Over the years, many Nigerian youths have had to enlist in Internet fraud as a means to eke out a living in the midst of the burgeoning unemployment market.
But had such youths deployed their rich knowledge in ICT into meaningful endeavours, the economy of the country would have been enhanced.
This could have been the reason why the State of Osun government under Rauf Aregbesola decided to go into partnership with RLG, an information communication technology (ICT) company owned by a Ghanaian entrepreneur.
Under the joint venture, the state government said it would train twenty thousand (20,000) youths of the state in computer and GSM repairs and assembling.
Out of the proposed number, 5,000 have already been trained by RLG some of whom travelled to Ghana for higher training. The graduates are already back in the state and have been deployed to various ICT centres in the state, including the RLG-Adulawo Technology City located along Ilesha-Akure Expressway, Ilesha.
The $50 million investment was formally launched and commissioned by Rauf Aregbesola last Thursday. The collaboration is directly under the Oyestech initiative of the state government.
Why the partnership
Roland Agambire, chairman, RLG and Agams Group, said: “RLG has an ambitious dream; a dream to lead Africa out of poverty. ICT is going to be the driver of revenue and of creation of decent jobs in the state of Osun”, he said.
“Our dream is to make so many phones available. It will be cheap and it is for the Nigerian people. So, people do not need to steal other people’s phones. I do not believe there’s poverty in Africa, what we have are challenges, and we shall overcome the challenges. RLG will remain loyal and committed to the partnership. It is not only the state of Osun that will benefit; what we have started in Osun will have a multiplier effect that will positively impact on the lives of other people across the country.”
Osun and ICT
Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the computer tablet innovation, Opon Imo, distributed to senior secondary school pupils in public schools in the state was part of the fulfilled dreams of the state government on ICT.  According to him, “We have also established the OYESTECH as an institution for vocational training in ICT, in partnership with RLG. Through OYESTECH, we aim to train 20,000 youths in four batches. It has successfully trained 5,000 youths out of which 100 went to Ghana for further training. We are preparing to send another batch of 50 to Ghana.”
The governor further said: “More than 100 graduates of OYESTECH have been absorbed into this factory; 50 are working at the Opon Imo factory in Osogbo while more than 400 have found jobs with Chams Plc in Osun. About 2,200 have been empowered to be self employed and are earning decent income.
“The culmination of our ICT endeavours so far is the RLG Adulawo Technology City. The factory will be producing mobile phones, tablets, television sets and computer systems, both desktops and laptops. When in full production capacity, it will directly employ 800 people while over 15,000 indirect jobs would be created round the state through the enterprise scheme from sales and repair points. It will impact the state’s economy through taxes, rates and levies, add to the state’s GDP, create real wealth and bring development to the community where it operates.”
Worthy of emulation
The journey that led to the commissioning of the technology city started about three years ago, according to the governor. It is believed that if other state governments can emulate Osun, the unfortunate unemployment level in the country will be scaled down.
“When they came to me in 2011 to discuss the project, I told them it must be a win-win thing for the state. I am happy to tell you today that our contribution to the $50 million investment is the training of our youths.  RLG is training 20,000 of our youths. The other investment outside the manpower training is the procurement of the land on which the facility is built and the plant (the generator). No cash contribution was made”, the governor said.
It is good to hear that some other states are talking with Osun to adapt the initiative. “Opon Imo has won numerous awards in Nigeria and abroad and for which we have received expression of interest from other states, corporate bodies and individuals”, Aregbesola said.
The testimony
Ade Adefioye, chairman, Oyestech, said the dream of the state government was to take Osun to the status of Lagos State ICT-wise. According to him, the dream is being realised with the ICT initiatives already running.
“We have the people, we have the culture. We are the most literate per 1000 in Nigeria. We have youths here (Osun) and they are blessed with sound intellect”, Adefioye said.
The technology city, according to Adefioye promises to be one of the most productive assets in the State of Osun, creating employment and revolutionising the industry through assemblage of electronic communication devices.
Abdulrazak Oshodipe, supervisor, mobile phone assembly line of the technology city said over 1000 handsets could be rolled out in a day. According to him, those who had undergone the training by RLG are capable of handling any repair on mobile phones.
Temitope Mustapha, an HND Marketing graduate and one of the beneficiaries who currently work with the facility, said she was among those who went for training in Ghana.
“I can repair and assemble any GSM phone. It is lovely because we’ve not had such an initiative before. Before receiving the training, I had joined the Oyestech; it was from there that I got the opportunity of receiving the training,” Temitope said.
BUSINESSDAY

