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Tag: Rauf Aregbesola

  • Osun governor’s office to spend N22bn in 2018

    Osun governor’s office to spend N22bn in 2018

    The Osun Government is to spend N22.2 billion for the running of  the office of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola in the 2018 fiscal year, Sen. Mudashiru Husain, the Commissioner for Cabinet Matters,  has said.

    Hussain disclosed this while speaking at the 2018 budget defence session at the State House of Assembly on Thursday in Osogbo.

    He said the Office of the Governor was made up of 30 bureaus and agencies, all of which were funded from the state’s  budget.

    Husain, said N13.9 billion of the amount would be spent on recurrent expenditure, while the balance of  N8.3 billion would be devoted to  capital expenditure.

    The commissioner said the proposed spending represented 0.9 percent reduction in the 2017 figure of N22.4 billion.

    He said revenue projection and capital receipts for the agencies in 2018 stood at N4.3 billion as against the 2017 figure of N18.4 billion.

    According to the commissioner, the reduction in the proposed revenue was due to restructuring of agencies of government as well as the prevailing economic hardship in the country.

    Husain  said that Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state was below expectation, saying there was need for government agencies to be more aggressive in increasing revenue generation for government to finance its projects.

    Aregbesola had on Dec. 28, presented the 2018 budget proposal of N173 billion to the House for approval.

    Meanwhile, the Head of Service, Mr Gboyega Oyebade, has said that government  released N1 billion for the payment of gratuity to retirees in the state.

    The Head of Service, who appeared at the budget defence alongside the Commissioner for Budget, said  retirees who had  completed their documentation would be paid within a week.

    He said retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme would also be issued bond certificates.

    In his remarks, Mr Kamil Oyedele, Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, said all revenue generating agencies must live up  to their responsibility of improving IGR in the state.

    NAN

  • Osun 2018: Battle royale for APC’s guber ticket

    Osun 2018: Battle royale for APC’s guber ticket

    The stage is getting set for the September 22 governorship election in Osun State as more chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) go public with their desire to succeed outgoing governor Rauf Aregbesola, writes Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan.

    AHEAD of the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun state, political gladiators, especially aspirants for the governorship seat in the state within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have intensified efforts at ensuring the realization of their ambitions. This followed what observers of the politics of the state suspected to be a subtle wait by chieftains of the party on outgoing Governor Rauf Aregbesola, to give an inkling of where his preference lies.

    But as the much anticipated election draws closer, with Aregbesola still preferring to keep chieftains and members of his party guessing about who he has in mind as his likely successor, party sources say APC members with governorship ambition may have decided to bring their aspiration into the open while hoping they will eventually get the nod of the governor.

    Findings by The Nation revealed that before now, unlike their counterparts in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), gubernatorial hopefuls on the platform of the ruling party have been keeping their political activities in check, preferring instead to continue with what one of them described as ‘underground intra party consultations’, largely due to their desire to know Aregbesola’s disposition towards their aspiration before going too far.

    Comrade Monsur Aibinuola, a former legislator from Ikire, while speaking to The Nation, said “many of them have been waiting to know if the governor is favorably disposed towards their aspiration. Some others want to find out what then position of the party and party leaders will be on the burning issue of zoning. Their are those who want the party and or the governor to openly announce who the APC will field before throwing themselves into the race.

    “But as you can see, Governor Aregbesola appears not to be in a hurry to endorse or anoint anybody. Or he is simply not going to do that. I once heard him saying he will anoint anybody the party chooses as candidate. But there is no doubt about the fact that the main reason why our aspirants were not as visible as those of the PDP was because many were still waiting on Aregbesola.”

    He however confirmed that the situation has changed as “APC aspirants are now shaking off their earlier complacency and giving their aspirations more bite.” The Nation also gathered that in the last couple of weeks, the presence of the ruling parties governorship contenders is now more felt as several of them are openly carrying out various political activities and consultations within and outside the party.

    “It is the outcome of a recent directive to APC aspirants by our leaders. They were told to go out and popularize the party. We can only have one governorship candidate at the end of the day, but we must all work hard to take the party to the nooks and crannies of the state once again as the election approaches. This is exactly what our leaders, including the governor told them. And I am sure that is why you noticed the change in their activities,” another party source said.

    Consequently, no fewer than a dozen chieftains of the ruling party are said to be making consultations in furtherance of their aspirations. While some of them have publicly declared their interest in taking over from Governor Aregbesola later this year, others are said to be making subtle moves to solidify their political bases before going public with their gubernatorial aspiration.

