Tag: Osun state House of Assembly

Osun Assembly Passes ‘Not Too Young To Rule’ Bill, Step Down LG Autonomy

By Israel Afolabi

The State of Osun House of Assembly has stepped down debate on granting of autonomy to Local government administration, saying a public hearing would be conducted on the matter.

The house approved 10 provisions , stepped down two others and rejected three of the provisions in the proposed amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

The lawmakers at the plenary, presided over by its Speaker, Hon. Najeem Salaam, on Wednesday brought the constitutional amendment issues for debate.

The speaker explained that the bill was stepped down to allow the numerous stakeholders air their view on the issue, saying the resolution of the House would be passed to the National Assembly through the conference of Speakers.

In a yes/no vote proceeding, the Parliamentarian  unanimously rejected provision for independent candidature in elections (  section 7, 65, 106, 131, 177 and 228); constitution alteration bill section ( 9) and period during which the President or governor shall lay the appropriation bill (section 81 and 121)

The lawmakers also ‘ stepped down ‘ the amendments on strengthen Local Government Administration in Nigeria (Sections 7, 318 and part 1 of the fifth schedule ) and abrogation of Joint Local Government Account (Section 162) for public hearing.

Speaking at the end of the proceeding, the speaker of the assembly,   said that  the two bills were stepped down so as to  consider the interest of the numerous stakeholders tied to the provision  of the  bill.

Salaam said the assembly would organised a public hearing on the two bills that were stepped down to get stakeholders inputs.

Meanwhile,  the speaker has  directed the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs to work out guidelines for training of the newly elected councillors at the Local Government Areas in the state.

The speaker , who noted that the parliamentary  local government was relatively new in the state,  stressed the need for councillors to be properly acquainted with rudiments of parliamentary democracy.

However, the House approved the not too young to rule bill,  alter the name of the Nigerian Police,  Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps bill,  immunity for members of the legislature and the period within which Pre-electoral matter is to be determined.

Strike: Osun Assembly Pleads For Workers’ Patience

Osun State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon Najeem Salaam has appealed to the state workforce to show more understanding and be more patient with the government over the issue of modulated salary.

The assembly made the appeal in a statement by the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye following the declaration of indefinite strike by the state Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Jacob Adekomi to be started on December 27 in the state.

The parliament said that since the government has promised and shown commitment to pay the balance of the modulated salaries when the economy of the state improves, there should not be any fear on the part of the workers’ unions.

According to the Assembly, the state government was transparent enough in the apportionment of funds coming to the coffer of the state by setting up a committee led by a Veteran labour leader, Comrade Hassan Sunmonu to handle the apportionment, of which the labour leaders were also involved.

Regretting that the economic crisis has been causing the irregularities over the salary matter, it noted that though things were improving, but the workers should be more patient for thing to take proper shape.

Noting that the state Assembly was also monitoring the financial capacity of the state to finally resolve the salaries hullabaloo, it stressed that the parliament would no relent until the issues surrounding the modulated salaries are resolved.

Identifying with the plight of the workers, it said it is unfortunate that the economic situation of the country which is not limited to Osun has forced the government to adopt alternative means of addressing workers welfare.

It added that the workers should be persuaded by the fact that the political office holders in the state are also being paid 50 per cent of their total pay due to economic crisis.

The Assembly then urged the workers unions to be more patient, as they are the engine room of the government that will ensure the continuation of the developmental programmes and projects of the government.

Osun Assembly Reiterates Commitment To Protect Environment

By Israel Afolabi

The State of Osun House of Assembly will not hesitate to give urgent attention to regulatory bills seeking to protect the environment, as well as prevention of hazards that could jeopardize the interest of the people.

This was disclosed by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam who was represented by his Deputy, Hon. Akintunde Adegboye while presiding over the House during deliberation on the State of Osun Regulation of Sand Dealing and Dredging Operation Bill 2015 at the floor of the State Assembly Complex Osogbo.

Akintunde observed that the bill was coming at the appropriate time when stakeholders are clamouring for adequate protection of the environment.

He noticed that the bill require urgent attention because of its importance to the state and also acknowledged the damage done to the environment through illegal sand dealing and dredging.

In his words, “it is a good bill that requires urgent attention because it is necessary to set a
database for the miners in the state. The bill will not only control activities of operators but prevent environment degradation that could result from illegal operation”.

However, the speaker who noted other merits of the bill maintained that it requires accelerated Passage as he stressed the need for urgent consideration by the House.

Earlier, the Majority leader of the House, Hon. Timothy Owoeye presented the bill in which he explained its policy thrust to the House, saying it seeks to introduce license and permit to stakeholders in the mining sector.