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed March 12 to March 19 for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) for Osun and Ekiti governorship elections.
INEC Director (Voter Registration) Emmanuel Akem made the disclosure at a Stakeholders’ Forum on the “Status of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) toward the 2015 general elections’’, on Thursday in Abuja.
According to him, this will enable the commission to accommodate all complaints that may arise from voter registration before the governorship elections.
He said that the commission would use Registration Area Officers (RAOs) for the registration at ward levels.
Akem added that INEC was looking at the possibility of using mobile platforms to carry out the registration.
He said that the CVR would correct some of the anomalies detected in the 2010 voter register, stressing that the CVR was not for those that could not register in 2010.
“We want to use the opportunity of the CVR to correct some of the mistakes in terms of biometrics in the previous registration.
“The choice of the registration centres at the ward has to do with increasing the participation in the process,’’ he said.
He, however, noted that those who could not register at the ward could come to the INEC Local Government offices to register.
The director also said that the commission would comply with the Electoral Act that places N100,000 fine on any person involved in multiple registrations.
Earlier, Dr Hussaini Abdu, Country Director, ActionAid International, Nigeria, said that the credibility of the voter registration was a major determinant of a credible election.
Abdu  said that the civil society organisation had been clamouring for credible voter register since 1998.
He noted that the country had not voted with a permanent voter card since 1999, adding that the development informed civil society organisations to engage in the proposed Electoral Act.
The country director emphasised that the INEC was approaching the continuous voter registration in a seasonal manner.
“You do not need a particular date to secure an international passport. You just walk into the office of the Immigration service and apply for one as long as you meet the requirement.
“That is the same way voter registration should be done. So, the continuous voter registration, as the name implies, should be continuous in its actual meaning,’’ Abdu said.
He suggested that INEC should have offices at both local and state levels where people could go to vote.
Abdu said that the civil society organisations were concerned about how to have systematic approach to the continuous voter registration.
The event was organised by the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) and four other international agencies.
 BUSINESSDAY

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Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola sensitizing his ward members on the importance of his All Progressive Congress (APC) Membership Registration in Ward 8, Ilesa East Local Government, State of Osun on Friday 07-02-2014

From left, Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) Osun Chapter,
Elder Adelowo Adebiyi; Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola;
his Wife, Sherifat; Mr Kabiru Aregbesola and others, during their
Registration as Members of APC in Ward 8, Ilesa East Local Government,
State of Osun on Friday 07-02-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (sitting) registering
as a member, All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ward 8, Ilesa East
Local Government, State of Osun. With him are, his Wife, Sherifat
(right); Mr Kabiru Aregbesola (2nd right); Chairman, Osun Registration
Committee, Mr Yunus Akintunde (3rd right) and others. on Friday
07-02-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola sensitizing his ward
members on the importance of All Progressives Congress (APC)
Membership Registration in Ward 8, Ilesa East Local Government, State
of Osun on Friday 07-02-2014

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While politicians who are nursing the ambition to unseat Rauf Aregbesola as the governor of the state of Osun are making promises on what they are capable of doing and will do if elected into office, the incumbent is pointing at some achievements he has made in the last three years in the areas of job creation and information communication technology (ICT) as his basis for seeking re-election.
Ahead of the August 9, 2014, gubernatorial election in the state, the state government last Thursday flaunted its achievements. Aregbesola told the people that if he and his team could achieve so much between 2011 and now, it would be unimaginable the good fortune that would be the lot of the state in the next four years if returned to government.
It was a celebration of promised kept in the state as the governor, in company of his deputy, Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, led other government functionaries in the state to the launch of a technology centre in Ilesha.