    Thus, their is a battle royale among the many gubernatorial gladiators within the state chapter of the ruling APC. And very soon, chieftains and members would be confronted with the seemingly simple task of choosing who will fly the party’s banner at the September 22 governorship election. But pundits say given the array of aspirants now jostling for the coveted job, the task before APC faithfuls in Osun is obviously not as simple as it appears.

     

    Some contenders

    Among those jostling to succeed Governor Rauf Aregbesola within the party’s fold is Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, the incumbent Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and a former Chairman of the defunct Acton Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state. A leading chieftain of the ruling party, Adeoti is an influential politician seen as many as one of the front-runners in the race for the APC governorship ticket.

    Pundits say the 65 year old politician is banking on the unwritten zoning arrangement in the state to favor his aspiration. He hails from Iwo in Osun West senatorial district. Former governors Bisi Akande and Olagunsoye Oyinlola from Osun Central governed the state between 1999 and 2010 while Osun East senatorial district produced the incumbent, Aregbesola on November 26, 2010. He is rounding up his second term in office.

    Adeoti is a politician with a wide political network that cuts across the state. His experience in government and politics is also expected to be advantageous in his pursuit of the party’s governorship ticket. Sources claim he recently reactivated his political bases in all the local government areas of the state as part of efforts to further boost his chances of emerging as the APC candidate.

    Also being rumored to be revving to throw his hat into the ring of the contest for the APC ticket is Hon. Najeem Salaam, the current Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly. A close political ally of incumbent Governor Aregbesola, the Ejigbo-born politician, according to close aides, is one of those who wishes to know the workings of the governor’s mind before going all out with their ambition.

    “The Speaker want to contest the governorship election. But as a loyal party man, he is also considering the interest of the party at all times. He is interested in ensuring that the governorship race does not in any way create crisis for the party, hence his cautious approach to the contest. But nonetheless, he is a top contender for the ticket any day and any how you look at it,” a source told The Nation.

    Coming from Osun West like Adeoti, though much younger and an astute politician in all ramification, Salaam, to many party chieftains, stands a good chance should he get the nod of the governor. He has been Speaker of the Assembly since 2011. He is one of those believed to posses the leadership and financial wherewithal to confront the opposition PDP at the 2018 goober contest.

    Incumbent Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Lasun Yussuf, has left no one in doubt of his desire to fly the banner of the ruling APC during the governorship election later in the year. For nearly two years now, he has been criss-crossing the state, consulting party leaders and members over his much publicized gubernatorial ambition.

    Also from Osun West senatorial district, the Ilobu-born lawmaker, according to party sources, is confident of emerging as the candidate of the APC and has been working hard to secure the support of relevant stakeholders ahead of the primary election of the ruling party. Aside being an old war horse in the politics of the state, Lasun’s supporters are banking on his perceived huge war chest to clinch the ticket.

    However, pundits say his soured relationship with Governor Aregbesola may prove his ongoing when the chips are down. He fell out with the governor at the onset of his current term at the national assembly. Efforts to reconcile the duo have proved abortive on several occasions. Expectedly, many interests and forces within the party have been up in arms against Lasun’s ambition.

    Gboyega Oyetola, the current Chief of Staff to the Governorb is another aspirant whose visibility has been increasing rapidly in recent weeks. Severally rumored as the preferred candidate of some power blocs within the party, the Iragbiji-born technocrat turned politician, unlike Adeoti, Lasun and Salaam, is from Osun central senatorial district. This is one tool in the hands of those opposed to his aspiration.

    An experienced private sector player before coming into politics, Oyetola, according to his supporters, has what it takes to build on the many achievements of the Aregbesola administration if elected as governor. But he would have to first cross the hurdle placed on his way by the unwritten zoning arrangement among other things before he can think of realizing his governorship ambition.

    “Oyetola’s background in the private sector as well as his experience as a financial expert are some of the things our dear state needs in the post Aregbesola years to remain on the path to development. Those rooting for his candidacy are doing so largely because they understand what the state needs at this crucial period. We cannot afford to hand the state over to anybody who is less equipped for the task,” a party source said.

