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Tag: OSUN

  • Aregbesola presents 2017 budget to Assembly

    Aregbesola presents 2017 budget to Assembly

    Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, on Wednesday, presented a budget of N138,232,946,670 for the 2017 fiscal year before the state House of Assembly for consideration.

    Presenting the ‘Budget of Recovery’, on behalf of the governor, the Permanent Secretary, Osun Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Segun Olorunsogo, puts recurrent expenditure at N75,823,942,160.00, representing 54.85 percent of the budget.

    He also puts capital expenditure at N62,409,004,510, representing 45.15 percent of the total budget.

    The budget also has the recurrent revenue of N105,090,868,130 and capital receipts of N33,142,078,540.00.

    Aregbesola said the economic sector, including agriculture, rural development, rural and urban electrification, commerce, industry, finance and transportation would gulp N24,911,168,470 of the total budget.

    He also said, the social service sector, including education, health, information and culture, youths, sports and social development would gulp N11,168,089,260 of the budget.

    The regional planning and environmental development sector, including water resources, environmental sanitation, housing, town planning, according to him, would gulp N5,315,221,210, while general administration and other services, would gulp N21,014,525,570.

    He said the main focus of the budget would be the “provision of an enabling environment that will ensure an increase in food production”.

    “It focuses on consolidation of social infrastructure that will expand the economic and industrial base of the state; creation of conducive, productive, and active socio-economic environment that ensures job creation and empowerment of youths and women.

    “It will also focus on the development of opportunities for wealth creation through tourism and culture; improving basic education infrastructure that promotes functional education and enhancement of the capacity of teachers at all levels”, he said.

    He said, in the course of implementing the budget, new revenue sources would be pursued, while the existing mechanism of internal revenue generation would be improved on.

    He said that the government was determined to leverage on the revenue generating potentials of both formal and informal sectors, and said the government would ensure non-reliance on the revenue from the federal allocation.

    He also said the government would ensure blockage of leakages in revenue collection through effective monitoring of collectors by all officials in charge of such collections.

    The Speaker, Najeem Salaam said, the estimate would be properly scrutinised to be in line with the needs of the state and its people and do justice to all the budget heads.

    Commending the administration of Aregbesola for working hard in formulating policies and programme that would improve the living standard of the people, he said, the Assembly would not be the clog in the wheel of progress of the state.

    The speaker who stressed that the presentation of the budget has been taken as first reading noted that the estimate would be committed to the Committee on Finance and Appropriation for consideration

  • Osun to host agric exhibition in 2017

    Osun to host agric exhibition in 2017

    An international agricultural exhibition and conference will hold in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, in the first quarter of 2017.
    The event tagged: “Agritech Nigeria Osogbo 2017” is the first-ever Africa and indeed Nigeria’s largest exhibition and conference on agriculture, farm machineries, dairy, poultry, water technology, livestock equipment, agriculture processing technologies and environmental control.
    Agritech Nigeria Osogbo 2017 is a collaboration between the Osun State government and Fesco Agalu Nigeria Limited with support from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
    According to the Director of Logistics, Fesco Agalu, Mrs. Doris Adesanlu , Agritech Nigeria Exhibition and Conference will be another landmark for Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
    Mrs. Adesanlu said an Israeli company, Kenes Exhibition, is bringing its experience to bear on Agritech Nigeria Osogbo 2017.

  • Husband, wife to hang for murder in Osun

    Justice Adedotun Onibokun of Osun State High Court in Ile-Ife on Wednesday sentenced one Fatai Jimoh and his wife, Lateefat to death by hanging for murder.
    Delivering judgment, Onibokun said the prosecutor had proven his case beyond any reasonable doubt, saying that the convicts were guilty of the three-count charge of murder, conspiracy and armed robbery.
    The judge consequently sentenced the couple to death by hanging for the murder of one Bukola Taiwo at Ikeketu Village near Garage Olode in Ife South Local Government Area of Osun on August 12, 2009.
    The Prosecutor and State Counsel, Mr Moses Faremi, had earlier told the court that the deceased was strangulated by the couple in her rented room and her head was smashed with a sledge hammer.
    He said that after killing the deceased, who was a palm oil seller from Ibadan, the convicts stole her wallet containing the sum of N48, 780.
    Faremi said the offence was contrary to Section (1) 316 Law of Osun State and the Robbery and Firearms (special provision) Act, Cap R11 Law of Federation of Nigeria 2000.
    The convicts were arraigned on a three-count charge of Murder, Conspiracy and Armed Robbery.

