The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OSUN

  • Osun to establish Yoruba world heritage centre

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said his administration will establish a Yoruba World Heritage Centre to be called New Ife to revamp African culture, tradition and customs.

    He said creation of the centre was part of his administration’s efforts to support a Yoruba agenda, repositioning and placing it as well as Africa’s in their rightful position.

    Aregbesola spoke yesterday in Osogbo, the capital, while hosting members of Blackmyths Group, who double as members of Theatre Arts and Motion Picture Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN).

    They were led by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Alhaji Adebayo Salami.

    The governor said his administration was poised to bring to the limelight the new Ife in order to present to the world the socio-cultural values of the Yoruba.

    He added that the centre will reproduce ancient Yoruba land and how the people lived about 500 years ago, as well as how the present generation is living and how the incoming generations will live in the next 500 years.

    Aregbesola said the centre would serve as a socio-cultural and ethnic institution and heritage where the rich Yoruba culture, particularly their virtues, codified as Omoluabi ethos, will be promoted.

  • Oyo/Osun Customs intercepts N92.77m goods

    The Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS ) on Tuesday said it intercepted contraband goods with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N92.77 million in February.

    The Area Comptroller, Christopher Odibu, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Ibadan, said the seizures were made through the utilisation of the intelligence reports by its officers.

    Odibu said that 4,000 bags of 50kg  foreign parboiled rice with  duty paid value of N48,596,321 and nine trucks and two used cars with duty paid value of N34,782,792 were seized during the period under review.

    Other items seized include 150 pieces of used tyres with DPV of N1,298,345.53, 51 bales of second hand clothes with DPV of N7,043,205 and 50 kegs (25litres) of vegetable oil worth N1,057,375.

    He said that the total Duty Paid Value of the seized goods was N92, 778, 048.

    Odibu  said some of the seizure were made along Opara/Bodo Musa axis of Iwajowa Local Government Area of the state while one suspect was arrested.

    “Let me sound a note of warning and advice to all unpatriotic Nigerians, who engage in smuggling of   rice and other contraband goods, to desist.

    “It is worrisome to note that some Nigerians remain unrepentant even as they continue to lose.

    “The Federal Government’s  efforts in transforming the agricultural sector, especially in the area of rice production,  should be encouraged while importation of rice should be discouraged by all,” he said.

    Odibu, however, called for collaboration between the command and the media,  especially in the area of enlightenment of local communities on the consequences of smuggling activities on the nation’s economy.

    NAN

  • Car crushes teenager to death in Osogbo

    A 15-year-old boy was on Monday crushed to death in Osogbo, the Osun capital, when a Sport Utility Vehicle  lost control and rammed into him where he was standing to cross the road.

    An eye witness said  the deceased, who went to Ayegbaju Market in the metropolis to buy pepper, was returning home when he was  killed.

    The vehicle  was said to have lost control while on speed  and  skipped off  the highway before  ramming  into the deceased.

    The grey coloured SUV with registration number, Lagos JJJ 243 EF  was said to have a  middle age  man, his wife and kid as occupants.

    While the occupants were quickly ferried away to safety, an angry mob set the vehicle ablaze.

    Another eyewitness, who knew the deceased,  said he  was preparing for his Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination before he met his untimely death.

    “The vehicle was coming from Ogo-Oluwa area and rammed into the boy,   killing him instantly,’’ she said.

    Mr Rasaki Azeez, the father of the deceased and  Deputy Chairman of  NURTW at  Fakunle Motor Park in Osogbo, said he could not believe his son was dead.

    Azeez,  who was devastated by the incident,  said  sympathisers  came to call him at the park to  retrieve the body of his  son.

    He said that the corpse had been deposited at the morgue of Ladoke Akintola University hospital, Osogbo. (NAN)

  • Pregnant woman abducted in Osun, escapes from kidnappers’ den in Ogun

    Pregnant woman abducted in Osun, escapes from kidnappers’ den in Ogun

    A woman, Janet Oyewole, who was allegedly abducted in Osun State by suspected ritual killers has miraculously escaped from his abductors in Ado Odo community in Ogun State.

