The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OSUN

  • Fed Poly, Ede denies discriminating against Osun indigenes

    The management of Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun, has denied  allegations that the institution discriminates against indigenes of the state in  employment and admission of students.

    Dr Arthur Aja, the Deputy Rector (Academics) of the polytechnic, made the statement in respect of a petition against the school before the State House of Assembly Committee on Education in Osogbo.

    Aja said contrary to claims in the petition, 65 per cent of staff of the polytechnic were from Osun.

    He said the Federal Character Commission queried the institution for not reflecting Federal Character Principle in its employment.

    “We were even lambasted by the Federal Character Commission for not reflecting the Federal Character Principle in the employment,  that is, we have more staff from the state than other states,” he added.

    Aja said it would be unfair for anyone to say that the majority of the staff in the institution were non-indigenes of Osun.

    Responding to issues on the admission of students, Dr Caroline Adewusi, the Deputy Rector (Administration), said the institution usually followed the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board admission guidelines.

    Adewusi said there was no time a qualified indigene of the state applied for admission to the polytechnic and was rejected.

     

    Mr Abiodun Awolola, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, said the management of the institution was  summoned based on a petition written against it on employment and admission.

    Awolola said the explanation given by the management was clear but asked the school to avail the assembly with its staff nominal role. (NAN)

  • Osun Ambulance Services saves 1,774

    Osun State Ambulance Services (O’Ambulance) has said it rescued more than 2000 people last year through its prompt rescue operations.

    In an end-of-the-year review of its activities submitted to the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, the Director General of O’Ambulance, Dr. Adeleke Akinloye, said the service responded to more than 1116 road traffic accident emergencies  last year.

    Besides, O’Ambulance also responded to 178 cases of collapse, 348 hospital referral and 132 labour emergency cases where lives were saved, according to Dr. Akinloye.

    A statement by the Bureau, signed by the Director, Semiu Okanlawon, quoted Akinloye as stating that of 1,829 casualties involved in the cases, the agency saved 1,774 and recorded only 55 deaths.

    He also said of the 1,774 saved, 1,116 were males and 658 females. He added that of the 55 deaths recorded, 27 were males and 28 females.

    The O’Ambulance Boss said the agency was able to record such feat due to the resources available to it.

  • As the centre goes Osun way

    As the centre goes Osun way

    The Roman Emperor Pliny is often quoted to have observed that “out of Africa, there is always something new”. We can take liberties with this position and say that out of the Osun State in Nigeria’s south west we have seen a host of policy thrusts and initiatives now being adopted at the centre.

    Recent examples include the launch nationwide of the conditional cash transfer which is aimed at tackling long term structural poverty. We also have the free schools feeding program through which the state government has provided nutritious school meals to thousands of its students. In the case of the school meals program there is a clear economic synergy. The program is interwoven to increase food production and thereby elevate living standards in the rural economy. These programs represent a fundamental social advance. They are also one of the few evidence available of the provision of “ a dividend of democracy”. For a change, to paraphrase a lyric from the sixties rock band The Christians, there is now the making of a harvest for the people. And about time too!

    Much of the policy thrusts came out of the seven point’s agenda, the manifesto upon which the present governor of the state Rauf Aregbesola was elected. However, in the implementation of the agenda, the fingerprints of a coordinating agency of the state government – The Bureau of Social Services (BOSS) which the Aregbesola government specifically set up as a special purpose vehicle can be detected in these path breaking social intervention thrusts.

    The eponymous BOSS is in itself coordinated by a Director- General, Femi Ifaturoti, a lawyer who is propelled by an philosophical belief in social intervention policies as a decisive element in the execution of the social contract which binds government with the people.

    Under his beady eye, the agency has developed the framework to carry out its overarching responsibility to supervise, monitor, evaluate and report the performance of all the heads of Ministries,Departments and Agencies (MDA’S). A key mechanism used by the coordinating bureau has been the design and implementation of a framework for public value assurance.