Traditional rulers, captains of industry, students, teachers, community leaders, market women and numerous youths gathered to witness the epoch-making event, the opening of the RLG-Adulawo Technology City.
To most politicians in the country, road construction, rehabilitation and electrification projects are the beginning and end of governance. But then, even though these are germane, they are perishable.
For Aregbesola, enduring dividends of democracy are quality and affordable education for every child of Osun, and other forms of empowerment that can make the people capable of fishing for themselves rather thin being provided with fish always.
Aregbesola’s belief stems from the fact that whereas well-paved roads and other architectural constructions can degenerate into death traps and uninhabitable structures as a result of wear and tear over time, a well educated and empowered indigene can positively affect several lives and enhance the quality of infrastructure by virtue of the individual’s acquired knowledge and position in life.
In a country where job creation is being politicised and the level of unemployment hitting the roof, only visionary leaders keep to their campaign promises.
Delivering his speech titled ‘We shall continue to serve our people’, the governor, at the event, said: “We are here gathered to give a toast to, and celebrate the place and power of vision”.
According to him, “Our philosophy is that political power is not obtained for its sake but to be used in the service of the people. At the inauguration of our administration, we set many objectives for ourselves. Two key among these are the need to create jobs for our teeming youths and making Osun the hub of ICT in Nigeria. It was a tall order and it looked impossible then. The opening of this complex (technology city), however, is an indication that we are on the right path and we will get to the destination if we keep at it”.
It was a carnival of sort, as different traditional musical groups sang and danced, eulogising the development stride of the state under the governor’s watch.
Aregbesola’s speech was intermittently punctuated by songs rendered in local parlance, the rhythm of which the governor and his guests happily danced to.
The governor further said: “It is the determination of our administration to be a player in the ICT game. You will all recall our computer tablet innovation, Opon Imo, which has been distributed to senior secondary school pupils in public schools in the state. Opon Imo has won numerous awards in Nigeria and abroad and for which we have received expression of interest from other states, corporate bodies and individuals. We are working to increase our capacity for its production, after which we will extend the benefit of this innovation to  other Nigerians. But before Opon Imo, however, we have deployed information technology in salary and pension administration, revenue collection, agriculture and geo-mapping in the state.
“Through Oyestech, we aim to train 20,000 youths in four batches. It has successfully trained 5,000 youths out of which 100 went to Ghana for further training. We are preparing to send another batch of 50 to Ghana. More than 100 graduates of Oyestech have been absorbed into this factory; 50 are working at the Opon Imo factory in Osogbo while more than 400 have found jobs with Chams Plc in Osun. About 2,200 have been empowered to be self employed and are earning decent income.”
Aregbesola further said that the complex was a demonstration of his administration’s resolve to partner the private sector through the creation of an enabling environment and infrastructure for rapid industrialisation and job creation.
“Our job creation and positive engagement of our youths began in 2011 with the employment of 20,000 youths in O’YES, less than 100 days of being in office. We have also opened up the agriculture sector through O’REAP and have engaged tens of thousands in food crop cultivation, fisheries, beef production, apiary and even cocoyam cultivation. Last year, Omoluabi Garment Factory was opened in Osogbo.
“The spin over effect of our job creation is unquantifiable. The first is that government has been able to torch every household in the state. Through our various job schemes, there is no home that has not felt our impact and families are more comfortable now than before our coming. Secondly, taking thousands of youths off the streets has improved the security situation in the state since the devil finds work for the idle hand. This is confirmed by two recent reports that Osun is the safest state in Nigeria. The third is that the foundation for development has been solidly laid and we can from there move to higher levels,” he said.
“The opening of the factory, I am sure, will provide engagement for our detractors and naysayers whose obsession is just to condemn and oppose any policy that improves the lives of our people and brings development to our state. They opposed O’YES, they condemned Opon Imo, they lashed at road construction, they criticised agriculture and food production and they even condemned building a house of worship for God. People who opposed God, what else can they not oppose? When some people oppose God, how can they support and care for the people?
Addressing the cheering crowd, Roland Agambire, MD, RLG, an ICT company, said: “I bring you warm greetings from His Excellency, the president of Ghana. The President of Ghana is happy that RLG is here today collaborating with the State of Osun State and so, I bring you warm greeting from the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama.”
Agambire further said: “Why are we not talking about oil in Osun State? Anybody coming to Nigeria to invest is talking about oil. Today, a lot more people are talking about oil in Ghana. I see technology as a tool that is going to be the driver of the economy and capital investment into this state and decent job creation for the people of this state.”
Bambo Bashorun, Oyestech director, commended the Aregbesola administration over the job-creation initiatives.
“Unemployment is a very big challenge to the country. For any nation to grow there must be job and skills acquisition. In Nigeria, efforts to create jobs have been politicized. By the vision of the state government to explore the ICT, opportunities are being created for youths of our state to earn a decent living”, Bashorun said.
BUSINESSDAY 