    Although he is yet to even formally tell his political family of his desire to gun for the governorship seat again, Peter Babalola, the Chairman of Osun Local Government Service Commission, is seen in some quarters as one individual who should not be ruled out of the race for the APC ticket just yet. The former PDP chieftain, who had sought to be Governor on two previous occasions, according to some sources, may be working behind the scene in pursuit of the governorship ticket.

    However, he will have to battle a number of odds if he is to go far in the race. First, not many chieftains and members of the ruling party are comfortable with him as many are yet to forget how fiercely he fought the progressives when he was still in the opposition party. He is also no longer perceived as one of the trusted allies of the governor following his removal as Aregbesola’s Chief of Staff some years back.

     

    How will APC fare?

    Amidst speculations over how the people of Osun state will vote in the forthcoming election, the APC in the state says it it would conveniently win this year’s governorship election in the state going by the level of its performance and acceptability by the people. According to the spokesperson of the APC,“Not minding whoever emerges as PDP candidate, the ruling party will still win convincingly.”

    “The PDP has such a bad image in Osun state that no matter who they fiedl as candidate, the party cannot convince the people to vote for them. The good people of Osun can no longer choose the PDP as an alternative to APC, notwithstanding whoever decamps from the APC to join the PDP. PDP in Osun suffers multiple political defects, which worsen by the day, as a result of the lack of respectable, focussed and dignified leadership that Osun people can trust,” Oyatomi said.

    Speaking in similar vein, Ayo Afolabi, a zonal executive committee member of the APC in the southwest, said given Aregbesola’s outstanding performance as governor of the state, the APC will have little or no opposition to its return to the government house later this year. He recalled that it took the coming of the APC to return the state to the path of growth and development.

    “It was when the administration of Aregesola came on board in 2010 that the state started witnessing growths and development in progressive succession. The infrastructural development under Aregbesola is unequalled despite the paucity of funds. And the good people of the state are not unmindful of these laudable achievements. So, against this background, the people, who are the beneficiaries of these developmental projects will be ready to reciprocate the good gestures from their benefactor by voting en masse for the APC as a sign of appreciation,” he explained.

    But Ayoade Adewopo, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the PDP, disagrees with those who think the ruling party will find it easy to win the forthcoming election. According to the Ife-born legal practitioner, the people of Osun state are today yearning for a change from the status quo. He insisted that PDP remains the party to beat in the next governorship election.

    “PDP will win the next governorship election in Osun state. The people want change once again. We asked for change some years back and we got APC. Now we are clamoring for change again. The people want the PDP to come back and they have the final decision when it comes to election. If the votes of the people are to determine who wins, then I am sure PDP will win.

    “I joined PDP because that is the party of the people of Osun today. The people of Osun state have had the opportunity of tasting what both eh PDP and the APC have to offer them. They have made their choice and I can tell you that choice is PDP. I cannot ask our people to vote for APC again since they now want the PDP back in government.  So, with PDP, I am also following the desire of our people,” he argued.

  • Aregbesola swears in 389 new councillors

    Aregbesola swears in 389 new councillors

    Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Wednesday conducted the swearing-in ceremony for 389 newly elected councillors in the state.

    The News men reports that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) had on Jan. 27 conducted parliamentary local government election in the state.

    The newsmen also reports that the commission on Jan. 28 announced that all the 389 candidates of APC won the councillorship election.

    OSIEC further stated that elected councillors would be running a parliamentary administrative system at the local government tier, with the councillors electing the chairmen among themselves.

    Aregbesola, while performing the swearing-in ceremony in Osogbo, said that his administration adopted the parliamentary system of government in fulfillment of the wishes of the people.

    The governor said it was the overwhelming wish of the people as stated in a report of the committee on political reforms that parliamentary system of government be adopted.

    He averred that the experience in the First Republic would attest to the fact that parliamentary system deepens democracy and offers far greater political representation than any other system.

    The governor   argued that the decision to adopt parliamentary system of government was also in fulfilment of Section 7 (1) of the Nigerian constitution.

    Aregbesola said adopting a new system was not against the constitution or contrary to the tenets of democracy but rather helps to galvanise good governance and effective representation.

    Read Also: ‘Key into Aregbesola ’s vision for youth development’

    “In a parliamentary system, decisions are taken collectively and must be agreed upon by the majority in the house.

    “This system saves campaign cost and reduces the impetus for corruption in that a candidate only needs to campaign in his or her constituency.

    ” This is unlike in the executive system where a presidential candidate must tour the whole country and a governorship candidate must tour the whole state while a chairmanship candidate must tour the entire local council,’’ he said.