    The task requires paying meticulous attention to details. They have set the parameters for determining good governance which includes embracing democratic principles, developing apparatus and implementation, and finally ensuring that all the components stay on course to guarantee public service delivery which can only be measured by its impact on the off- takers which is defined as the citizens.

    The quasi- independent agency of government is not just involved in project monitoring, but also measures the social impact of the activities of government. Its evaluation unit for example, can apply its performance measurement templates as evaluation parameters.

    In the process they have developed the framework for the federal government to use as a prototype for its social intervention programmes.

    A good example here is the federal government’s conditional cash transfer which is aimed at tackling long term poverty and is just taking off. The BOSS model pioneered in the state of OSUN has a prototype which drives the beneficiary. This is achieved by the design of a targeting mechanism in conjunction with the custody of a Beneficiary register for all the social safety net programs in the state.With the country belatedly developing social safety net programs, the data base is crucial for effectiveness, efficiency and transparency. The work of BOSS in OSUN state has provided for the federal government a veritable framework.

    As the federal government commences the disbursements of N5000 stipends to poor and vulnerable households in nine states the BOSS model has been pressed into play. The pioneering work done in the state of OSUN is now the operating model. Of note is the development of the community- based targeting (CBT) mechanism.

    The CBT exploits the personal knowledge that community members have of each other, so that the community itself takes responsibility for identifying vulnerable household’s and individuals. The CBT approach is a combination of three major actions (a) geographic targeting (b) community sensitisation (c) data collection and validation (proxy means and testing) exercise and entry into the database.

    The same data driven methodology propels other initiatives such as the much admired school meals program.Apart from the federal government, Kaduna state is also using this mechanism as a social intervention programme.

    The BOSS himself(the pun is intended) Femi Ifaturoti through this agency has demonstrated, not least to donors such as the World Bank that a social intervention agency can  effective in delivering on its mated objectives, but that it can also be transparent. It is a testimony to the ongoing debate in economic circles about government as social entrepreneur and innovator.

    From this perspective, Femi Ifaturoti is adamant that government can be both innovator and social entrepreneur, “Governance after all, is about the welfare of the generality of the public. We are acquiring appropriate world class software to complement our process flow which has been designed as a hybrid, borrowing from the western, oriental and African democracies to evolve our own unique forms”.

    As the country initiates more social programs BOSS will continue to be pivoted having initiated and pioneered so many schemes. It deserves a credit in the evolution of Nigeria’s social safety nets.

     

  • Oyo, Osun pay N500m to end LAUTECH crisis

    Oyo, Osun pay N500m to end LAUTECH crisis

    The Oyo and Osun state governments have paid N250 million each to the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) to end the crisis rocking the institution.

    The Nation confirmed the development from a very top source in the university yesterday.

    The source said: “Yes, both states have paid the amount as promised and the sum is now in the kitty of the university.”

    LAUTECH students have been at home for eight months due to the industrial action by all categories of workers in the institution.

    The crisis peaked last week when LAUTECH students protested to the Office of the Governor of Oyo State  in Ibadan, the state capital.

    While addressing them, the governor promised that owner states would contribute a sum of N250 million each to get back workers to their duty posts and build on it afterwards.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi said the sum would enable the institution pay some salaries and reopen for academic activities before end of this month.

    Reacting, the President of the Students’ Union Government of the institution, Olatunde Bakare, commended the two governors, saying it was a way forward.

    According to him, the sum, though not up to exactly what is needed to clear salary arrears for two months, would help kick-start the process of implementing the short  term solution to the crisis.

    Bakare said once the short term solution is implemented, it would pave the way for the

    medium and long term solution the financial problem plaguing LAUTECH. He promised to confirm the payment.

  • Achieving much with less resources: The Osun example

    Achieving much with less resources: The Osun example

    Times are changing. Nigeria’s economy is in a shambles.

    The Federal Government is also not left out of the conundrum.

    The late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo had warned of impending gloom which today has become a sreality.

