The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OSUN

  • Don’t affect your students’ future negatively, Osun tells teachers

    Osun State government has warned teachers against acts that can adversely affect the future of their pupils.The government urged them to ensure their students perform well morally and academically.

    The deputy governor, Chief Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, spoke at the flag off of the distribution of instructional materials to over 300 Middle Schools across the state. The occasion was held at the premises of the Osun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) along Gbongan Road, Osogbo, the state capital

    According to her, government would no longer tolerate absenteeism and laziness among teachers in public schools

    The deputy governor, who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education, said government had resolved to restore sanity to public schools across the state

    Laoye-Tomori noted that the performance of pupils in examinations must henceforth reflect the huge resources the government is committing into the education sector

    She said: “If you collect money for a service, people must be made to render such service to the public. A situation whereby teachers are absent from schools will no longer be tolerated by this administration. We have 35 payment vouchers for drawing salaries from the coffers of the government but only 12 teachers are actually coming to school. This indecency in the education sector must stop because this is the only way sanity could be brought to the sector. Teachers and principals will also be rewarded when their students and schools perform very well in their exams.”

    Laoye-Tomori announced that the Aregbesola’s administration is planning to introduce teachers housing scheme programme where teachers estate would be constructed by the government, especially for those posted to rural areas

    She also said government would soon introduce Unified Joint Examination Scheme for pupils in public schools in order to access them for external examinations

    She appealed for the cooperation of the civil servants to the government so as to deliver good governance to the people.

    Earlier, the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prince Felix Awofisayo, said that the provision of instructional materials was meant to improve teachers and students’ performance.

    Also, the Permanent Secretary, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Fatai Kolawole, said: “The materials are educational inputs that are of vital importance to teaching and learning. It has been observed that their availability in schools will go a long way in assisting principals and teachers in delivery of knowledge and curriculum controls; hence efforts of this government to make the materials available in spite of paucity of funds in the state.”

  • Osun approves Oluwo of Iwo

    Osun approves Oluwo of Iwo

    Osun State  Governor Rauf Aregbesola has approved the appointment of the Oluwo of Iwo.

    He is Prince Rasheed Adewale Akanbi of Gbaase Ruling House.

    An announcement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, said the appointment followed the completion of the due process by the kingmakers of Iwo in Iwo Local Government Area.

  • Osun to improve IGR through land use charge

    Osun to improve IGR through land use charge

    The Osun State House of Assembly yesterday organised a public hearing on Land Use Charge Bill which is targeted at improving the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.

    Speaking at the event witnessed by the Deputy Governor Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, the Chief of Staff to the governor, Gboyega Oyetola, the Speaker, Najeem Salaam, said the bill will ensure that payment of all property and land-based rates in the state is enforced.

    Also in attendance were traditional rulers, including the Akirun of Ikirun, the Ataoja of Osogbo, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, the Olobu of Ilobu, the Oloyan of Oyan, the Elerin of Erin-Osun, among others.

    According to Salaam, the bill would also address charges payable under the land rate law, the neighbourhood improvement charge law as well as tenement rates law.

    The Speaker said the bill had undergone second reading “if passed it would improve the state’s revenue of the state, especially now that government is going the whole hog to boost the state’s revenue”. Salaam lamented that the revenue presently accruable to the state was not enough for developmental projects.

     

  • Masqueraders protest in Osun

    Masqueraders protest in Osun

    It was an unusual sight yesterday as six masqueraders joined protesters in Esa-Oke, Obokun Local Government of Osun State to protest the proposed merger of tertiary institutions.

    The rumour had continued to spread in communities hosting the institutions – the State Polytechnic, Ikire, the State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, the State College of Education, Ila and State College of Education, Ilesa.

    It was gathered that the protesters prevented lecturers and students of the College of Technology, Esa-Oke, from entering the campus.

    They were said to have warned the government against the plan, maintaining that the move might have untold consequences if the proposed plan was not shelved.

    Residents of Esa-Oke yesterday barricaded the college road, sending students and workers back home.

    The Owamiran of Esa-Oke, Oba Adeyemi Adediran, said the protest was to prevent Governor Rauf Aregbesola from embarking on the alleged plan to merge the institutions.

    The monarch urged the governor to shelve the plan, saying the indigenes will prevent any attempt to merge the institution.

    Similar protests had been held in Ila-Orangun and Iree by indigenes of the two communities.

    However, the government had earlier stated that the plan was to restructure the institutions and not to merge them.

  • Osun teachers suspend four-month strike

    Osun teachers suspend four-month strike

    Teachers in the four Osun State-owned tertiary institutions have suspended their over four-month strike.

    The teachers, under the aegis of the Council of Academic Staff Unions of Osun State-owned Tertiary Institutions (CASUOSTI), comprising Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU),  signed an agreement with the government.

    The government has ordered the payment of their salaries, following their action.