  • Banks: Osun spent bailout well

    Banks: Osun spent bailout well

    Recipient banks of the bailout fund given to Osun State government yesterday said the fund was strictly used to pay salary arrears, allowances and pensions, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) guidelines.

    Representatives of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Wema Bank and Zenith Bank, spoke during a presentation to the House of Assembly in Osogbo, on how the concessionary loan was disbursed.

    The Assembly directed the banks, some government officials and organisations, to appear before it over how the N34.9 billion bailout fund was spent.

    In their presentation, the banks said: “We ensured that due diligence was followed. We can confirm that we followed the CBN guidelines in the way and manner the loan was disbursed.

    “It was used for the purpose it was meant – payment of salary arrears, allowances and pensions.

    “Also, the figures shown in a slide by the Accountant General and Permanent Secretary, Local Government Affairs, were correct, so also are the balance figures in the banks.”

    The Accountant General said the bailout was judiciously administered by the government without any underhand dealings.

    According to him, the amount requested, which covered salary arrears, allowances and pensions, was N64, 327, 492, 947.01.

    He stated that the state was however given, N25, 887, 975, 810.26, an amount, which did not include the pension arrears.

    Kolawole said the pensioners were thus not captured in the bailout fund, saying Governor Rauf Aregbesoa mandated that pension should be included in the disbursement.

    He said: “On July 15, 2015 we requested for N64.3 billion to take care of all salary arrears, allowances and pension. But we were given N25, 887, 975, 810.26.

    “No fund was released for pension and gratuity despite the fact that we included it in our letter to the CBN.

    “And we explained this to the pensioners repeatedly but they did not believe us.

    “If you look at the letter we wrote for N64 billion, it covered every category of staff. They (pensioners) won’t have been paid but for the magnanimity of the governor, who said we must include them because they had served the state diligently.

    “It will also interest you to note that what I presented here on the floor of the House is the same document I sent to the ICPC and the EFCC.

    “ICPC called me to a meeting where I gave them all the documents containing the transactions. When ICPC did not return, I believe it was satisfied with the information. The  EFCC did not invite me.”

    The Permanent Secretary, Local Government Affairs, Mr. Muftau Oluwadare, in his presentation, said N23, 887, 975, 810.26 was requested from the CBN but N9, 117, 070, 000 was given to them.

    According to him, it was this and that of the state that totaled N34 billion released to both state and local government.

    He said the fund was also used as it was directed by the CBN to pay salaries of local government workers, primary school teachers and pension arrears.

    Speaker Najeem Salam lauded the finance team for the clear presentation and the banks for their due diligence in the disbursement process.

    Salam said it was not true the insinuations that the House was gingered to investigate the bailout fund based on the letter written by the Senate to investigate how the bailout fund was spent.

    “We have been monitoring the activities of the executive on how the bailout and other loans are being spent.

    “If the Senate wants to come for its oversight function, we will not stop them. But proper procedures must be followed. It has to come through relevant state authority, which is the state legislative arm,” Salam said.

  • ‘Osun didn’t get N82b from Fed Govt’

    ‘Osun didn’t get N82b from Fed Govt’

    OSUN State has denied receiving   N82 billion from the Federal Government.

    The government, through the Bureau of Communication and Strategy, said no N82 billion was paid to Osun from an imaginary “$4 billion being over-deductions on Paris and London Club loans on accounts of state and local governments from February 1990 to March 2002”.

    Signed by the bureau’s Director, Semiu Okanlawon, the government said: “It sounds warped that such information would emanate from an interloper.

    “Should Nigeria receive such funds and such huge amounts are to be credited to states, the Ministry of Finance, Information or Office of the Accountant General would be duly involved and communicate such to Nigerians through appropriate quarters.