    He had dreamt of a society in which all ethnic groups that make up Nigeria would be self-sustained through the development and control of its own natural resources. No state or region in Nigeria is without its own peculiar natural endowment.

    We are all blessed in some way with our comparative advantage in natural and even human resources. So blessed are we that each of the constitutionally recognized 774 local government areas in Nigeria also has its own natural resource with which it can survive without an external help.

    But over the time, we have failed to harness these God-given endowments.

    We always speak about true federalism as a national symbol, but we have been romancing unitary system. Nigeria iss a de facto unitary enclave. Everything begins and ends in Abuja. The economic fate of every state in Nigeria is decided in the federal capital.

    We can get out of the woods if we are ready to be real and honest with ourselves and stop living in fake realities.  We still seem to live in the old past when allocations from Abuja was more than enough to take care of the needs as states or as local government areas.

    We still want our wards to join the already over-bloated civil services of the federal, states and local government areas even though those already engaged are really not getting paid as and when due, due to dwindling resources.

    We still go to work from 8:00 in the morning and close by 4:00 in the afternoon without really earning our pay for that day. We chat and tweet verbally and electronically. We still lack that moral honesty to ask ourselves whether we have worked conscientiously for that money we expect to be paid by federal, state or local governments at the end of the month. Yet, we blame our government for not providing enough for us when we, in our own little ways, have refused to create that wealth from which we expect to reap.

    We have refused to be resourceful, thinking in our subconscious reasoning that the government is still there to take care of our needs.

    We still consume foreign foods which the unavailable foreign exchange can no more provide, neglecting our local staples. Indeed, what used to be an exception in our food and social consumptions are now our regulars: foreign rice, foreign teas and beverages, foreign automobiles, foreign wears and clothing as well as even foreign habits when we have been told that no nation develops if it does not develop the habit of self-sustenance.

    Even in governance, we still live in the vainglorious past as if it has not gone and gone for good.

    Many states are still in the habit of engaging in dishonest political appointments even though it is not sustainable. Who could have predicted few years back that we would have, in 2016, a Federal Government with very lean political appointees, even at that where a single minister would be saddled with unenviable responsibility of three “heavy” ministries to manage? Who, for example, would have thought of the office of First Lady, only in name without those encumbrances of office, including long vehicular convoys?

    The times are truly hard and it is only the truly committed leaders that have the potentialities to survive and still provide real leadership to its citizens.

    Long ago, a French social and economic theorist, Vilfredo Pareto, gave us what was and is still known as the 80/20 theory.

    In his observation, he came to the realisation that in our social, economic and political realities, about 20 per cent of our resources are, in actual fact, responsible for about 80 per cent of our achievements.

    And conversely, only 20 per cent of outcome comes from a huge 80 per cent of our deployed resources. What a waste if we cannot think deeply and smartly? What this translates to is that most of our so-called human and material resources deployed to achieve our social, economic and political goals are, indeed, unintended wastes.

    This theory has been embraced by industries in most of Europe and Scandinavian countries even before the arrival of smart technologies to achieve tremendous quality and quantity productivities, increased profit and reduced costs.

    Osun State seems to be the only good odd out of the pack by unwittingly embracing the Pareto’s theory.

    For example, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, using very meager resources, with native intelligence, patriotism and dedicated few has achieved much for his state. Many pundits have criticised his “refusal” to appoint regular political office holders such as Commissioners and certain Advisers, as well as a behemoth of other opulent office holders in these days of not only meager but truly unavailable resources.

    How long will we still live in open denial when the truth of the financial matter is staring us in the face? The constitution has envisaged this dire situation and gives allowance for a situation such as this which does not forcefully ask government executives to appoint such.

    Even without the money, Osun State stands out. And even without the Commissioners, Osun excels. Aregbesola, is a true student of Vilfredo Pareto. The superlatively constructed ring and urban roads, the superlatively constructed school structures, the free primary school feeding, rural development, Opon Imo educational tablet, employment generation, social welfare to the aged and vulnerable, smart human resource development, among others are some of the achievements of the Osun State government using very lean resources.

