Tells Contractors To Sit Up

All ongoing projects, including the mega-schools in Osun are to be completed as scheduled. This was the assurance given by the G‎overnor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola after his assessment tour of the projects at the weekend.

A statement by the Bureau of Communication and Strategy, signed by its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, quoted the governor as stating this during an unscheduled inspection tour of the ongoing construction sites of Ilesa High School.

He was quoted as directing all the contractors of the ultra-modern schools across the state to accelerate work in their various sites.
Aregbesola noted that it would be unfortunate and regrettable if the contractors handling school projects failed to complete and hand-over the schools to the state within the agreed period.
He added that schools under construction are financed with the Sukuk bond, saying there is no excuse for the contractors not to accelerate work pace.
The Governor had earlier in the week also visited Community Elementary/Middle School, Dada Estate, Osogbo High School, Ataoja School of Science, Osogbo and New Model High school in Ede.
For any contractor slowing down on their site, the governor gave stern warnings noting that his government, despite the financial meltdown, was poised to fulfil its electioneering promises.‎

The governor stated that he will leave no stone unturned to ensure that all the on-going school projects were delivered in no distant time to enhance the reclassification exercise of the state government.‎
Aregbesola charged the contractors to keep the contractual agreement with the state government by using the recommended materials for the school building project, noting that government will not shift ground on the set requirement for the projects.
He chided contractors for what he described as slow pace of work on site, pointing out that he would continually be paying unscheduled visit to site to ensure that contracts awarded by government are properly monitored.
The governor frowned at the contractors handling Osogbo and Ilesa High schools, noting that the pace of work by the contractors are too slow as most of the expected works at the sites were not encouraging.‎
On Osogbo High School, he said, “what I met here today was not impressive at all and I am disappointed in the snail pace of work on this site.
“I have been coming here several times but met the work stagnant as no tangible progress could be said to have been made by the handlers of the school building.
“The site for football pitch has not been cleared. The administrative building has not been completed. The school structure remained stagnant,” Aregbesola lamented.
Aregbesola added that it is unfortunate that the school project expected to be completed and commissioned for use soonest has been delayed due to insensitivity and lack of diligence by the contractor.
He said, “It is unfortunate and regrettable that some of our projects are being handled slowly but notwithstanding we will do all we could to ensure a speedy and possibly accelerated implementation as I am personally ready to tour across all the ongoing projects in the state.
“Our government will spare no effort in its bid to reposition the state most especially the education sector as we are bent and irrevocably ready to provide necessary facilities and equipment to aide teaching and learning process through conducive atmosphere,” The governor pointed out at the site.
He therefore directed contractors of all the ongoing projects to expedite action that will facilitate quick implementation of projects, saying government will henceforth not hesitate to revoke the contracts for any non-performing contractor.

Prince Rasheed Adewale Akanbi is from Molaasan Compound of Gbaase Ruling House in Isale Oba in Iwo. He was born on the 21^st June 1967 in Iwo.
For his Elementary School, Prince Akanbi attended Omolewa Nursery and Primary School, Oritamefa, Ibadan (1972-1978), he proceeded to Iwo Grammar School, Araromi, Iwo (1978-1982) and later, Oba Akinyele Memorial High School, Idi-Ape Ibadan.
Prince Akanbi obtained a B.Sc. Business Administration from George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario (2005-2009), Ordinary National Diploma in Mass Communication from The Polytechnic Ibadan (1985-87), Certificate in Cybis & Axis System, Convergys Institute, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada (2001-2005), Seismic certificate in Operations, Oil and Gas Processing Facilities (2005).
He worked as a Data Processor, Bio-skin GMBH in Hamburg Germany (1996-2005), International Development Analyst (Oxfam Canada); travelling to help war and disaster stricken countries around the world by supplying and supporting refugees with relief materials.
Prince Akanbi also worked as Associate Supervisor, Purdy Wharf Towers, Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.
He is the Chief Executive Officer of Prince Enterprises, Toronto, Ontario M5H4E7 Canada, Director and Founder of People Against Loneliness Inc. 508-58 Waterson Road, Toronto Ontario, Canada, West Africa Coordinator (Karcher Group FutureTech) presently working on supply of future technology on peace keeping force to the Defence Ministry and Managing Director, Morganz Gamo Quarry, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Podo Village, Ibadan.
Prince Akanbi speaks Yoruba, English, French and Deutsche (German).
 

The Governor , State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola with the Speaker, House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salam and others, during the inspection of the ongoing construction of the Osun House of Assembly Pavilion, at House of Assembly Complex, Osogbo, at the weekend

Please find attached the statement announcing the appointment of a new Oluwo of Iwo. He is Prince Rasheed Adewale Akanbi.

Pictures of the Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Chairman Osun State All Progressive Congress (APC), Prince Gboyega Famodu, addressing students, during an inspection visit to the on going  construction of Seventh Day Adventist High School Ede. on Wednesday 4-11-2015.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has appealed to taxable people of the state to pay their taxes in order for the government to continue its numerous projects in the state.
The governor made the appeal on Tuesday, November 3, 2015, during a Public Hearing on the Land Use Charge bill organised by the Osun State House of Assembly.
According to Governor Aregbesola, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Grace Laoye Tomori, “it is a must to pay tax, so. I urge the people of Osun State to pay their tax.”
Aregbesola noted that the dwindling allocation from the Federal Government of Nigeria has forced the state government to look inward with the aim of generating fund to cushion the effect of the economic nosedive.
Governor Aregbesola said that his government was looking into tourism, mineral resources and taxation to generate revenue to the state coffers, assuring the people that their taxes would be used to make the state the best in the country.
He said: “We run a transparent governance in Osun and I can tell you that the national revenue has fallen beyond what we can describe. They are no longer demanding for our oil in the international market and that is why we need to look inward to see how we can generate revenue to enable us continue the numerous projects we have embarked upon.
“I want to appreciate the Osun State House of Assembly for inviting the town and gown to the Public hearing on the Land Use Charge bill. This bill, when passed into law will help in generating revenue for the state.
“I therefore want to urge professionals like Town Planners, Land Surveyors, Estate Managers and Valuers other people that would work for the success of the bill to cooperate.”
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The Chairman of OSAMDO,  Dr. Isiaka Adekunle, and the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Mr.  Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said the discussion between the union and the lawmakers  was a very fruitful one.