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AN author, Chief Olaleye Falore, has urged the Osun State government not to relent in its efforts at raising the bar of education in the state.
Falore, who is Chairman/Managing Director of Phaloray Book Works, made the appeal in Ilesa while speaking at the opening of the 80th anniversary celebration of Ilesa Grammar school.
He enjoined the alumni of the school, many of whom he described as notable personalities in the society, to support their alma mater by identifying with the school at all times.
At the grand finale of the anniversary today, distinguished old students of the school, including the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye; a former governor of Lagos State, Chief Lateef Jakande and a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Belgore, will be honoured.
TRIBUNE

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The newly posted Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Sector Commandant to the State, Mr. A. Hussein has paid the Internal Revenue Service a courtesy visit stressing the need to strengthen the already existing symbiotic relationship between FRSC and IRS.
While speaking at the meeting, the acting Chairman/CEO of Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Dayo Oyebanji appreciated the mutual understanding that has been existing between the two agencies in the aspect of discharging their statutory duties.
He then promised to render all the assistance at his disposal to make the FRSC fulfill their statutory duties, especially in the area of enforcing compliance to payment of road taxes and levies which is required for the growth of the State’s IGR.
In his response, the new FRSC sector Commandant, Mr. A. Hussein assured the Internal Revenue Service under the leadership of Mr. Dayo Oyebanji, of his readiness to combat fake number plates as well as fake drivers’ license that have been become rampant in most of the Sates in Nigeria.
He then said that, the deadline for the new plate number which has been slated for 30th of June, 2014 still remain intact and thereby solicited the support of Osun IRS in realizing this dream.  He, however, reminded those that are yet to comply with the new plate number directive to quickly do so before the lapse of the duration.
OSUNNEWS

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The Osun Divisional Conference of Obas which comprise traditional rulers in Osun Central and Osun West Senatorial Districts have lauded the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola for making the state proud at a joint British parliament sitting he addressed recently.
This is contained in a release signed by the Aragbiji of Iragbiji who also doubles as the Secretary of the Body HRM Oba Rasheed Olabomi.
The Body of Traditional Rulers said Ogbeni Aregbesola remains the first Nigerian and African Governor to achieve such feat, expressing their delight that, for the British Parliament to have been very keen on taking a cue from the exemplary performance of Governor Aregbesola, the extent of having him as their tutor on the State of Osun School Feeding Programme christened O’Meal is a good testimonial of the superlative performances of the Governor. The Royal Fathers urged the good people of Osun to continue to support him so as to serve the state longer.
OSUNNEWS

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The Chairman, State of Osun House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Hon. Kamil Oyedele has charged the State Ministry of Justice to “put its house in order” and get prepared to ensure that justice is done in all ramifications in this election year.
Hon. Oyedele also charged them to work harder and remove all obstacles causing delay of justice in the state.
The Chairman gave the charge while his committee hosted the Ministry of Justice at the on-going year 2014 Budget Defence Exercise on the floor of the State House of Assembly.
He said the Ministry of Justice has a crucial role to play in ensuring that justice prevails everywhere in this election year in the state, saying the society looks up to them as their last hope over election cases and other issues.
Fielding questions from members of the Finance and Appropriation Committee, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Wale Afolabi thanked Governor Rauf Aregbesola for giving them the opportunity to employ 17 lawyers describing the employment as first of its kind in the history of the Ministry of Justice in the State, adding that the feat has helped the Ministry in the quick dispensation of Justice.
Speaking further, the Attorney General disclosed that over 1000 alternative resolution cases had been filed since the creation of the Department in 2011, while more than 200 out of it had been settled.
He said Governor Aregbesola has also approved the construction of court buildings in all the constituencies of the state, adding that the Governor also given approval for the supply of laptops to lawyers to assist them in the discharge of their duties.
The Commissioner for Justice said the State now has the best electronic law library in the country.
Others that took turns to defend their 2014 budget include; High Court of Justice, Judicial Service Commission and the Customary Court of Appeal.
OSUNNEWS

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Photos from the introductory visit of the Founder, Mr Carlos Torres and Manager of RESUL Company to the Governor in his office, Abere, Osogbo on Thursday 07-02-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; Founder of RESUL Company, Mr Carlos Torres (left) and
Exort Manager of RESUL company, Mr Duarte Amaral, during the introduction of their company to the Governor in his office, Abere, Osogbo on Thursday 07-02-2014

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