    It is assumed that if the various tiers of government, MDAs, corporations, medium-scale companies and cottage establishments and even families can adopt the Pareto’s model, coupled with technology, our lives would be better off.

    *Akinola is a developmental and policy analyst based in Osogbo, Osun State.

  • Rethinking Osun’s wage burden

    SIR: I am very disturbed to read in the dailies that Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, spent over N14 billion to pay workers and pensioners last December.

    We must first commend the governor for paying the workers and pensioners who were owed four months salaries. Salaries and pensions are contractual obligation on the part of the government to its employees, active and passive. This gesture, no doubt put smiles on their faces and brought joy to their families during the Yuletide.

    However, that said, this is a public finance anomaly and a clear distorted allocation of public funds. N11 billion of this money came from Paris Club refund. The bulk of this could have been dedicated to a special project that would have led to empowerment and wealth creation.

    Workers constitute less than five per cent of the population. We have a fiscal anomaly if 99.9 per cent of public funds is being used to service exclusively less than five per cent of the population who just consume this money without yielding any revenue. Government, inevitably has become ‘THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVANTS BY THE CIVIL SERVANTS FOR THE CIVIL SERVANTS’, with the majority of the people only acting as onlookers and their mouth watering.

    I understand that what was got is 25 per cent of the refund. Hopefully this year, another 25 per cent or more will come in. This should be used in a more productive way than paying salaries of workers.

    From available report, the state government has made available over N2 billion interest-free micro-credits to farmers, traders, artisans and small scale businesses. This should be restructured and expanded in such a way that at least N500 million should be made available every month to new and existing businesses that can employ at least 10 persons.

    This amount will create at least 1000 new jobs every month, development of ancillary industries and phenomenal wealth in the state. In this way, hundreds of thousands of the people of the state will benefit from public funds and not a few thousand workers. It is a better way to allocate resources.

    By the way, the bitter truth is that Osun has no business employing 35,000 workers. What are they producing? What revenue is the workforce generating to warrant the N3.6 billion the state spends on the workers every month? At the best of time, internally generated revenue has not been more than N1 billion and is currently on an average of N600 million every month, according to the governor.

    The realistic path is for the state to rightsize, in order to live within its income, or else, the salary debt will keep piling up and constituting a distraction and blackmail point to the government.

    • Mike Ogundele,

    Osogbo, Osun State

  • Osun: Sustaining development despite recession

    Osun: Sustaining development despite recession

    These are not the best of times for most states of the federation. They do not embark on projects-no thanks to the harsh economic situation. Besides, they cannot pay workers’ salaries. However, despite the nasty economic condition in which most states find themselves, Osun State continues to sustain all-round development. This, pundits say, results from the determination of the administration of Rauf Aregbesola to give his people the best despite lean resources.

    At a period when most narratives point to “the recession” as an excuse for the crippling growth or performance across various governments, the story of Osun State presents a refreshing perspective as to how people-centred development is possible.

    While it may be easy to heap the blame of this economic downturn on the country’s present leadership, Nigeria arrived at this sorry state due to the mismanagement of our national economy by successive administrations at the centre.

    While on the topic of mismanaged economies, it goes without saying that critical infrastructure in Osun State before the inauguration of the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on November 27, 2010, was largely in a comatose.  Economic activities had largely slowed down with considerable capital flight and migration of citizens in search of a better life.

    Two options were available; namely to continue in the traditional cosmetic governance; which entails repainting a few state-owned buildings, patch a few roads here and there, pay salaries of civil-servants, using over 70 per cent of the state’s revenue, and position Osun State towards the path of sustainable economic development by making a case for concerted investments and using creative means to raise fund for critical physical and human infrastructure that will, in turn, spur private investments and economic growth.