    “It is curious that since the misinformation was released and credited to a senator, Dino Melaye, who was reported to have manufactured the misinformation, he has not denied the statement.

    “Much more curious also is the direct reference to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who was singled out and asked to pay his workers from the non-existent N82 billion.

    “We consider this as a direct incitement of the people and especially the workers, who have shown great understanding due to the transparency the governor has brought into his handling of affairs of the state.”

  • 135 trained in wealth creation in Osun

    No fewer than 135 youths have undergone entrepreneurship development training through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Southwest on wealth creation which is implemented by the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF).

    For four weeks, the participants were exposed to modules such as mindset re-engineering to help them rethink business, money, and livelihood, enterprise development and idea generation, business and financial management, marketing and interpersonal relationship and writing individual business plans.

    At the graduation ceremony held at the Teachers’ Co-operative House in Oshogbo were the Osun State Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Chief Otunba Grace Titi Laoye Tomori, CBN represented by Mrs. Oluyemisi Adebayo of the Development Finance Office; the Africa Leadership Forum was led by Dr. Olumide Ajayi, the Programme Director of the Centre, Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical and Vocational Education; Acting Head of Board for Technical Education, Mr. Owolabi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Julius Olajide; General Manager/CEO of the Osun Micro-credit Agency, Mr. Dayo Babaranti; and Mr. Young, Head of Youth Empowerment.

    In his address, Mr. Olajide, stated that the training was one of the integral plans of the state government and all the participants that underwent the training had said it was a life-changing experience.

    “A second batch of the training will commence soon and other young people that heard about the training had been registering for it. This will develop the human resources of the state. It is meant to teach the people how to fish and not to give them fish,” he said.

    Dr. Ajayi, the Programme Director of the CBN-EDC Southwest, commended the state for being enterprising and for being the first state in Southwest to sponsor individuals and create avenue for the training since its commencement in March last year.

    Dr. Ajayi further said that of the 135 people that had undergone the training, 125 had submitted their business plans; hence, the State Micro-Credit Agency will start interacting with them henceforth.

    He urged the participants not to waste the money they would receive for their businesses but to ensure that they create enterprises, employ other people in order to create more jobs.

    Contributing, Mr. Babaranti also encouraged the trainees to persevere their ventures, noting that people can only take risks against waste but not uncertainty.

    He revealed that the available interventions for funding of businesses included the Microcredit agency: N1, 000 to N1, 000,000; Bank of Industry (BOI) Fund, minimum of N5, 000,000; and commercial banks N10 million to N50 million, all at maximum 9 per cent interest rates. He urged the trainees to engage in businesses they are passionate about.

    Mrs. Adebayo said the CBN is leveraging on research that has shown that economies thrive on the MSMEs, hence the CBN’s MSMSE’s development fund, YIEDP, Agric Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund, Financial Inclusion Programme. She added that the apex bank is looking forward to producing Osun rice in lieu of the current importation of rice.

    In her remark, Otunba Laoye-Tomori, gave a wakeup call to the youth.

    She emphasised that it is not right that artisans from neighbouring countries would be preferred to their Nigerian counterparts.

    She said: “This should change and the CBN-EDC is one of the means of putting an end to this aberration. All the graduating trainees are expected to go and start businesses in order to end poverty and enhance employment rate. The era of oil boom is gone and we have to work with our hands.”

    She further said that some of the business plans that were presented at the event indicate that things have changed to the better.

    “This is not the first time that the CBN-EDC Southwest has partnered with the people of Osun State to provide entrepreneurship training and business development services. Seventy-five SMEs were trained through Co-operative groups that organised entrepreneurship training for her members in July this year.”

  • NGO partners Osun, Fed. Govt. on cancer education

    NGO partners Osun, Fed. Govt. on cancer education

    In its bid to stem the rate of prevalence of cancer in the country, the Glorious Youth Empowerment Centre (GYEC), a non-governmental  organisation (NGO), in partnership with Marie Stopes International, Nigeria, the Osun State and the Federal Ministry of Health, has held a cancer sensitisation and screening programme in Osun State for women.

