Tag: Osun LG Polls

Osun LG Parliamentary Democracy: Best Development Alternative, Famodun, Others

The State Chairman of All Progressive Congress, Prince Gboyega Famodun has described the just concluded parliamentary Local Government election in the state as the best democratic alternative for Nigeria system to experience rapid development at the grass root.

The APC chairman said this while monitoring the last Saturday local government election during an interview with Osun Defender in Bolorunduro Local Government.

Famodun said for those who have sense of history, parliamentary democracy at the local government level is not a new initiative saying it was the long stay of the military government that terminated the system which has been tested as most successful.

Famodun applauded OSIEC’s successful conduct of the election and APC members for being peaceful and orderly during the election and urged those who emerged through the process to see it as the best opportunity to serve their community.

Also, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Gboyega Oyetola  while monitoring the process in ward 3, Boripe Local Government, Iragbiji, described the parliamentary system as the cheapest and the most effective at the local government level and urged other states to adopt the new method.

Oyetola said the recent economic recession in the country was a clear warning for all tiers of government to be innovative and proactive especially in reducing cost of governance, saying high cost of governance is capable of slowing down the nation’s development.

He described the turnout of the voters as impressive, saying the election has shown that the people of the state are still strongly in support of APC which according to him has substantially delivered its electoral promises.

He said: “Massive turnout is what we expect, it is not being a ruling party alone but in all fairness, Governor Rauf Aregbesola has justified his electoral promises and there is no community in the state that is not feeling the impact of the government so it is naturally expected that people reciprocate”.

Also the immediate past Speaker of the Osun Youth Parliament, Comrade Mahruf Ogundipe, while voting in Obokun local government said the parliamentary system will ensure participatory democracy at the grassroot level.

According to him, “in the last five years that the governor has appointed the Caretaker committee, one of the major challenges is the accusation of one man show by the Executive Secretaries but this parliamentary democracy will eliminate that, saying apart from collective participation, they also have the power to discipline and even remove erring house speaker or member.”

Osun Local Governments’ Administration: Aregbesola’s Goodwill For The Youths And Challenges Of Grassroots Governance By Adeboye Adebayo

Let me use this medium to heartily congratulate the 389 councillors/local parliamentarians recently elected in all the wards in the State of Osun and I wish them all a successful tenure.

I also congratulate the State Executive Council of our great party; All Progressives Congress, APC as led by its Chairman, Prince Adegboyega Famodun and amiable Secretary; Alhaji Rasaq Salinsile for their efforts day and night which made our party to come out all victorious at the poll.

I must not fail to specially and wholeheartedly congratulate my mentor, leader and political father Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola on whose goodwill and unprecedented achievements in office we are able to achieve the feat.

During a stakeholders meeting of the All Progressives Congress, APC around June, 2017 in Lagos, the National Leader of the APC & Principal of the formidable Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation; AGF, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu appealed profoundly to the leaders of the party in Lagos State to please consider the youths and women in their arrangements for the then upcoming Lagos Council poll. The election was conducted on July 22, 2017 and the consideration of the youths as clamoured by Asiwaju Tinubu were there for you to judge.

Aside our own Asiwaju, a lot of people in the polity have been clamouring for participations of youths in politics, a lot of political parties had used the phenomenon to ride to power without the goodwill to assist the youths to power in this our environment of impossibilities. 

But by his antecedents, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has always been a lover and helper of the youths to power. The memory is still fresh of how he helped a young man of thirty years old to become the Executive Secretary of one of the largest local governments in Nigeria some years back and numerous others at various levels till today, especially in his current cabinet in the State of Osun as Commissioners, SSAs and SAs contributing their quotas to the developments of the society among other obvious evidences of constructively empowering the youths.

But of note, is the high number of youths that were considered for the Councillorship positions and eventual emergence as the Executive Chairman in our various Councils, Council Development Areas and others due to his goodwill and believe in the abilities of the youths to deliver the dividends of democracy at the grassroots bearing in mind the enormous challenges attached with .

Ogbeni Aregbesola unlike many political leaders in the Country today did not pay a lip service to the clamour for youths in power and I say a very big kudos to Oga for this and humbly urge other leaders in the polity to emulate Ogbeni Aregbesola and sincerely do all within their powers to assist the numerous capable youth in politics to power.