    Oyewole, according to sources had been hypnotised by her abductors, but she managed to disclose where the incident happened and her name.

    She was said to have launched into incoherent words after narrating her ordeal to bystanders shortly after her escape from kidnappers’s den.

    Our correspondent gathered that sympathizers contributed money and clothings for Oyewole, while efforts had been made to trace her family.

    A resident, Wale Hammed said: ”We saw the woman roaming the streets and at a point she stood at a junction for hours before people accosted her to know what she was looking for.

    ”She then explained that she was abducted by some unidentified persons in Oshogbo while she was returning home from an outing and blindfolded to an unknown destination.

    ”She told us that miraculously escaped from kidnappers’ den when her abductors went adding that she could find her way back home. She however became incoherent after narrating her ordeal.

    ”We would try to help her locate her family or husband and possibly invite the police to link her up with her family members.”

  • Kwara to build boundary link road with Osun

    Kwara to build boundary link road with Osun

    The Kwara State government will link the Aran-Orin Township road in Irepodun Local government Area to the Osun State boundary.

    Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed spoke on Wednesday at Aran-Orin, when he inspected ongoing projects in Irepodun and Ekiti Local Government Areas.

    According to him, his government had built 3.6kilometres of the 6kilometres road in Aran-Orin, saying the remaining 2.4 kilometres will be built to link Ila in the neighbouring Osun State.

    Ahmed, who also inspected Oke-Opin Township road in Ekiti council and Ipetu-Rore-Arandun road in Irepodun, said the quality of work was in consonance with funds released for the projects.

    He also directed the immediate rehabilitation of Oke Opin/Epe Opin community bridge to control erosion.

  • Imo, Oyo, Osun top JAMB candidates list

    Imo, Oyo, Osun top JAMB candidates list

    •367 virtually impaired among 1.6m registered

    Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says Imo State, for the third year running, topped the number of applications for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) with 92,890 candidates.

    The state was closely followed by Oyo (86,695) and Osun with 86,044 applicants.

    Sokoto, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had the least applicants with 13,456, 10,077 and 6,418 candidates.

    Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who gave the figures, said 367 virtually impaired persons would join 1.6 million candidates to write this year’s UTME tomorrow.

    The UTME, Oloyede said, would hold in 605 Computer Base Test (CBT) centres approved by JAMB across the country.

    The registrar, who spoke in Abuja yesterday, said the board received a shortfall of 55,642 (3.2 per cent) in the sale of 2018 UTME application documents when compared to the 1.7 million applications it received last year.

    The decrease, according to him, was because of innovative measures introduced in the system by the board to forestall multiple registrations and cut other illicit practices by candidates.

    He said: “At the end of the two months application window, we realised that 1,662,763 candidates registered for the 2018 exam. This was contrary to 1,718,425 candidates that registered for same exam within a month and two weeks period in 2017.

    “A total of three hundred and sixty-seven virtually impaired candidates registered for this year’s examination as against the 201 last year.

    “The board will continue to provide all necessary support and logistics to the physically-challenged candidates for them to attain their educational pursuit. The Equal Opportunity Group under Prof. Okebukola, who assisted last year, will be conducting the examination for the virtually impaired candidates.”

    He said the board would not release the results of the UTME immediately because it wants to review the entire process after the examination.

    This, the registrar said, would help reduce the number of cancelled results at the end of the exercise.

    “We will not release the results immediately this year because last year, we wanted to prove a point that there was nothing extraordinary in immediate release but we know that that is not global best practices. Because we had to cancel some results as a result of what we found out later.

    “This year, if it takes us one, two and three days to look at those things, we will look at them before we release the results so as to minimise the number of cancellation that we will do,” he said.

    The registrar also said the board would pay N600 per candidate to write the examination at any approved CBT centre.

    He said the payment was to discourage candidates from paying any amount to examination centres.