According to him, “the bill which seek to regulate sand dealing and dredging through license and permit will checkmate illegal activities by the operators”,.

He noted other areas of policy thrust to include increase in revenue generation, creation of database for identification, streaming of operation and protection of environment.

Owoeye also added that there is illegal dredging and mining activities in Atakumosa East, Oriade, Atakumosa West and Obokun due to lack of bill to regulate the activities of miners in the state.

Other lawmakers, in their separate contributions, emphasised on the benefits accruable from the bill as they agreed on the need for priority attention and accelerated passage.

They added that State of Osun regulation of sand dealing and dredging operation bill will preserve our land and reduce environmental pollution.

They also said that there is need to regulate the bill for the interest of our people and bring sanity into the dredging activities of the operator.

The bill has scale through the second reading on the floor of the house.

Team Lobbies Osun Assembly Over Constitutional Amendment

By Israel Afolabi

The State of Osun House of Assembly will soon come up with a position regarding the proposed constitutional amendment by the National Assembly.

The speaker of the State parliament, Hon. Najeem Salaam stated this at the Assembly complex while addressing the plenary in which a group called Friends of Democracy in Nigeria led by Senator Olorunnibe Mamora was received recently.

The speaker who was represented by the deputy speaker Hon. Akintunde Adegboye in his opening remarks appreciated the friends of Democracy in Nigeria team for their advocacy visit to the state Assembly.

Adegboye said, we are here to prolong the life of Democracy in our country, Nigeria.

However, in his remarks, the leader of the team, Senator Mamora commended the lawmakers for the audience granted the team.

Mamora who is the former speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly solicited for the cooperation of Osun Assembly for the constitutional amendment proposed by the National Assembly.

According to him, “I am very impressed with reception of the House of Assembly and by their legislative experience during the interactive session”.

“We needs to deeply strengthen those institutions for our democracy to have stand in Nigeria”, he added.

He commended the State of Osun House of Assembly for their legislative experience and exposure in the entire south west.

He gave kudos to governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for introducing parliamentary system of governance in Local Government in other to reduce the cost of governance in the state.

He urged the Assembly to have common goal towards the proposed constitutional amendment for the future of the Country.

He said Nineteen (19) clauses bill is going through process in the amendment.

In his goodwill message, the former member House of Representative Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele thanks the honourable members for their reception. Hon Bamidele said these amendments will enhance budget and governance process and strengthen government Institutions.

He added that it will strengthen Electoral System and Judicial System as well.

According to him, “this amendment will give strength to Local Government Autonomy and key Accountability institution in the Country”.

“For each item/clause to be successfully amended, it will require a simple majority in at least 24 out of the 36 States Houses of Assembly, while the States Houses of Assemblies has the constitutional mandate to vote on the amendments”. He added.

In their various reactions the honourable members commended the team for their advocacy visit to Osun. “They said the House of Assembly will soon come up with its position on the constitution amendment”.

Osun Assembly Tasks Corporation On Adequate Water Supply

By Israel Afolabi

State of Osun House of Assembly has assured the state Water Corporation of its supports to ensure adequate supply of water to the people of the state.

The Chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Honourable Kamardeen Akanbi made this commitment on Thursday during the committee’s interaction with the agency at the Assembly Complex, Osogbo.

The parliamentarian who appreciated the state government under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for its investment towards sustainable water supply in the state, said the Water Corporation was invited to know how water is being supplied to the state from various dams..

According to him, “the first priority of good government is to ensure that potable water is made available for its people”.

Noting that the essence of the meeting was to prevent waterborne disease in the state, particularly during the Ileya festive period, he advised the concerned agencies to work on mini-storex in each wards across the state to alleviate problems of water supply.

In his response, the General Manager, Osun Water Corporation, Engr. Olugbenga Owojuyigbe assured that adequate water would flow in all the 13 local government presently being served by the existing water works.

Owojuyigbe who attributed epileptic water supply to the power failure and damage of old pipes across the state said, the rehabilitation is going on at Ede Water Works for regular water supply to its environments.

He also assured that Ede, Oyan, Eko-Ende, Esa-Odo, and Ila water work schemes would continue to function well for Osun people.

Also, the state General Manager, Rural Water and Environmental Sanitation Agency (RUWESA), Alhaji Adiatu Olaposi acknowledged the efforts of the state government in collaboration with UNICEF to put end to inadequate water supply in the state through provision of boreholes in every community across the state.

He disclosed that between June 2016 and July 2017, 214 new hand-pump boreholes have been constructed in all the nooks and crannies of Osun, while 85 boreholes were repaired under village level operation and maintenance.

He also said, 273 hand-pump and 10 force loft hand-pump boreholes have been completed in 189 communities in Odo-Otin and Ayedaade local government and handed over to the communities.