    The state also withdrew all court cases against the union.

    The union said: “With this suspension, the council directs all academic staff across the four institutions to resume work immediately while we assure stakeholders that our members will double efforts to redeem the period sacrificed to the strike.”

    Speaking at the signing of the agreement, CASUOSTI Chairman Lasisi Iyanda said the strike was called off following the government’s commitment to the continuous application of the Contributory Pension Scheme.

    According to him, the  government promised to pay January to June salaries and deductions for the period within seven days of resumption.

    Iyanda said: “This day is a signal of development. I want to appreciate and thank Governor Rauf Aregbesola for adopting an amicable approach to resolving the crises.

    “We are grateful to those who contributed significantly towards the suspension of the strike; most importantly for their timely, necessary and meaningful intervention.”

    Aregbesola’s Chief of Staff Gboyega Oyetola, who signed on behalf of the government, said  it would try “as much as possible to honour the agreement to the letter”.

    Oyetola said Aregbesola was   committed to the people’s welfare.

    He said: “We have signed an agreement and we will make sure that it works. Let us all hail the magnanimity of the governor.

    ‘’We must also show understanding at all times to operate with government in trust. This administration has nothing to hide from anybody.

    “I am glad that we have been able to resolve this crisis. And we need to learn one or two lessons from this, we must learn to trust the government and look inward to start developing our revenue. The support of all is needed to move the state forward.”

  • Osun gets micro-grid solar power

    As part of efforts to stem rural-urban migration, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has inaugurated a 24kilowatts (kw) micro-grid solar solution in two communities in Osun State.

    BoI Managing Director Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, said the project is in furtherance of the United Nations campaign for eco-friendly sources of energy. With this initiative, Osun is the first state to benefit from Bol’s intervention in the provision of renewable energy in Southwest, he added.

    The solar electrification project is located in Idi-Ata and Onibambu communities in Osun State. Olaoluwa, however, lamented that rural communities are the worst hit in terms of poor access to electricity, especially the off-grid arrears, which have always been without power supply and have resigned their fate to the use of kerosene lanterns, oil lamps, and other types of dangerous and unhealthy sources of light to be able to live daily.

    The development, he said, has hampered the socio-economic development of the nation as it has created an atmosphere that is not conducive for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are the drivers of the nation’s economic growth.

    He stated that the situation remained one of the main factors responsible for the concept of rural-urban migration. Olaoluwa noted that the 4,500 megawatts (Mw) of electricity generated from the national grid was grossly inadequate for a leading African economy like Nigeria with a population of about 170 million people, hence the intervention of Bol and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

    The Bol chief said the bank is starting off with the provision of long-term financing for the installation of off-grid solar home systems in six communities in a pilot phase, as part of its Solar Energy Partnership with UNIDO.

    He said: “These communities with an average of 200 homes each are located in Anambra, Edo, Gombe, Kaduna, Niger and Osun States. Today, we have come to Osun State in partnership with Arnergy Solar Limited to commission a 24kw micro-grid solar electrification system in Idi-ita/Onibambu, a community which hitherto had no access to electricity.”

    The Governor of the State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola urged the leader of the two communities to judiciously protect the installation and ensure that payments are promptly made for energy consumed so that the scheme can be self-sustaining to encourage the investor replicate such in other locations within the state.

    Aregbesola, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Moshood Adeoti said: “As a responsible government, I want the Ministry of Water Resources, Rural Development and Community Affairs to carry out due diligence on the issue of appropriate pricing and adequate supply to each household. This is to ensure consumer protection against exploitation.”

    The Chief Executive Officer of Arnergy, Mr. Femi Adeyemo, said the application of technology for industrialisation is key to enthroning sustainable economic growth and development, adding that the off-grid solar rural electrification is to help reduce the wide gap/deficit in the energy sector in the country.

  • Osun debunks PDP’s allegation of pay cut

    Osun debunks PDP’s allegation of pay cut

    The Osun State government has said it is not cutting salaries as speculated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    It urged the PDP to bury its head in shame as the architect of the various belt-tightening measures which Nigeria must adopt to ensure its survival.

    The government said it was laughable for the PDP to think that it made any expose out of its mischievous statement when it accused the Rauf Aregbesola administration of cutting workers’ salaries and introducing other measures.

    In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Semiu Okanlawon, the government said while there was no attempt at reducing salaries, it was working on measures to keep the state afloat. It accused the PDP of creating an economic crisis during its 16 years of misrule.

    The statement reads: “If the PDP thought it made any news of the removal of overtime allowance of some staff of some government agencies, it must be deceiving itself.

    “If not mischief, how does that translate to cutting of salaries and retrenchment of workers? This is because there is no measure being taken that is not an outcome of rigorous deliberations with workers and other critical stakeholders.”

    The government urged Nigerians to ask the PDP the basis of its unfounded allegations and other tantrums, adding that in no way will the party be excused from the economic woes the country now faces.