     

  • ‘APC-led Fed Govt committed to its projects in Osun’

    ‘APC-led Fed Govt committed to its projects in Osun’

    The member representing Obokun Constituency in Osun State House of Assembly, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration at the centre is responsive and responsive.

    The lawmaker said the commitment the Federal Government had demonstrated to its projects in the state proved this.

    In a statement in Osogbo, the state capital, Oyintiloye, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Strategy, lauded the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for rehabilitating and repairing Gbongan-Iwo-Oyo Road.

    He said: “The Federal Government says it has spent N2.8 billion on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gbongan-Iwo-Oyo Road. Similarly, it gave an assurance that it would complete the Ojutu Bridge at Ilobu estimated at N537 million.”

     

  • Aregbesola gets kudos for Osun’s development

    Aregbesola gets kudos for Osun’s development

    Participants at a two-day capacity building workshop by Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) in Osun State have hailed Governor Rauf Aregbesola for charting the course for the growth and development of the state.

    In its bid to drive development through budget preparation and implementation, the government, through the Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development, organised a capacity building seminar for Sector Plan Development teams.

    Participants at the Ede workshop include private sector organisations, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, community leaders, political parties, security agencies, members of organised labour, members of Exco and heads of government agencies and corporations.

    The Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperative, Mr Ismaila Alagbada, noted that the training will give direction to stakeholders in the Osun project.

    He said the workshop gave participants the opportunity to peep into the Aregbesola administration and its 10-year plan of building the state to become self-sustaining.

    Alagbada said any state determined to grow beyond monthly allocations from the Federal Government should give development a human face the way Osun is doing.

    He said: “I am happy to have participated in this very useful workshop. It is an opportunity to join in the planning for the growth and development of our dear state.

    “The governor is passionate about the growth of Osun; we have seen that through this workshop. For Aregbesola to approve this, it shows he wants every stakeholder to be on the same page with him.

    “This is what any state or society that is determined about growth and development must do.”

    The Coordinator of Osun Civil Societies Coalition, Comrade Waheed Lawal, said the sector plan teams saw the essence of prioritising programmes based on people’s needs.

    He said through such workshops, unnecessary programmes would not be included in budgets of government agencies.

    Lawal, who said every sector team needed to understand the workings of the Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) for proper budgeting, added that Osun is setting the standard for development.

    He said Aregbesola’s vision to develop the state remained clear, hence the approval of the workshop to share the vision with stakeholders.

  • Osun leads again in social protection policy

    Osun leads again in social protection policy

    The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the state is leading in initiating a comprehensive Social Protection Policy framework of global standard that will alleviate poverty and promote a dignified life for all segments of the society.

    “This policy targets the vulnerable, especially from birth to working age, in the sustainable provision of healthcare, education, training for skills acquisition and the empowerment of youths and provision of access to social amenities for the underprivileged,” the party said.

    In a statement yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, by the Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, APC noted that “Osun Social Protection Policy” is the framework for institutionalising the efforts of the state government to alleviate and eventually eliminate poverty in all its ugly manifestations in the state.”

    It said: “When fully incorporated into the laws of the state, it will become mandatory for any government in power to continue with the policy by prioritising measures to ensure a life of dignity for all in the state.”

  • Osun training 800 Grade II teachers

    Osun State is training 800 Grade 11 teachers under the 2016 Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) TPS programme, it was learnt.

    The training is going on same time at six centres across the state.

    At the opening of the Jolly Phonics training for the teachers in Osogbo, the capital, Executive Chairman of the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) Prince Felix Awofisayo said the government was working in collaboration with UBEC in Abuja and the local government education area officials.

    Awofisayo said the training would enhance pupils’ reading and writing skills from the foundation level.

    According to him, Grade 1 teachers were trained last year, adding: “The learning outcome has improved in our Grade One pupils, who are now in Grade 11.”

    The SUBEB chairman noted that for the trend to continue with the pupils now in Grade 11, their teachers need to be trained so that the Grade 1 teachers would handle new intakes in Grade 1.