Tag: Rauf Aregbesola

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said the objective of conducting a referendum on local government creation was in line with the constitution.

The governor spoke yesterday after casting his vote at the Ifofin Ward 8 Unit 1 in Ilesa at the on-going referendum on the creation of new local governments in the state by the State Independent Electoral Commission.

In 2012, the government set up a committee to look into how the state could create viable local government councils with sustainable socio-economic potentials.

The governor said the state will do everything under the constitution to create local governments that will meet all required standards.

He said the state was determined to ensure that all legal, technical and constitutional procedures are followed in the council creation processes.

“As it is in democracy, what we are trying to do is to feel the pulse of the people to know what their preferences are. I am sure the state will not have any problem as being envisaged by some people because we will do everything possible to meet the constitutional requirement.

“We are working round the clock as you can see that voting is taking place all over the state to know the feeling of our people on the creation of additional local governments.

“We will create councils that will meet all constitutional requirements. It is the genuine desire of the people for self-government.”

The Osun State government has deployed its veterinary officers to man the control posts at entry points into the state to prevent the spread of Avian Influenza.

The government has approved the purchase of chemicals to fumigate farms in the state.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the state chapter of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in collaboration with Tuns Farms on the prevention of bird flu, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, represented by his Chief of Staff, Adegboyega Oyetola, said the government took the steps to ensure that that there would be no case of Avian Influenza in the state.

He said “You would recollect that when the disease became epidemic in Nigeria in 2006, there was no single case in our state. In our bid to prevent the recent alerts in some states, we have approved the purchase of chemicals to fumigate all farms in the state.

“I have also directed the Veterinary Department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to deploy all its officers to man all the control posts in and out of the state.”

•Launches Army Remembrance emblem

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has called on Nigerians to stand against misuse of the military and abuse of governmental authority during next month’s general elections.

The governor said this yesterday when he delivered his address: “A toast to our men and women of valour at the launching of the Armed Forces remembrance emblem at the Government House, Osogbo.

Aregbesola said Nigerians must ensure that the military and other security agents were not used to intimidate civilians during the elections as it was done in Osun during the last August 9 governorship election.

He launched the emblem with N2.5million, saying the government could have launched the emblem with more than the N10 million it donated last year, but for the cash crunch the state was facing.

The governor said for a better Nigeria and change, citizens must come out in large numbers to vote out the leadership and vote in a progressive government.

He said: “It is a great misnomer and misuse of the military and society’s resources for soldiers to be deployed as instruments in abridging the citizens’ freedom and liberty, and to intimidate and bully them for the sinister purpose of gaining electoral advantage.

“This we have witnessed on several occasions when the Federal Government unleashed combat-ready soldiers on the populace in a purely civil matter of vote casting by law-abiding citizens.

“More alarming is the fact that this happened at a time when a part of the country had been taken over by a terrorist group, whose dislodgement should have been a matter of high national security priority.

“Such inexcusable abuse of authority and citizens’ trust ought to trigger in any right-thinking citizen a deep sense of patriotic indignation.”

The Deputy Commandant-General and state Chairman, Nigerian Legion, Col. Alimi Samotu, called on the Federal Government to pay the 20 per cent balance of the pension arrears to avoid a protest.

He said: “The fallen heroes being remembered today deserve the honour because of the supreme sacrifice they made, particularly during the Civil War.

“The gallant fighters lost their lives on the battle field without a farewell to their parents, wives, children and other relations.”

 

As the defence of the petition against the victory of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9 governorship election entered the second day yesterday, a witness to the first respondent, Rasheed Okeowo, told the tribunal that eligible voters in his unit were allowed to cast their votes, without being induced with money, food and any other materials.

Under cross examination led by the counsel to the petitioner, Chris Uche, Okeowo, from Unit 2, Ward 4 of Boripe Local Government, said: “Election in my unit was not rigged. Aregbesola told us to fast for his victory and we all did”.

Okeowo told the panel that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials failed to give parties’ agents duplicate copies of election results.

He also testified that parties’ agents were not given duplicate copies of signed election result sheets after the conclusion of the exercise.

Also, being cross examined, another witness, Bello Afeez Adekunle, said there was no harassment or violence at Apeni Compound, Unit 10, Idi Omo, in Ede on the election day.

When the counsel to the first respondent, Felix Fagboungbe, applied to the tribunal for adjournment till tomorrow, Uche did not oppose the application.

However, Fagbohungbe said today should be counted as part of the 10 days allocated to his client.

The chairman of the Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime, granted the application and adjourned proceedings till tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters after yesterday’s proceedings, Uche, said: “You can see that the respondents don’t have a case. In fact, they are hunting for witnesses. That was why they applied for adjournment yesterday after calling just four witnesses.

“They are taking adjournment again after calling four witnesses. They don’t want to proceed to afternoon session. But, we are ready for them. You can see all the contradictions in the testimony of their witnesses.”

