•From left: Dele Oladunjoye of Kola Awodein and Co., solicitor to the Sukuk deal, Andrew Morgan, the MD of Islamic Finance News and Publisher, Andrew Morgan RedMoney Group, Dr Wale Bolorunduro, Commissioner for Finance, (representing the Governor) and Mrs Hajara Adeola, MD, Lotus Capital Limited
Tag: Wale Bolorunduro
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N1.65b more for Osun institution
The Osun State government’s financial institution, the Omoluabi Savings and Loans Limited, has recapitalised with additional N1.65 billion shares.
Speaking with reporters in Osogbo, the state capital, after a board meeting, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, who is also the Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro, said the firm is offering 3 billion shares at 59 kobo per share.
He said the recapitalisation would reawaken the capital market with the recapitalisation.
The commissioner said: “The company would be breaking the jinx of the five years absence of Initial Public Offer (IPO) in the country since the crash in the capital market by listing 3 billion shares for offer at 50 kobo per share on Friday, December, 27, 2013. The offer closes that day.”
He said the recapitalisation means that after subjecting the company to the discipline of the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Stock Exchange, it has been opened to ownership for more indigenes and residents of Osun State.
Bolorunduro said it is an opportunity for workers to buy more shares and earn dividends as well as borrow with ease.
He said increase in shares means increase in money with which the company can do business as well as the mortgages it can grant to people.
The commissioner said: “This is another way of bringing succour to the people, who cannot approach commercial banks.”
He said the recapitalisation became imperative as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) statutory regulations, which end on December 31.
Bolorunduro assured that more housing mortgages would be available on long term as an added advantage of the recapitalisation.
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Osun commissioner cautions opposition on state finance
OSUN State Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro, has cautioned the former Minister of Youth Development, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, from misleading the people about the position of the state’s finance.
Speaking in Osogbo, the state capital, Bolorunduro urged Akinlabi, who is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to desist from misleading the citizens of the state for selfish and political reasons.
He said, “We are not ready to join issues with the opposition party and mischievous elements known for their characteristic rumour mongering and political allusions. But I consider it pertinent to clarify issues and put the records straight, particularly on matters that border on my portfolio as the state’s Chief Finance Adviser.
“Of course, considering the state’s very little statutory allocation, there can never be any meaningful transformation of the state without the extraordinary financial courage and strong desire to excel by all means. This is also true for many states that need to hedge against inflation to have meaningful development.
“The massive infrastructural transformation across the state such as enormous road projects, dredging of streams and rivers, schools reconstruction, renovation of hospitals and courts, as well as some other social projects including provision of school uniforms, urban renewal, among others, may not be possible without some level of financial leveraging.”
Speaking further, the commissioner disclosed, “It is true Osun raised N30 billion and N11.4billion from the capital market through issuance of bond and Sukuk in 2012 and 2013 respectively. These are deliberate transparent approaches to raising funds from capital market. It is, however, scandalous to read from the referenced publication that the state took N17.8 billion from an Infrastructure Bank.”
“This is not true and we hereby challenge Senator Akinlabi to substantiate his claim on this by producing documentary evidence and further details on this for the interest of the good citizens of the state.”
Bolirunduro noted that the external debt the Senator Akinlabi was referring to was part of the liabilities the current government inherited from the previous PDP-led administration.
He maintained that the Aregbesola administration had not taken any external debt since it came to power three years ago.
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Osun infrastructure upgrade peaks
Cargo airport to be ready this year
Quality roads built
A brand new state is emerging as Osun’s infrastructural renewal gathers pace. Narrow and dilapidated old roads are being rebuilt and expanded, some converted to dual-carriageways with drainage. Sprawling new markets are taking shape, spacious and fitted with modern facilities for the convenience of traders and patrons. Some new schools are being built, old ones rehabilitated and upgraded. In each of the 30 local government areas of the state, a 10km road is also being built. A cargo airport under construction will be ready this year.
“Our philosophy translates to the welfare of our people,” said Dr Wale Bolorunduro, the state Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget.
That welfare philosophy became clear as the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola was inaugurated over two years ago. The first major step the governor took was to drastically reduce the youth population in the unemployment market in his first 100 days in office. Within that time, 20,000 jobless persons were engaged in the Osun State Youth Employment Scheme or OYES, a revolving volunteer jobs scheme.
A world of opportunities lay before the volunteers. Some learnt a new trade such as computer or GSM phone repair. Some went into agriculture. Some took to caring for patients in the hospital. On the streets of Osogbo, the state capital, and other towns and cities, some OYES volunteers boosted traffic control or enhanced the state’s hygiene plan by evacuating gutters and cleaning streets. History was also made in the process. Women enlisted in the sanitary truck driving department. On the streets of the state capital, the women drivers have become a regular sight, evacuating refuse from collection points.
The point in the OYES programme, as Aregbesola says, is not to turn people into overnight millionaires, but to help them earn a living and above all, awaken in them a sense of dignity in service to the state.
Commissioner Bolorunduro said nine cities in the state have been selected for urban renewal, adding that the Aregbesola administration is working with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) to plan Osogbo. The goal of the collaboration, the commissioner said, is to ensure that the state capital can accommodate growth dynamics in the next 20 years.
To that extent, a popular plank market near a rail line has been relocated; other structures which either impede free flow of traffic or distort the state’s aesthetics plan will also give way. Some houses on roadsides have been pulled down, as have even worship centres, so that the state’s renewal plan can go on unhindered. But the interesting thing is that no one is complaining about the demolition.
A shopkeeper told Newsextra that the infrastructure upgrade is in everybody’s interest, so no one should read any ulterior motives into it.
Pupils from Primary One to Four are fed free in school but the remarkable thing about it is not just that the kids are eating good food but that jobs are created and the state economy is lifted. For instance, said Commissioner Bolorunduro, “the chicken in their meal is produced from Osun”. About 3,000 food vendors are involved in the free meal project. About 160,000 crates of eggs are eaten every week but again the gain is that it boosts the economy of chicken farmers who supply the eggs. It was also said that 36 heads of cattle are slaughtered each week in the free meal plan.
The commissioner also said that of the workers employed in any government project in the state, 60 per cent must be Osun citizens.
Two large markets, Aje and Ayegbaju International Market, are scheduled to be completed this year, Ayegbaju by August, and Aje before the end of the year, Bolorunduro said. He added that the state government has invested so much money in farmers, scaling up its funds to them from N200m to N700m this year.
The facility to the growers is yielding fruit. “We have improved the quantum of grains produced in the state,” said the Finance Commissioner, adding that fish farmers in the state also sell their products to Lagos and Abuja residents.
On the quality of the infrastructure, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, said they are built to last.
“The roads are built to last at least 25 years,” he said. Okanlawon also spoke on the state government’s efforts in rejuvenating the state schools, which are not only wearing a new structural look but are also equipped for ease of teaching and learning.
School enrolment is said to have improved in the state. Okanlawon made the point that the state government has a vision behind its educational focus, saying there is a sense of obligation to develop people.
“When people don’t get education, they become a liability to the society,” he said. Before the Aregbesola administration, it was said, less than three per cent of secondary school students gained admission into university and other tertiary institutions because their results were not good.
Now things are changing.