked the academic qualification to stand for election, noted that they failed to call witnesses to ground the claim, except only one, who even admitted that President Buhari was qualified.

    “The only witness who claimed to have had any intimacy with the respondent amongst the petitioners’ witnesses is PW1 – Buba Galadima – and his evidence, in his examination-in-chief and cross-examination, amounts to evidence against interest in several respects, including the fact that he was the Deputy Director General, Director of Operations and National Campaign Secretary of the respondent, in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

    “His only alibi was that he never saw the respondent’s first School Leaving Certificate. Assuming there was even no cross-examination of this suspect witness, his evidence, rather man assisting the petitioners, supports the respondent.

    “Under cross-examination, he (Galadima) told the court that he believed that the respondent was qualified to vie and contest for the office of President at the four times he supported him in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015; that respondent was military Head of State between 1983 and 1985; that respondent used to address the nation in English language.

    “What else does one need to establish the fact that the second respondent (Buhari) was/is eminently qualified to contest the election than the evidence of PW1, a former close aide of the respondent, who has confessed falling out with him? It is an admission against interest, which is the most potent weapon a party can use against his adversary in litigation,” the respondents said.

    Read Also: INEC withdraws C’River REC’s powers

    They cited cases, including the recent decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, in the appeal brought against the decision of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by the candidate of the PDP in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, who was disqualified on ground of not possessing a secondary school certificate.

    “It is apt to draw the court’s attention to the fundamental fact that the decision in the Adeleke v. Raheem (supra), was arrived at while this Honourable Court was sitting on an appeal on a pre-election matter, which challenged the educational qualification of Adeleke, as well as the presentation of his Form CF001 to INEC, pursuant to the provision of Section 31(4) and (5) of the Electoral Act, which makes the subject a pre-election matter and not a post-election matter, as the petitioners have done in this case, for reasons best known to them.

    “May we further draw the attention of the court to the fact that in the Adeleke case, supra, the main reliefs sought against him relate to his disqualification under and by virtue of Section 177(d) of the Constitution on the grounds that he gave false information in his Form CF001 submitted to the INEC, claiming to have met the constitutional requirements, whereas, in the detailed result submitted by him, he only sat for English Language, where he failed woefully, scoring F9, and failed to turn up for any of the other subjects.

    “The West African Examination Council (WAEC) certified that he registered for the examination, sat for only one subject and failed to attend the other subjects. Adeleke did not have any other qualifying certificate or public service experience, be it in the Armed Forces, teaching service, or anywhere at all.

    “Unlike the respondent, who has shown his certificates qua result at the Secondary School level, apart from being commissioned into the Nigerian Army as 2nd Lieutenant in 1963, he attended the Nigerian Military Training College (now the Nigerian Defence Academy) for 12 months; the Officer ‘Cadet Training Course at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England; the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, India; the War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States of America, rising through the ranks to attain the rank of Major General; former Military Head of State, a man, who can communicate and who has been communicating effectively in English language.

    “With much respect, it is preposterous, and very unfortunate that the petitioners would make the educational qualification of the respondent an issue in this petition. On the flip side, it is submitted that this shows that the petitioners have nothing to urge on the court, thus, holding to any available straw,” the President and APC said.

     

  • I’ll ensure quality, affordable education in Osun – Oyetola

    Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State on Thursday said his administration would continue to ensure that every child in the state had access to good, quality, qualitative and affordable education.

    Oyetola spoke while inaugurating Telemu Comprehensive Middle High School and Morinu Community Elementary School in Ola-Oluwa and Iwo Local Government Areas of the state respectively.

    The governor, who noted that children were the hope for a better future, said it was an offence for parents not to allow their children to go to school.

    He said his administration was leading other stakeholders to achieve its goal of using education as a tool for delivering prosperity and development to the people.

    Oyetola said his administration’s resolve to invest in the education sector was aimed at achieving the state’s objectives of delivering a better life for the people and driving development in the state.

    The governor appealed to parents to ensure that their children and wards were registered in schools and were well-behaved.

    He also said there must be a synergy between the government, parents and teachers for the state to achieve its desired goals of making education the bedrock of development.

    “Education is the plank upon which the success and future of our state rests, let us give it our optimum so that Osun can take its place in the comity of states and contribute its quota to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

    “The projects are an investment in the lives of our children who are our leaders of tomorrow.

    Read Also: Education is critical component of my agenda, says Oyetola

    “It is also a fulfilment of our agenda to provide quality, affordable and equitable education to our people’” Oyetola said.