A lawyer in the legal team of the first respondent, Ajibola Basiru, said: “The petitioner has not proved anything. They have called 43 witnesses who have failed. What kind of testimony did you want to present from Ilesa East, where he is challenging result of about 76 polling units?

“They have called only one agent. He is expecting the tribunal to nullify election of a local government on the testimony of single witness from Boripe Local Government.”

 

 

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola opened yesterday his defence in the case brought against his re-election by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, in the August 9 governorship election.

The defence counsel, Felix Fagbohungbe, led four witnesses in evidence before the Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime panel to prove that the election was neither rigged nor manipulated.

Folorunsho Olojede, Akinropo Adeniji, Rauf Ajide and Mrs. Rachael Babatunde while being cross examined by counsel to the petitioner Chris Uche told the tribunal that election in their respective polling units was free and fair with no case of multiple voting as claimed by the petitioner.

At 1pm, Fagbohungbe sought for adjournment of the proceedings till today and to which counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Rotimi Akeredolu and that of the Independent National Electoral Commission Oketunji Ogunleye agreed to.

PDP counsel Chris Uche expressed satisfaction with the tribunal proceedings, attributing the decision of the APC to adjourn till today before the end of the session to low performance of their witnesses during cross examination.

But Akeredolu said the four witnesses did well contrary to the claims of the petitioner, saying the call for adjournment was necessary for strategic reasons.

Aregbesola has nine more days left to defend his victory.

 

AHEAD of tomorrow’s primaries of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, aspirants jostling for tickets to represent Ede South in the Osun State House of Assembly on the platform of the party are  alleging plot to manipulate the screening of participants in the exercise.

It was gathered that members of the Screening Committee, including the party leaders allegedly collected a N5 million bribe from their candidate of choice and rated him first after screening out other aspirants from participating in the primaries.

The aggrieved aspirants, it was learnt, have written a petition to the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the state party chairman, Prince Adegboyega Famodun and other national leaders of the party asking them to address their grievances.

In the petition, the 10 aspirants urged Aregbesola as well as the APC national and state leaders to “reject the handpicked aspirant” as the candidate of the party.

 

Counsel to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disagreed with the procedure adopted by counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, in tendering the ballot papers used during the August 9 governorship election.

The defence counsel disagreed with Omisore and the PDP, who are challenging the re-election of Aregbesola before the Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime-led election petition tribunal.

Based on the application of the petitioners, the tribunal issued a subpoena duces tecum (to produce documents) on the INEC to produce the original ballot papers used for the election and which INEC produced on Monday.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, the petitioners’ counsel, Alex Izinyon, sought to tender the ballot papers through “a forensic expert witness”, Pius Bakare, as claimed by the petitioners by asking him to open the sacks containing the ballot papers.

But Aregbesola’s counsel Akin Olujinmi said the witness could not even look at the documents because he was not an INEC official.

He said the INEC official who was directed to produce the document ought to be called to identify the document he had produced.

Similar arguments were canvassed by APC’s counsel Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and INEC counsel Ayotunde Ogunleye, who argued that the procedure of the petitioners were unknown in law.

They argued that the petitioners’ counsel have failed to use the opportunity of subpoena duces tecum ad testificandum, to direct the INEC officials to produce the document and give evidence on them.

Subsequently, the tribunal judges intervened and asked respondents to allow the witness to look at them and tender through him.

However, another argument ensued when the respondent’s counsel insisted that if the witness would be allowed to tender them, the entire sacks containing the ballot papers must be opened to allow them see the contents of the sacks.

Sequel to the insistence, the tribunal judges intervene again and suggested that to avoid wasting of time, the respondents should take the sacks as they were and make any objection they have on whatever they saw.

In objecting to the admissibility of the sacks of the ballot papers however, Olujinmi, Osinbajo and Ogunleye canvassed that if the documents are indeed ballot papers as claimed, the witness was not competent to tender them.

They argued that the petition has never told the court that the witness was the maker of the documents, saying, since he was not the maker or the person in custody of the documents, he could not tender them.

However, the tribunal reserved ruling on the admissibility of the ballot papers used in the 17 local governments being challenged but marked them as exhibits before the court.

Earlier, the petitioners’ counsel had sought to tender the report of the forensic inspection and the non-certified specimen of the ballot papers allegedly used to prepare the report but the respondents’ counsel objected to its admissibility on the ground that it was a computer-generated evidence.

According to them: “Such documents without certificate and evidence that the device used to produce them was working properly are inadmissible.”

They said to show that the report was computer-generated evidence, the witness had said in his written statement that he used electronic devices to process the documents.

On the uncertified ballot papers, the respondents’ counsel argued that since it was public documents, they ought to have been certified by INEC for it to be admissible.

The petitioners’ counsel also sought to tender the purported Certified True Copies (CTC) of the lists of ad hoc INEC workers deployed for the election.

The respondents’ counsel also objected to the admissibility of the documents, but reserved their objections till the address stages.

The tribunal marked all the documents sought to be tendered as exhibits but reserved ruling on their admissibility till the judgment stage.