    Aregbesola, however, charged the councillors to be change agents that would transform governance in their local communities and deepen democratic practice with quality representation.

    “You must therefore listen to your people and give them access. Your status has placed you in a position of leadership, but not in a position of supremacy and tyranny over the people,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, the Speaker, Osun House of Assembly, Hon. ‎ Najeem Folasayo Salam, said the adoption of parliamentary system was strictly in line with the constitution of Nigeria.

    Salaam said the House approved the parliamentary system to  govern the people at the grassroots,  having considered its numerous advantages over  other systems of government.

    NAN

  • FG to construct 300km rural roads in Osun

    FG to construct 300km rural roads in Osun

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank are to construct 300 kilometres of rural roads in Osun under the Rural Access and Mobility Project ( RAMP ).

    Adelere Oriolowo, the Project Coordinator for RAMP-2 in Osun, disclosed this to newsmen shortly after a pre-bidding meeting held in Osogbo with interested contractors for the RAMP project.

    Oriolowo explained that, the State Project Implementation Unit ( SPIU ), had already invited bids from eligible and reputable contractors for the expression of interest on the project.

    Read also: Osun monarch counsels youths on mentorship

    He said the project would be jointly financed by the World Bank and French Development Agency ( AFD ) in line with World Bank Procurement Regulations.

    Oriolowo pointed out that the past RAMP projects had impacted positively on the lives of rural dwellers in the state.

    The project coordinator explained that the RAMP-2 project would include: site clearance, earthworks; provision of lateritic sub-base course; chemical stabilization; 35mm asphaltic concrete, among others.

    He lauded the administration of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola for its prompt payment of lead funds and other commitments which made donor agencies to show interest.

    He said the rural road projects were recently approved for four participating states, which include: Adamawa, Enugu, Niger and Osun.

    The RAMP-2 project coordinator stressed that contractor that scaled the bidding process must work to specifications.

    NAN

  • Patient who died of Lassa fever not from Osun – Govt.

    Patient who died of Lassa fever not from Osun – Govt.

     

    The Osun Government on Saturday dispelled speculations of outbreak of lassa fever in the state.

    Mr Sola Fasure, media aide to Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, said in a statement issued in Osogbo that a patient who died at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife,as a result of the fever, was not from the state.

    “A patient from Ore, in Ondo State, with symptoms of lassa fever, went to Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Ile-Ife, for treatment, and was immediately transferred to OAUTH, where he regrettably died due to the advanced nature of the sickness.

    ” We must note however that the victim was not a native of Osun, and did not contact lassa fever in the state”, he said.

    Fasure said the clarification became necessary to put a stop to speculations in the social media that ‘Lassa Fever had claimed two lives in the state’.

    He urged people of the state, not to panic, assuring that the state government had put in place,
    surveillance teams in all the local government areas to monitor and check the outbreak of the disease.

    He also urged resident of the state to be watchful of visitors who might be exhibiting symptom of the vital disease, advising that such persons should be reported to the nearest health centre in the state.

    “Residents are required to be vigilant, maintain the highest hygiene standard possible, avoid contact with those infected and report illnesses and deaths emanating from the disease to hospitals and government health centres.

    Lassa fever is an acute viral infection which is transmitted from the faeces and urine of rats when in contact with food and the food is eaten.

    This disease is associated with bleeding and can affect any age group.

     

    NAN

  • Osun LG Election: Omoworare calls for votes for APC 

    Osun LG Election: Omoworare calls for votes for APC 

    The Senator representing Osun East (Ife/Ijesa) Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare has called on voters across the state especially in Ile-Ife and it’s environs to cast their vote for APC candidates in the forthcoming Local Government election in Osun State.

    The call was contained in a press statement issued in Ile-Ife by his media aide Comrade Tunde Dairo. He called on the people of Osun to vote APC candidates to replicate the giant strides of the APC government led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in their local communities.

    He appealed specifically to the people of Ile-Ife to cast their votes for the APC candidates. According to Omoworare, “with complete sense of humility, I call on all our people in all the electoral wards of Ifeland to vote enmasse for all APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.”

    Omoworare went further to appeal to the people saying that “this election offers us a unique opportunity to bring to fore our indisputable position as a politically sophisticated people capable of determining our destinies devoid of parochial or primordial sentiments.”