    Undoubtedly, building roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, among other physical infrastructure, creates jobs, enriches the local economy and gives access to market for farmers (many of whom dwell in the rural areas).

     

    Why debt financing for critical infrastructure?

    For such a small state in a country with high inflationary environment, high  cement prices, currency exchange risks and non-existent steel industry (major components of construction), developing Osun into a 21st Century state became a major challenge, one which the Aregbesola administration tackled very well for posterity’s sake.

    What option really existed before Ogbeni in 2010 other than to raise funds from the capital market at seven per cent lower than commercial bank interest rate?

    Osun opted for a mix of financing options to reduce risks and meet its primary statutory commitment. She followed a responsible borrowing regime by only committing 30 per cent of its revenues to debt servicing, leaving free cash-flow for critical and mandatory expenditure, such as salaries.

    With this, Osun began an aggressive infrastructure roll out in 2012 before the three-headed tragedy of blanket salary increment negotiated by the Federal Government on behalf of states in 2012; 40 per cent crash in statutory allocation due to alleged theft of 400,000 barrel of oil per day in 2013; and 50 per cent crash in the global price of crude oil and subsequent impact on statutory allocation.

    Currently, three super highways are under construction. These super highways consist of five bridges with each bridge at 90 per cent completion. Despite this biting recession, construction is ongoing because Osun secured an innovative promissory note purchase facility.

    Osun’s financial model worked perfectly by creating a pool of funds for infrastructure roll out that can only be utilised strictly for such purpose; due to market regulations of such funding by 2014.

    Using this financial mix, the administration of Governor Aregebsola rehabilitated and completed 230 state roads spanning 368km. His administration partnered local governments to deliver 226 council roads across the 30 local governments and the development areas with a combined length of 216km.

    Osun, in partnership with the World Bank, RAMP 2 programme, also delivered 250 km of rural roads to open up farms in rural areas. The state is on course to deliver the next set of 250 km. It is noteworthy that Osun is one of just six states selected to participate in this programme.

    In all, the government has so far delivered road infrastructure to the tune of more than 1000 km, opening up our rural enterprises and areas, connecting urban centres and positioning the state as a trade and production hub.

    Other construction projects delivered include 20 elementary schools and 22 middle schools all completed and in use. Many more are still under construction.

     

    Human capital development in Osun

    Despite its limited resources, Osun State has continued to champion delivery of an integral human development agenda. Osun, in the last six years, has made unprecedented investments in security towards the greater welfare of the people. Twenty-Five high capacity Armoured Personnel Carriers were deployed, being the largest contribution to the Nigerian Police Force by a state government at the time of deployment.

    The state enjoys a functional 24-hour emergency ambulance services with a fleet of 50 new vehicles across the 31 local government areas. The state-wide ambulance service is powered by 408 well-trained and kitted paramedics, who have attended to more than 8,000 cases since inception. This quality of service in concept and implementation is unprecedented in the annals of the state.

    Osun has also invested in the empowerment of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), given the trickle-up impact these make to socio-economic development. The government has so far deployed over N7 billion to 50,000 beneficiaries spread across 4,500 co-operatives and/or businesses targeted at market women, small-scale farmers, artisans and physically-challenged individuals.  Through its welfare programme for critically poor citizens, the government has supported 16,250 widows and disadvantaged people.

    Through the state’s partnership with the World Bank, the Osun Agency for Community and Social Development Project (OSUN CSDP), has reached 1,073,129 beneficiaries in rural communities by committing at least N2 billion to several social developmental projects. The partnership is delivering 356 inclusive, gender-sensitive and multi-sectoral micro-projects, covering education, rural electrification, primary health care, transportation and provision of potable water for 263 communities across the state.

    The government’s strategic investment in the critical basic education level has delivered training and re-training for over 21,017 teachers, giving the importance of these to the learning experience. So far, 277 model schools with 1,811 modern classrooms have been built or rehabilitated.