    No fewer than 23 nurses were trained by a team of specialists from Marie Stopes International, Nigeria at a week-long workshop entitled “Who Shall Deliver us From This Plague?” held in Osogbo, Osun State capital city.

    Out of the 23 nurses, 15 were from Osun Hospital Management Board, seven from Osun Ministry of Health and one from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hopital (LAUTECHTH).

    Subsequent to the workshop, a capacity building training was carried out for health personnel at the General Hospital Asubiaro in Osogbo.

    According to the team leader of the cancer project, Glorious Youth Empowerment Centre, Dr. Samuel Ekundayo, 200 women were screened for cancer during the week-long programme.

    Ekundayo, who revealed that 80 women were screened for cervical cancer, said at the end of the exercise, no case of cervical cancer was recorded, adding that medical advice was offered to the participants.

    Explaining the mission of the programme, the founder of the NGO, Mrs. Remi Ajibewa, noted that the GYEC had vast interest and experience in the provision of support and necessities for the vulnerable youth, women and widows in the society, saying “our mission is to promote quality life for women, children, young people and other vulnerable population through skill development, enlightenment, advocacy engagements and direct support services.”

    Continuing, she said: “We have specifically focused the attention of this workshop on cancer in order to enlighten our people, especially at this time when our current lifestyles predispose us to different kinds of diseases.

    “Our interest in cancer is because the disease is one of the toughest fights anyone can face. Or even one of the greatest challenges difficult to come to terms with when it is diagnosed. The disease is growing rapidly in our community like a raged fire and the entire world at large, with several lives lost and dreams shattered.

    “The World Health Organisation (WHO) says cancer accounts for 13 per cent of all deaths registered globally. Seventy per cent of that figure occurs in middle and low income countries. In Nigeria, about 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded annually while 250,000 new cases are recorded yearly, with breast and cervical cancers being the commonest among women.

    “Prostate cancer is more prevalent in men. Unfortunately, many Nigerians are still poorly educated on this growing disease. Many Nigerians still see cancer as a disease of the wealthy, the elderly and even restricted to the developed countries. While many sufferers of the disease in the country, on the other hand, still regard it as their fate and, as such, a death sentence.

    “Cancer is not just a health issue; it has far-reaching social and economic implications. It also does not discriminate. It is a global epidemic that affects all ages. Its consequences are alarming, challenging and very demanding; even as it has been noted to kill more than HIV and AIDS.

    “Although persistent research is still ongoing towards finding a permanent cure for this most puzzled disease, we at GYEC believe that massive awareness of the general populace is critical to stemming the tide of cancer in Nigeria and indeed globally.”

  • Osun: we’ve paid pensioners up to August

    The Osun State government has paid pensioners till August, it was learnt.

      It condemned a protest by a group of pensioners in the state capital, Osogbo, yesterday.

    Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the state staged a peaceful protest over unpaid arrears by the government.

    They accused the government of excluding them from the N34 billion bailout funds from the Federal Government.

    In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication & Strategy, Governor’s Office, Semiu Okanlawon, the government said: “This is ill-conceived and the reason is this, as the protest was ongoing, some of them were getting bank alerts for August. Some had received their pay since Tuesday.

    “Given the commitment demonstrated by the government, we know this protest is not supported by majority of pensioners.

    “Local government and primary school pensioners have been paid up to August, same as all workers. This also goes for the pensioners, who retired from the civil service.

     “The arrangement is that pensioners earning below N20,000 are paid in full. Those earning above N20,000 are paid 50 per cent.

    “We sympathise with our workers and pensioners for not paying up to date but it’s pertinent to state that this is not peculiar to Osun.

    “Osun has made efforts that should be commended by all, especially in the face of national cash crunch.

    “There is no basis to accuse Governor Rauf Aregbesola of diversion of fund because there is nothing like that.”

  • NGO partners Osun, Fed. Govt. on cancer education

    NGO partners Osun, Fed. Govt. on cancer education

    In its bid to stem the rate of prevalence of cancer in the country, the Glorious Youth Empowerment Centre (GYEC), a non-governmental  organisation (NGO), in partnership with Marie Stopes International, Nigeria, the Osun State and the Federal Ministry of Health, has held a cancer sensitisation and screening programme in Osun State for women.