    He expressed optimism in the capacity of the voting zone to establish itself as political fortress of the ruling APC and enjoy more democratic dividends.

    “It is my fervent hope that rather than make a regressive movement, our  choosing APC candidates over other parties in the local government election of Saturday will prime us in taking our rightful place where we can enjoy to the fullest the dividends of democracy we have so laboured for,” Omoworare said.

  • Osun LG polls: Come out to vote en mass, APC to electorate

    Osun LG polls: Come out to vote en mass, APC to electorate

    The All Progressives Congress ( APC ) in Osun State of has charged the people of the state to come out en masse on Saturday to vote for its candidates in the local government election.

    The party advised the people, particularly the APC supporters to ensure those they prefer to elect to be in charge of their local governments have their votes because “it is a responsibility they should not take lightly.”

    According to the statement by its spokesperson, Kunle Oyatomi “Participation in local government election is as important as any other election in the country, and for locals, it should perhaps be more important for residents of the locality because it is their closest interaction with governance through which they can be heard.

    “Since it is official from the state electoral commission that the election is holding on Saturday, and since no other agency is authorised by law to do so, it is imperative that voters turn up for the election. 
    ‘Nobody should allow himself/herself  to be deceived that there will be no voting on that day. Anyone who says so will be attempting to fool you; so you have to come out and vote for your choice of candidate 

    “Any party that is not participating in the election may be doing so either out of ignorance or fear of possible disgraceful failure at the polls or both. However, the APC already has 280 of its candidates returned unopposed out of the 389 wards; but that’s not a reason to take victory for granted in the remaining 109 wards up for grabs. Go out on Saturday and register a decisive victory by voting for the APC from the rest of the contest.

    “The local government election will give a vivid indication of what the governorship contest of September will be. The APC expects no less than a resounding victory.
    ‘As you read this, ‘the party continued, the PDP, which is the most vitriolic opposition party we have in Osun, is so disorganised that its centre cannot hold.

    “Besides, all efforts to patch the factions together have repeatedly failed; which is an indication that the party is incapable of governing. They are falling apart even before the people of Osun show them the red card for the fourth time. The first time the PDP got the red card was in 2003, (but it took the court’s intervention in 2010 to stop PDP from stealing victory). 

    “The second time was just under a year that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola came to power in 2011. That was when Sen. Iyiola Omisore and others were removed from the National Assembly. The third humiliation of Omisore and the PDP was in 2014 when in spite of the massive deployment of Federal might in the ex-Senator’s favour, he lost the governorship election woefully.

    “The fourth time will be a double on Saturday and in September 2018 that crushing defeats in both the council and governorship elections will nail the coffins of the PDP once and for all. That will be the crowning glory for a brilliant patriot of Osun origin who has so robustly fought a monstrosity called PDP from stopping progress in Osun. God bless Ogbeni.”

  • Osun ‘s change of name illegal – Court

    Osun ‘s change of name illegal – Court

    An  Osun State High Court  sitting in Ilesa  has  declared  that the change of  name to  “State of  Osun” by Gov. Rauf Aregbesola  is illegal, null and void.

    Delivering  the judgment  on Thursday, Justice Yinka Afolabi  ruled that the law and its makers  were unknown to the 1999 Constitution.

    Delivering judgment which lasted more than one hour,  the judge chided Aregbesola for deliberately and singlehandedly renaming the state,  contrary to the known norms and the nation’s constitution.

    He also declared that the makers of the law, who are currently serving as members of the State House of Assembly, were not sworn in as members of the “State of Osun House of Assembly” but as members of Osun State House of Assembly going by the seventh schedule  of the constitution.

    The judge said that since the creation of the state in 1991, previous governments used the constitutionally  envisaged name of  Osun State.

    All the other 35 states of the federation, he added,  had  not deviated from the constitutional names given to them.

    “The executive governor of the state changed the name in 2011. The renaming of a state goes further and deeper for anyone to singlehandedly do.

    “To re-order the name of Osun State  as “State of Osun” is hereby declared  as illegal, null and void.

    “On the oath of allegiance, I want to state that the Seventh Schedule is part of the law.

    “It is not a mere draft or mere oath. It does not give room for any alteration. After deposing to an oath of office, you cannot turn around to do otherwise,’’ Afolabi stated.

    The judge threw out all  the arguments by the State Attorney-General, Dr Basiru Ajibola,  who stood in as counsel for the  governor and the state government.