The Osun State Government has sent a Land Use Charge bill to the state House of Assembly for passage into law.
The Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, said at the public hearing session organised by the House of Assembly on the bill on Tuesday, that the state government decided to introduce the law to make property owners pay certain amount of levy on their property.
The deputy governor said the state needed to look inwards to boost its Internally Generated Revenue to augment its federal allocation.
“ Oil price has been hovering at fourty-something dollars per barrel for quite a while now. People are not buying oil again despite that we are approaching winter when the price is supposed to be high but the price is still low.
“Apart from the land use charge, taxation is another one. Tax is what we use to transform the state,” she said.
The deputy governor added that the state government was also looking into mineral resources and tourist sites in the state to generate more revenue for its development.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Najeem Salaam, said the bill would assist in increasing the IGR of the state if it was passed into law.
The Speaker said the lawmakers organised the public bearing to give the people of the state the opportunity to have inputs into the law-making process.
He said now that the revenue accruable to the state could no longer sustain the desired development, there was the need to look inwards to be able to generate more revenue.
The representative of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Dr. Bioye Tajudeen, said the proposed law was good but the government should consider the high level of poverty in the state.
Tajudeen said, “The Land Use Charge Bill proposes formula to determine the annual charge rate. We, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in Osun State, however, recommend the use of valuation list to determine the annual charge rate.
“ A valuation list prepared by the registered estate surveyors   and valuers should serve as a basis for determining the land use charge in this state and should be reviewed and updated every calendar year.”
He said the bill should exempt places of worship from paying rates but schools and other business interests owned by religious organisations should be made to pay rates.
 

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state has appealed to taxable adults in the state to pay their taxes to assist government to continue with numerous projects it has embarked upon in the state.
The governor gave the appeal yesterday during a Public Hearing on the Land Use Charge bill organized by the State House of Assembly.
According to Governor Aregbesola who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Grace Laoye Tomori, it is   the civic responsibility of citizens to pay tax to assist government to execute projects that will impact positively on them.
Aregbesola noted that the dwindling allocation from the Federal allocation has forced the state government to look inward with the aim of generating fund to cushion the effect of the dwindling   economic situation.
He said his government was looking into tourism, mineral resources and taxation to generate revenue   to the state coffers assuring the people that their taxes would be used to make the state the best in the country.
His words: “we run transparent governance in Osun and I can tell you that the national revenue has fallen beyond what we can describe. They are no longer demanding for our oil in the international market and that is why we need to look inward to see how we can generate revenue to enable us continue the numerous projects we have embarked upon.
Speaking earlier, the Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salam noted that the beauty of democracy is the opportunity the public have to contribute to how they are governed.
Apparently disturbed by the diversity in the memoranda submitted by concerned professionals the   Speaker sued for understanding saying that the essence of the public hearing was to enable professional bodies contribute in the legislation process.

Osun State has been in the eye of the storm of recent, no thanks to the orchestrated attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), working in concert with a renegade section of the media, to make the state the poster boy of the cash crunch that has now engulfed 27 states and the Federal Government, if President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement last week that ‘Nigeria is broke’ is anything to go by.

There was a failed bid by the opposition PDP to stampede Governor Rauf Aregbesola out of office. This began in August with sponsored demonstrations and a phantom petition to the State House of Assembly to impeach the governor.

The petition was dismissed for lacking in merit and the sword has since been turned on the petitioner in a case of the hunter now being the hunted.

The backlog of the salaries are being cleared even as the government and the labour unions come to new rapprochement on dealing with paucity of funds in a way that available funds will be judiciously used to accommodate wages, running the government and undertaking projects that will benefit the majority of the people. All the labour unions that have been on strike have since resumed work. Even the intransigent academic staff of tertiary institutions in the state have since yielded to reason and called off their strike last week.

Then the good news started to tumble in. On Tuesday October 13, the Bank of Industry (BOI) commissioned a 24kw micro-grid solar solution in Idi-Ita/Onibambu community in Ife North Local Government of Osun State. The N44million rural electrification project being financed by the bank in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), would supply power to over 200 homes not connected to national grid.

Then on October 18, the State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the French Government to build a 35million Euros (N8 billion) 13 megawatts solar plant in the state. A French company, Vergnet, will build the solar plant in Osun. What is unique about this project, according to Vergnet, is that it will involve technology transfer. Locals will be trained to man and operate the plant and will also be the nodal point for the building of solar power stations across the country and beyond.

The biggest of all perhaps is the MOU signed with a Chinese company, Geo Engineering Construction Alliance Team. The company will undertake in Osun a broad range of economic development programmes that coveragro industrial park, export processing, hydro power, dry port associated enterprise park and water supply and road projects among others.

These will create wealth and generate thousands of jobs. The Chinese deal alone should generate direct 10,000 jobs and 50,000 indirectly. This indeed is good news which should bring smiles to the faces of the people of the state and affirm the legitimacy of the governor who has bravely and adroitly weathered the storm.

Mike Ogundele,
Osogbo, Osun State