    In his remarks, Dr Olowogboyega Oyebade, the Head of Service and Chairman, State Education Steering Committee, said the projects were indication that the current administration would not abandon the good works of the previous administration.

    Also Speaking,  the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi and Olowu of Telemu, Oba Madojutola Ajiboye, expressed gratitude to the government for priorising education in the state.

    NAN

     

  • Oyetola warns youths against cybercrimes

    OSUN State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has urged Nigerians, particularly youths, to shun unholy and illegal means of getting rich.

    He admonished that they could still get rich and be comfortable doing legitimate business.

    Oyetola warned them to abstain from things that were capable of undermining their potentials to become great in life.

    The governor spoke on Sunday after he observed the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the Osogbo central praying-ground.

    Oyetola, who emphasised the need for youths to be hardworking to make them more productive, also called on the citizens to do away with vices such as cyber-crimes, popularly called, “Yahoo Yahoo as well as kidnapping and robbery among others”.

    He advocated the need for the citizens to tow the path of greatness by striving hard to accomplish the aims and objectives of Nigeria’s founding fathers.

    He stressed the need for Muslims to keep imbibing the lessons of the Eid-el-Kabir by holding on to faith in God.

    He expressed gratitude to the people for being supportive of his administration so far, promising not to disappoint them.

    He said: “First of all, we must thank Almighty Allah that makes it possible for us to be here to celebrate this year’s Eid-el-Kabir.

    “Last year, I was still in the process of contesting the election, but today, I thank God that I am here as the governor. I thank the people of this state for their unflinching support and prayers as I wish them happy celebrations.

    Read Also: Oyetola seeks focus on technical education

    “My message to our people is that they should always continue to imbibe lessons of the celebration, and they should have absolute faith in the Almighty God because once one has faith, he or she can surmount any problem in life. Osun is known for peace, and I want the peace to continue to reign in the state.

    “My advice to the youths is that they should have the fear of God in their minds. Those that are in school should face their studies, while those learning one vocation or the other are urged to remain committed and steadfast in their chosen fields.

    “The time is now for our youths to see their future as being important than their present. I implore them to face whatever they do and do it very well to excel in life. I want our youths to shun things capable of undermining their future. They must do away with things that can lure them to destruction.”

    Chief Imam of Osogbo Sheikh Musa Animasaun urged Muslim faithful to work with the fear of God and shun things capable of leading them to destruction.

    He admonished Muslim Ummah to imbibe the virtues of forgiveness, fairness and justice, adding that they should let the virtues reflect in their conducts.

    Sheikh Animasaun, who described worldly things as ephemeral, said people should begin to live as if they would die the next minute.

  • Thief terrorising OAU bags 15 years imprisonment

    One of the thieves terrorising the staff, students and other residents of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) the has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

    A release by the Public Relations Officer of the university, Abiodun Olarewaju, stated that one Odionye Wilson was arrested by the security unit of the university when the students who were sitting for examination dropped their belongings as is customary of them during examination.

    The 23 years old Wilson, who claimed to be a rusticated student, informed the University Security team, during interrogation, that be belonged to a seven-man syndicate that specialised in coming to OAU to rob people and steal their valuables. He was subsequently handed over to the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police, “A” Division, Ile – Ife, which arraigned him in court and secured his conviction.

    Wilson, and others now at large, on Wednesday, 31st July, 2019, at about 1625:00 hours at the ICT centre of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife, did steal one Itel S31 handset, valued #29,950:00 property of one Abayomi Oluwatobiloba; IPad phone, valued #200,000:00; itel phone valued #7,000:00; and one BlackBerry phone valued #45,000:00, total valued #252,000:00, property of one Ilegieuno Ibrahim.

    Read Also: OAU student commits suicide over poor academic performance

    Others items stolen include: Tecno Canon X phone valued #50,000:00 and one Tecno 66 phone valued #8,000:00 property of one Ajayi Jonathan. Rukayat Olajide’s Tecno Pop phone valued #38,000:00, Tecno phone valued #5,000:00, phone charger valued #3,000:00 and the cash sum of #5,000:00 were also stolen

    In a Charge Sheet No: MIF/305/2019, Commissioner of Police versus ODIONYE Wilson ‘m’ Age 23 years, Magistrate Owolawi found him guilty on counts one, two and three and accordingly sentenced him to five years on each count. The sentence were to run concurrently.