Now that Ogbeni Aregbesola in his goodwill and benevolence has helped numerous youths into power at the grassroots, it is their duties to proof to the World that indeed they have the intellectual capacity and wisdom to bring about better governance at the grassroots knowing fully well that their tier of government is the closest to the people and the electorates, the populace and the entire people of the councils are expecting high performances from them in line with the principle of progressive governance as being exhibited by Ogbeni Aregbesola in the State.

The performance of the youths in power today will be the yardstick to measure practically the abilities of youths to be in power tomorrow and failure by them today will shut doors against the youths yearning to be in power tomorrow.

They must roll up their sleeves and begin to make bye laws and policies to complement the good works of Ogbeni Aregbesola in the area of improving the internally generated revenue of their local governments not through force, as forces are not in the tenets of democracy but through persuasions, public enlightenment, discussions and other reasonable education and engagements, through that our people who are not lazy will be willing to pay since it is for their own development.

Also bye laws and policy implementation should be geared towards primary education and adult literacy programmes so that the consciousness and understanding of our people will be improved and this make them easy to govern, remember the saying “Education makes people easy to govern, difficult to enslave”.

Policies at the grassroots should also touch other areas like Agriculture and rural development, market coordination and expansion. Primary health care services is the duty of the governments’ at the grassroots while secondary and tertiary health care services are for the States and Federal governments.

Healthy collaboration with the traditional councils will go a long way in amicable resolution of disputes among the local people. Rural-Urban drifts should be discouraged through provision of basic infrastructural amenities.

The challenges of governance at the grassroots are enormous not in the State of Osun alone but through out the World but they are all surmountable through effective collaboration between the Chairman (Prime Minister) his cabinet members who are bye laws executors/policies implementor and other parliamentarians who are to make bye laws, do oversight and monitor the implementation of the laws and policies of local governments, as it affects the people. 

Working together is the thing, being on the same page for better governance is the deal. By this among other things, the trust reposed in them by the electorates, by our party and the goodwill of Ogbeni Aregbesola will not be betrayed.

I wish them all the very best in office, I pray God to continue to be with all youths in government and I thank my leader & mentor; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola so greatly for his support and believe in the abilities of the youths to deliver despite all odds including youths working against themselves.

Adeboye Adebayo is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress; APC, The National Publicity Secretary of Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation; AGF, Leader of youths, a Tinubuist in principle & ideology and a Raufist to the core.

Osun LG Polls: Aregbesola Charges Residents On Good Conduct…Declares Thursday, Friday Public Holidays

The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has called on Osun eligible voters to come out this Saturday to perform their civic responsibility in the Local Government Parliamentary Election, without let or hindrances.

This was just as the state government‎ declared Thursday and Friday January 25 and 26, 2018 as public holiday to enable Osun residents prepare and participate in the election scheduled to hold on Saturday January 27, 2018.‎

‎The Governor made this disclosure in a statement by his Media Adviser, Mr. Sola. Fasure, and‎ made available to journalists in Osogbo

Aregbesola stated that the election must reflect the people’s determination and hope to elect good, credible and trustworthy leaders and representatives with the mandate to steer the affairs at the grassroots.

He urged residents to conduct themselves in an orderly and lawful manner that will project the best of the Omoluabi persona at the polls.

‎According to the statement, “Against all odds, this election would be conducted into 389 wards in the State of Osun. I am therefore calling on all eligible voters in the state to enthusiastically come out to perform their civic duties without let or hindrance in electing credible and trustworthy representatives.

“The local government system is a critical level of administration that brings the government closest to the people. The election holding on Saturday this week therefore is a springboard for advancing the cause of broad-based, all-inclusive governance at the grassroots that will politically empower the people and provide the platform for accelerated development.

“So, as we go to the polls on Saturday, residents are charged to shun politicians with the penchant for violence and brigandage and they (voters) must conduct themselves in an orderly and lawful manner and project the best of the Omoluabi persona at the polls.

“We should all say ‘Never again’ to those who have corrupted the political system and plundered the treasury of the nation for their own selfish interest.

‎”Our focus should be on entrenching democracy at its best known tradition through the election of those who have well represented the people in the past and have discharged themselves creditably and honourably.