    The statement said whoever failed to admit that Nigeria was facing serious economic crisis must be living in the moon, adding: “It is no longer news that the economy of Nigeria and most of the world is in crisis, especially those depending on oil.

    “If the PDP wants to be honest, can the party exonerate itself from the economic morass Nigeria finds itself  today? Even before the unfortunate decline in the sale of crude at the international market, Nigeria endured a most horrendous case of bleeding in the economy.’’

  • Osun, France sign N8b agreement

    The Osun State government and France have signed an agreement to build a €35million (N8 billion) 13 megawatts solar plant.

    Stephane Gompertz, France’s Ambassador for Climate Change, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday that the project was the first of such magnitude to be signed in Nigeria.

    Gompertz said the agreement was signed on Friday by Governor Rauf Aregbesola and a French company, Vergnet, adding that France was supporting Nigeria in the area of renewable energy.

    “As far as new and renewable energy are concerned, the French Agency for Development helps finance through credits, projects in new and renewable energy.

    “On Friday morning, I was with the French Ambassador in Abuja. We were received by Governor Aregbesola. We signed an agreement with a French company called Vergnet.

    “Vergnet will build a solar plant of 13 megawatts, which is quite big for a solar plant. And as far as I am concerned, this is the first project of such magnitude to be signed here in Nigeria.

    “There will be other bigger projects going up to 50 or even 100 megawatts,” he said.

  • Osun suspends workers’ overtime allowance

    The Osun State government has suspended the payment of 25 percent to 35 percent overtime allowance workers of some government agencies.

    This is to ensure regular payment of salaries, according to the Head of Service,  Olayinka Owoeye.

    Owoeye  said the “I AM ALIVE” verification  for pensioners will now take place bi- monthly to check leakages.

    Owoeye was quoted as saying that “in line with the Universal Basic Education policy of the Federal Government, the local governments shall assume responsibility for payment of salaries and allowances of teachers in the middle schools, with effect from October consequent upon which the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) shall only be responsible for the provision of schools infrastructure.”

    Speaking through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Human Resources and Capacity Building, Sunday Olajide, the HoS, however, clarified that “only teachers deployed to remote towns and villages would enjoy any form of extra allowance”.

    He added that the government would open talks with the leadership of medical unions to negotiate a new salary regime as “the one in use is no more in consonant with present day financial reality in the state”.

    Owoeye announced that his office would begin to collate names of officers in the core civil service and local government service with certificates in agriculture, medical sciences and education for immediate redeployment to relevant agencies.

    He added that promotion of officers in the public service will now be based on performance and productivity.

    The HoS said: “To improve the quality of education, the  government has approved the establishment of the Teachers Establishment Office, which would be responsible for the appointment, promotion, discipline and administration of salaries and allowances of elementary and middle school teachers with district offices across the state.

    Owoeye clarified that the Teachers Establishments and Pensions Office (TEPO) has been re-designed as Education Officers Establishments Office with the management of teachers pensions returned to the State Bureau of Public Service Pensions.

    According to him: “To complement the efforts of the recently concluded screening and verification, the Offices of the Auditors-General for the state and Local Governments have been mandated to verify the payrolls of the workforce two weeks before salary computation monthly.

    “The conduct of the ‘I AM ALIVE’ exercise for pensioners will now take place bi-monthly to check pension leakages.

    “Governor Rauf Aregbesola has also directed that some measures aimed at coping with the current challenges of acute shortage of public fund be implemented  immediately.”

     

  • Osun waste disposal operators at loggerheads over revenue collection

    Osun waste disposal operators at loggerheads over revenue collection

    Members of the Association of Waste Management Handlers of Osun State are at loggerheads over the call for probe of the purchase of vehicles given to them as loans by the state government.

    While some members led by the president of the association , Waheed Olayemi, are demanding that a probe panel should be constituted by the government to investigate the purchase of waste disposal vehicles, others led by the immediate past chairman, Oladele Aderinto, believe, that the call for such probe was selfish and unnecessary.

    Olayemi said that the issue of substandard vehicles given to his members should be addressed before the government embarks on revenue collection to ensure an efficient service delivery and high level of public compliance.

    But in his argument, Aderinto said those complaining about the quality of the vehicles are being economical with the truth, saying all the 40 vehicles distributed to them are all working.

    He added that his group is comfortable with the tripartite  arrangement reached among stakeholders in 2013 when the project commenced, and which stated that the government is to carry out enforcement, while the consultant would be in charge of the collection of revenue.

    He said: “When we started in 2013, we joined the project individually not on the platform of any association.  Council chairman of every individual must only certify that applicant is from his local government. Now, those complaining about the vehicles cannot say any of them had packed up and off road, except for the one that had an accident out of about 40. Then, we must know why they are against the tripartite arrangement we reached when we started in 2013.”