    The schools are being furnished with 26,922 sets of chair and table. Every school day in Osun, 253,000 elementary school children receive nutritious meals produced largely by local farmers, to boost health and cognitive capability at their formative stage, as well as boost local food production. The Osun School Feeding Programme is the longest running of its kind in the country.

    In six years, Osun has, through its basic education agency, invested over N8.5 billion in building capacity, both in human and physical infrastructure. The investment in education is driven by the resolve of the administration to equip the future generation of Osun State with the best possible resources regardless of their background.

     

    How Osun continues to thrive

    As many states became fiscally unstable and shortfall in federally collected revenues continued to challenge salaries payment, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari heeded Osun’s push for interventions by helping her and other states restructure commercial loans into FGN bond with reduced financial cost and freeing of cash-flow in August 2015. The Federal Government also granted a concessionary loan to Osun and many other states to clear backlogs of salaries and to restore their treasury and fiscal stability.

    From August 2015 till date, the prudent management of concessionary loan (bailout) and its subsequent revenues by the administration of Aregbesola has ensured salaries are paid and workers keep their jobs, rather than embark on mass retrenchment; an alternate idea other state governments have toyed with.

    The salary regime ensures full salaries are paid to junior cadre in levels 1-7, while their senior counterparts are paid nothing less than 50 per cent or greater, depending on the level of income per month.

     

    Omoluabi garment factory, abere

    The government’s infrastructure development efforts has already started yielding results as investments and production have been on the rise in Osun: In 2009, the famous International Breweries, Ilesa, known for Trophy brand which serves the Southwest and beyond, doubled its production capacity to cater for the boost in local economy.

    Tuns Farms, an indigenous poultry company, in partnership with small-holder farmers, ramped up broiler production to position the state as the second largest broiler producer in the country.   Omoluabi Garment Factory, a Public-Private-Partnership between Sam and Sara Garments and the state government emerged as the largest garment factory in West Africa.

    An indigenous computer assembly plant, RLG Adulawo also set shop in Osun as a result of the favourable infrastructure available. These and more are the direct and indirect investment results of the administration’s bet for a prosperous future and these efforts are paying off.

    Consequently, Osun developmental programmes have also impacted on the socio-economic profile of the state as reported by reputable institutions.

    In 2015, The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) rated Osun second highest in human development index among the 36 states in the country. In 2014, Renaissance Capital (RENCAP) in its 36 shades of Nigeria economic review of states ranked Osun as the 7th largest economy in Nigeria, while in 2013 the NBS rated Osun as the state with the lowest poverty rate in Nigeria.

    In conclusion, the impact of the decisions taken by the present administration has continued to yield positive results from all available indices.

     

     

  • Osun: The unforgettable years

    THE greatest managers in the world do not have much in common.. They employ vastly different styles and focus on different goals. But despite their differences, these great managers do share one thing else they first break all rules of conventional wisdom.” John Kennedy defiled conventional wisdom by creating new ones. The temptation in almost any environment is to go along with the consensus. It is often difficult to stand out.

    It take courage to so do. It has never been done either by state or Federal government to employ 20, 000 youths at once, but in 2010 Rauf Aregbesola declared that within one hundred days in office his government will get it done, and he did it. The Aregbsola administration stood on Six-Point Integral Action plans: Banish Poverty, Banish Hunger, Banish Unemployment (create Work/Wealth), Restore Healthe Living, Promote Functional Education, and Enhance Communal Peace and Progress.

    The blueprint of the direction of this administration has continued to be used as a guide till today and not even the political opponents who initially accused the governor of non-performance can today rubbish the achievements. Before the middle of his first term in office, they became so dumbfounded by the unprecedented accomplishment that they wondered about the sources of fund knowing that the state was second to the last on the table of Federal monthly allocations.

    The song of the opposition was Aregbsola has put the state into huge debts by over-ambitious gigantic projects he has accomplished. But unknowingly, Aregbsola who had his political tutelage under Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the former Governor of modern Lagos, from whom the Osun helmsman learnt his strategies and developmental procedures. First steps towards the rejuvenation of the educational sector in the state was the convey of educational submit under the chairmanship of Professor Wole Soyinka, the acclaimed literature laureate.