“This is the first of its kind in the federation and a landmark feat, which all of us must be proud of and be prepared to guide and preserve.

“The state government has made strident efforts since 2013 to hold this election, but the opposition has thrown all kinds of legal stumbling blocks on the way.

“That it is holding this time around is a watershed achievement and an indelible legacy the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state led by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola will leave behind “.

The Governor also admonished eligible residents and citizens to be orderly, law abiding and conduct themselves peacefully, for the exercise to be successful, assuring the preparedness of the state electoral commission to conduct a hitch-free, credible, free, fair and transparent election that all will be proud of.

He held that law enforcement agencies are also ready and put on alert to protect lives and property and prevent breach of the peace and disruption of the election.‎

Aregbesola said, “The participating political parties and their candidates are expected to abide by the rules and guidelines instituted by the electoral umpire.

“It is hoped that the parliamentary system of government which the election will usher in will bring greater political representation and development in all areas of life to our local governments. Let the winners be magnanimous in victory and let the losers be gallant in defeat, in the true spirit of sportsmanship”, ‎

He however wished all a happy holiday and a successful and peaceful election.

Osun LG Polls: PDP Suffers Technical Knock Out

•OSIEC, Political Parties Set For Poll

By Kehinde Ayantunji

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun might have suffered technical knockout from the coming local government elections scheduled to hold on January 27 as the party failed to submit the candidate lists before the expiration of stipulated date by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC).

According to information obtained by OSUN DEFENDER from OSIEC, other political parties have validly documented the nomination of their candidates for the election except PDP despite signifying intention to participate in the election.

The party is relying on two pending cases, one instituted before a Federal High Court in Abuja by Three PDP members, Chief Kolawole Osunkemitan, Chief Douglas Adeyinka and Prince Aderemi Adelowo and another one before Osun State High Court Ilesa by Barister Kanmi Ajibola.

Aside court cases, Osun PDP appeared not to have come over almost two years leadership tussle which is largely responsible for the party inability to select candidates for the poll with no local government and state elected leadership of the party till date.

A top hierarchy in OSIEC told our reporter that it is only a court declaration that can allow PDP to participate in the election with the expiration of the time frame given, saying the commission is not aware of such request before any court.

He said, “all I know is that as at the last day stipulated by the commission for the candidates nominations, we did not received PDP nominations, and to the best of my knowledge there is no pending case in any court of jurisdiction asking OSIEC to accept nominations outside the given date allowed by law and the pending cases in court which we have contested that our commission was never served nor properly joined as a party has nothing to do about the nomination date.”

“At the beginning, we held meeting with all political parties including PDP, to agree on the election date among others and we all agreed on January 27 before issuing 90 days mandatory notice, political parties that are interested in the election have validly nominated their candidates and whatever happen to PDP should be considered as the internal problem of PDP. As a commission, we have discharged our responsibilities in accordance with enabling laws”

Meanwhile, OSIEC is intensifying efforts to ensure the smooth conduct of the poll in January 27, 2018 as agreed by political parties. Local government offices of the commission are now opening for administrative and logistics planning.

Members of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) has commenced campaign in the 378 wards for the coming election.

Osun West APC Youth Leader, Imran Adekunle told OSUN DEFENDER that the party leaders and candidates have embarked on massive house to house campaign to sell the programmes of the party to the people and ensure that the party comes out victoriously.

Adekunle said the party is not in any way distracted by the PDP’s move to stop the election and urged party members to focus on mobilisation and sensitisation of the electorates towards the election.

In a reaction by the APC Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, the ruling party gave assurances that the party remains ‘firm in control of the situation and (that) nothing would derail the calculated and irrevocable drive towards conducting a successful local government poll, and also winning the governorship election scheduled for September 2018.

“The idea of the PDP that council election would not be held is in vain, and the attempt to legally stop the disbursement of local government money by the Federal Government is a pathetic exercise in futility,” the APC said.

“Osun people should be rest assured that the only reason the PDP intends to frustrate the election is that the party understand that it would be beaten silly in the coming local government election.

“If it had the slightest chance in the world that it could win, the PDP will not be wasting its time and resources in the court. It would rather be strong on the campaign trail” Oyatomi said.