    No fewer than 23 nurses were trained by a team of specialists from Marie Stopes International, Nigeria at a week-long workshop entitled “Who Shall Deliver us From This Plague?” held in Osogbo, Osun State capital city.

    Out of the 23 nurses, 15 were from Osun Hospital Management Board, seven from Osun Ministry of Health and one from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hopital (LAUTECHTH).

    Subsequent to the workshop, a capacity building training was carried out for health personnel at the General Hospital Asubiaro in Osogbo.

    According to the team leader of the cancer project, Glorious Youth Empowerment Centre, Dr. Samuel Ekundayo, 200 women were screened for cancer during the week-long programme.

    Ekundayo, who revealed that 80 women were screened for cervical cancer, said at the end of the exercise, no case of cervical cancer was recorded, adding that medical advice was offered to the participants.

    Explaining the mission of the programme, the founder of the NGO, Mrs. Remi Ajibewa, noted that the GYEC had vast interest and experience in the provision of support and necessities for the vulnerable youth, women and widows in the society, saying “our mission is to promote quality life for women, children, young people and other vulnerable population through skill development, enlightenment, advocacy engagements and direct support services.”

    Continuing, she said: “We have specifically focused the attention of this workshop on cancer in order to enlighten our people, especially at this time when our current lifestyles predispose us to different kinds of diseases.

    “Our interest in cancer is because the disease is one of the toughest fights anyone can face. Or even one of the greatest challenges difficult to come to terms with when it is diagnosed. The disease is growing rapidly in our community like a raged fire and the entire world at large, with several lives lost and dreams shattered.

    “The World Health Organisation (WHO) says cancer accounts for 13 per cent of all deaths registered globally. Seventy per cent of that figure occurs in middle and low income countries. In Nigeria, about 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded annually while 250,000 new cases are recorded yearly, with breast and cervical cancers being the commonest among women.

    “Prostate cancer is more prevalent in men. Unfortunately, many Nigerians are still poorly educated on this growing disease. Many Nigerians still see cancer as a disease of the wealthy, the elderly and even restricted to the developed countries. While many sufferers of the disease in the country, on the other hand, still regard it as their fate and, as such, a death sentence.

    “Cancer is not just a health issue; it has far-reaching social and economic implications. It also does not discriminate. It is a global epidemic that affects all ages. Its consequences are alarming, challenging and very demanding; even as it has been noted to kill more than HIV and AIDS.

    “Although persistent research is still ongoing towards finding a permanent cure for this most puzzled disease, we at GYEC believe that massive awareness of the general populace is critical to stemming the tide of cancer in Nigeria and indeed globally.”

  • Osun library needs rehabilitation

    SIR: Despite the spate of controversies that has so far journeyed with the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, his laudable  feats in the education sector, among others, cannot be denigrated.

    For instance no sooner had he been sworn in in November 2010 than he announced an enormous slash in the school fees regime hitherto operational in all the state-owned tertiary institutions to make tertiary education more accessible to people.

    Besides, he has built many magnificent and ultra-modern primary and secondary school buildings across the state to replace the old fashioned and dilapidated structures his administration inherited from his predecessors as part of efforts to change the trend of low patronage hitherto encountered in public schools. In a similar vein, the Governor introduced free meal in all primary schools in the state, an innovation already coveted by one federal government.

    It is however appallingly contradictory that the state library where students are expected to go for personal development is in a deplorable state. The environment is busy and unkempt. The toilet, built outside the library hall is not maintained and therefore no longer serving the purpose of its erection. The library hall is a total disappointment. The ventilation is extremely poor and alarming. The windows can best be described as relics of a by-gone era. Almost all the ancient ceiling fans in the library are moribund. The effect of the only two or three that are still functioning cannot be felt more than a person sitting beside a pregnant woman inside a moving bus can hear the kick of the foetus inside her womb. This makes intense heat to always have a field day inside the library without the slightest fear of been checkmated, hence the users become the helpless casualties.

    Governor Aregbesola, kindly assist to rehabilitate the library.

     

    • Jide Bakare,

    LAUTECH, Ogbomoso.