    It was resolved that the state education must be repland to promote functional education that will guarantee better academic performance and a brighter future for the students. Consequently, the government embarked on a new School System, which is structured as follows: Elementary Schools Under this system, pupils between the ages of six and nine were placed in Elementary schools. Pupils in the age range of 10-14 years were placed in MIDDLE SCHOOLS; this was primaries 5 and 6.

    The third category is the High Schools -students in the High Scools; SS1-SSS3. Schools Uniforms Free pairs of school uniforms were given to about 750,000 students across the state. These uniform productions have multiple positive effect on the economy. First over 1,000 tailors were engaged and trained for the production. This eventually led to the establishment of a uniform making factory in Osogbo that is still functioning till date. O’Meals The state government embarked upon the provision of free schools meals to pupils in primary 1 to 4 . 0ver 3000 women were recruited trained and empowered to provide meals on every school days in the state.

    This scheme cost the government about N3 billion annually and with the inflation now it is The Poultry Farmers Association were also beneficiaries of the free meals. Earlier on, the Aregbsola administration gave free day old chicks and feeds to poultry farmers. Those poultry farms that had no means of running their farms took the government largees to revamp their farms. Two to three labourers were engaged to serve poultry owners at the expense of the state to ease them of the burden of over work. By the end of the day, the state government purchased the eggs and chickens from them for the free meals. This is a novel exercise from government to assist farmers with birds Poultry feeds and at the end purchase with money from the farmers, is uncommon assistance.

    Fish Farmers also benefited from the free meals. A large number of the youths engaged in OYES scheme were trained in fish farming. They were also given free intrest loans to start their fish farms. The fish farmers sold their fishes to Omeal cooks. Today hundreds of them are also employers of labour. The United Kingdom was impressed with the free meals scheme that the UK government invited Aregbsola to the their parliament to shed more light on how the scheme was funded successfully. After his visit to London, the UK parliament introduced free meals in 2014 which they claimed will saved parents at least £50000 annually.

    The Federal government under Muhammadu Buhari has also invited the Osun helmsman to give lesson on the free meals scheme, this he did and the Federal government is about starting the free meals scheme for schools nation wide soon. Schools infrastructure Aregbsola, like former American President Bill Clinton, believes that ” education is the key to our economic revival and perennial quest for prosperity.

    We must dedicate more of our limited resources to ..” The government merged some schoold together in preparation for the Mega Schools. At the last count, the government has built 15 High Schools, 14 middle Schools and 22 Elementary Schools. A lot of misgivings have been said over these schools by the critics of the government, from those who felt the buildings were grandiose to those who felt the money spent on such buildings ought to have been utilised to pay salaries of workers and to those who continue to celebrate the maverick governor for such a vision that catapulted the state to one of the best schools infrastructures in Nigeria.

    The ultra-modern schools were equipped with the best laboratories for science students and best e-libraries for Social sciences and Art students. For the records, the government embarked on loans through an Islamic Banking scheme called Sukuk. N10billion bond was taken without any intrest for the schools infrastructural development. Local commercial banks were involved in the execution of the loans.

    There is no way by which a loan obtained for school projects would be diverted to salaries for workers, as no bank will accept that. Rather than crucifying the governor, he should be praised for such a vision. Opon Imo, Tablet of Knowledge The Aregbsola administration stood high on the day the Opon Imo, Tablet of Knowledge was launched in Ilesa. All those who is who in Nigerian politics were present. Even the representatives of the UNESCO were present to eulogise the governor for such educational achievement.

    A few of them that were present including; former Nigeria Vice president Atiku Abubakar, APC The invention of this tabloid has earned the government and governor of Osun several international awards. The electronic tabloid contains 63 text books, 10 years past questions in West African Examination Council (WAEC),Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and National Examination Council (NECO).The tool has begun to impact on the performance of the students in WAEC examination as one of the students has just been adjudged the best in the last examination.