    He, however, granted all the seven prayers of the plaintiff.

    The case was instituted by a human rights activist, Mr Kanmi Ajibola, who had challenged  the legality of the “State of Osun Land Use Charge Law.’’

    Ajibola had gone to court in 2016, asking for certain reliefs after being served a notice by a private company known as “Interspatial Limited.”

    The notice was christened “State of Osun Land Use Charge Annual Demand Notice”  and signed by one Mrs. A. Ogunlumade, Permanent Secretary in the  Ministry of Finance.

    According to him, the notice was addressed to him as the property owner of No. 42, Onigbogi Street off Ibala, Ilesa West,  and  served on August 15,  2016.

    Some of the reliefs he sought for included a declaration that the “State of Osun Land Use Charge Law 2016, ” having being enacted by a  legislative body that is not known to the constitution and  the state not known to the 1999 constitution,  be declared  illegal and unconstitutional.

    Ajibola also asked the court to set aside the “State of Osun Land Use Charge Law, 2016” having been  enacted by a  legislative body that is not known to the constitution and the state not known to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

    The Attorney-General, however, said  the judgment would be appealed.

    NAN

  • Osun empowers 350,000 people with N15bn loan

    Osun empowers 350,000 people with N15bn loan

    Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, on Monday, said his administration had given more than N15 billion loans to 350, 000 people in the state, especially women, in the last seven years.

    Aregbesola made this disclosure in a state-wide broadcast in Osogbo to mark his seventh anniversary  in office.

    The governor said his administration had also engaged more than 40,000 youths in public works through the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme ( OYES ).

    “Most of them eventually got soft-landing in teaching, agriculture, information and communication technology among other others.

    “For this reason, the incidents of crimes have drastically reduced in the state”.

    In the area of education, Aregbesola said his administration had constructed 20 elementary schools,  22 middle schools and 11 high schools.

    “In addition, we rehabilitated existing schools and created a decent environment for learning.

    “We have, for more than five years, been feeding 262,000 elementary school pupils with nutritious meals. We also gave free uniforms to all pupils in public schools”.

    On agriculture,  the governor said his administration had provided assistance to farmers, sent peasant farmers on training abroad and laid the foundation for agriculture to boom.

    He  also said that in the last seven years, his administration had constructed more than 1,500 kilometres of roads in the nooks and crannies of the state.

    The governor said his administration also  given protection and succour to the elders, by giving them access to health care as well as put them on a monthly allowance.

    “We took care of the destitute and the mentally challenged by giving them medical care, rehabilitated them and resettled or reunited them with their families.

    “We have come and seen the challenges and conquered poverty, ignorance, disease and fear of the known and unknown these seven years”.

    “In the remaining one year, I will be committed to the service of the people; to accelerate the pace of development and increase our efforts at ushering in prosperity in the state,” he added.

    NAN

  • Osun denies increment in tuition fee

    Osun denies increment in tuition fee

    The Osun State Government has denied the increment in tuition fee. This was shown in a press release signed by the commissioner for Information and strategy, Adelani Baderinwa which reads thus, “the State Government of Osun has called on students in the state owned higher institutions to handle with sense of responsibility, their reservations on what they alleged as increase in school fees”.

    Government puts it on record that it has not authorised any increment in the tuition fees in any of the state owned tertiary institutions.

    As at today, the tuition fees of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and the College of Technology, Esa-Oke remain N25, 000 while that of Osun state College of Education, Ilesa and Ila-Orangun is still N20, 000.

    For new students who have just applied to the institutions, some ancillary charges for some services, some of which are optional, were introduced and do not apply at all to current students.

    It is pertinent to remind the people that the Aregbesola government, at its inception and without being persuaded in 2011 reduced the tuition fees of all the state owned tertiary institutions from N45,000 to N25,000. Since the reduction in 2011, the government has not put a penny on the tuition fees.

    Government wishes to state that the managements of the tertiary institutions are autonomous and they have authority to fix reasonable charges to ensure availability and maintenance of some needful resources that enhance learning.

    Government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola reiterates its commitment to promoting functional and affordable education, the manifestation of which is the improvement in the standard of education in the state.

    The government calls on the students to be peaceful and orderly in their protest. It is true that protest is legitimate but they should not be allowed to be hijacked by miscreants and political jobbers who are always looking for such avenue to unleash unpleasant experiences on the people. They should be informed that the rights of other people start from where theirs end”.