    Osun youths employment scheme The engagement of the 20, 000 youths at ago, no doubts assisted the youths in fending for themselves, remove tension from the hearts of parents that have struggled for several years to train their children with the hope that they will soon be bread winners and perharps assist their junior ones.

    Their engagement reduced the crime rates as those that re employed can no longer be in the unemployed markets that can be easily be lure into crime. Over 60,000 youths have participated in the scheme. More than 40 of them are now landlords and employers of labour. The OYES Scheme success caught the attention of the former President Goodluck Jonathan that made the Federal government and some states to adopt the scheme with the aim to reduce youths unemployment in Nigeria. Aregbesola once declared ” the credo of our administration is the Action Group credo; freedom for all; life more abundant. •Obaditan is a media aide to the Osun governor

  • ‘FG’s N5000 stipend to poor Nigerians will reduce poverty’

    ‘FG’s N5000 stipend to poor Nigerians will reduce poverty’

    The Osun Government says the monthly payment of N5,000 by the Federal Government to vulnerable Nigerians will reduce poverty, crime and other social vices in the country.

    This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Semiu Okanlawon, the Director of Bureau of Communication and Strategy Office of the Governor, in Osogbo on Thursday.

    It said the Federal Government’s gesture, coupled with the Osun government monthly payment of N10,000 to vulnerable elderly persons in the state, would reduce hunger among the citizenry.

    The statement added that the implementation of the N-Power programme in which youths would be paid N30,000 monthly would reduce youth restiveness and kidnapping in the country.

    “It is germane at this stage to congratulate the federal government for the commencement of payment of monthly stipends to its successful applicants for the N-Power and the payment of monthly stipends of N5,000 to vulnerable but socially responsible poor in our society,” it said.

    The Osun government said it was also complementing the federal government’s fight against poverty and hunger by employing more than 20,000 youths under its Youth Employment Scheme.

    According to the statement, the state is also paying N10,000 monthly to 1, 602 vulnerable elderly persons while more than 252, 000 pupils in elementary public schools are being fed under the school feeding programme.

    It stressed that the nation’s many problems were not beyond redemption, adding that with the implementation of the social welfare programmes, Nigeria was on the path to recovery.

    The statement further urged the federal government to intensify efforts at achieving a nationwide implementation of the school feeding programme.

  • Osun paid out N14.2b in salaries, pensions, says Aregbesola

    Osun paid out N14.2b in salaries, pensions, says Aregbesola

    •Salutes workers for support

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday said N14.2billion was paid out to workers and pensioners within two weeks before the end of December.
    Aregbesola spoke at an inter-faith thanksgiving session at the Government Secretariat, Osogbo.
    The governor, who laced his speech with songs of praises to God, said with what befell the state before the close of 2015; it was gratifying that the state bounced back.
    He said the ability of his government to pay salaries for September, October, November and December in less than two weeks was a huge relief.
    “We are grateful that our hardships are coming to an end, which indicates that the New Year would be better,” the governor said.
    The governor thanked workers for their understanding.
    He expressed optimism that by June, the recession would end.
    Appealing to all stakeholders to look inward, Aregbesola urged traditional rulers to promote agriculture in their respective domain just as he appealed to them to engage in vigorous campaigns for payment of taxes.
    “We want to engage massively in agriculture. We want to aggressively grow cassava, maize, plantain, rice, soya beans and cocoa, which our people are growing.
    “It is now clear that whoever is looking for free things will wait forever. It’s certain that oil price can no longer return to its old rates and free money won’t come again. If we don’t want to continue to suffer this lack, farming is the only venture we must embark on.”
    He assured that the government would give financial aides to those interested in farming.
    The governor also hinted that by February 1, his administration will enforce the use of standard measures and scales for all commercial transactions as part of efforts to make commerce attractive in Osun.