On sanitation, Olaposi revealed that total sanitation has been achieved in 19 communities in Odo-Otin with provision of washing facilities provided in 20 schools in Odo-Otin and Ayedaade local government areas.

According to him, “133 communities were certified Open Defecation Free (ODF) in the state with collaboration of UNICEF”, just as he urged every house owner in the state to make provision for toilet facilities or latrine to avoid epidemic in the state.

Osun Lawmaker Tasks Politicians On Human Development 

—–Set To Empower People Of His Constituency

A member of the State of Osun House of Assembly, Hon. Waseeu Adebayo, has charged political office holders to use opportunity given to them by the people to change the face of the society.

Adebayo gave the charge while addressing journalists as part of the activities heralding his 2017 Empowerment Programme in Osogbo on Friday.

The lawmaker who noted that in democracy power belong to the people, said political office holders must always see people as centre piece of their programmes.

Charging his colleagues in both state and National Assembly on the need to give back to the society Adebayo said about 500O people have so far benefited from his empowerment programme.

He said the programme which was initiated for the past five years had impacted positively on the lives of the beneficiaries was part of his constituency projects and it aimed at bringing dividends of democracy to people at the grassroot.

The lawmaker representing Olorunda state constituency noted that the beneficiaries were selected based on their need and state of their economy irrespective of their political affiliation and associations.

Hon Adebayo hinted that he had used his influence and contact to secure employment for no few than forty-one youths into the state civil service while thirty-three widows had equally benefited from his empowerment programme.

He said this year the scheme would distribute palm oil processing machines, motorcycles and provision of sets of computers for all police stations in Olorunda local government council to enhance their administrative work and effective crime detention and control.

The lawmaker maintained that the scheme had assisted students of the constituency with bursary to lessen the financial burden on their parents and to place the constituency on the verge of education development.

He said five mini buses would be given to beneficiaries while soft loan would also be given to market women traders and youth as well as artisans to boost their trade and businesses in the next edition of the programme.

Hon Adebayo who submitted that he had been using the opportunity given to him by his people for the service of humanity explained that he had sponsored bills that had direct impact on the lives of his people.

The lawmaker maintained that the present administration in the state had made people the centre piece of his administration hence the need for all political functionaries to complement efforts of government to improve social well being of the people.

He urged people of his constituency to support the present administration in the state in his quest to reposition the state for socio economic development.

Osun Lawmaker Empowers 759 Constituents

A member of the Osun State House of Assembly, representing Obokun State Constituency, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye has distributed farm inputs, and other empowerment materials to farmers and some other residents of his constituency.

About one thousand people including, One hundred and twenty five farmers (125), Sixty five widows (65), Eighty three senior citizens (83) and  four hundred and eighty six vulnerable individuals  (486)  benefited from the empowerment ninitiatives.

Some of the materials distributed were herbicides, cutlasses, farm sprayers, as well as cash gifts and cloths to widows and elderly women among others.

Oyintiloye said the distribution of the materials was part of his gesture to give back to the society and empower his constituents, particularly in the agricultural venture.

He said, the idea behind the distribution of the farm inputs was in line with the government decision to encourage agriculture, saying, “my constituency is made up of agrarian communities and 75 per cent of the residents are farmers”.

“This distribution is as a result of baseline studies of the need of the people in my constituency, materials are not just being distributed, they were chosen after due consultation, who all reiterated my belief that the appropriate empowerment material for my people are agricultural inputs”.

“I am convinced that these materials, with the various supports from the state government would assist farmers in this constituency to increase their yields”, he said.

Oyintiloye then hinted that though, the economy was faced with challenges, but he has resolved to continue to make impacts in the lives of the people in line with the mandate given to him.

He then assured those that were yet to benefit from the gesture not to be discouraged, saying that he would soon roll out similar empowerment programmes for them.

 

Osun Assembly Warns Against Illegal Lumbering

By Israel Afolabi

 

The Osun State House of Assembly has read riot act over the poor attitudes of Forest Guards towards the forest protection in the state.

 

Chairman, House Committee on Environment and Sanitation, Honourable Ajibola Akinloye conveyed the dissatisfaction of the parliament during a stakeholders’ meeting between his committee and officials of Forestry Department of the Ministry of Natural and Mineral Resources.

 

The chairman who hinted that the meeting was called due to the allegation of fraud leveled against the Guards in various forests across the state, said that they were invited to clear the air on the issue involving them and timber contractors and fletchers.

 

Warning that the Assembly would not hesitate to deal with any forest Guard found to have violated his rules of engagement, he charged them to change their attitude towards the protection of forests in the state.

 

Other members of the committee, Honourables Debo Akanbi, Gbadebo Ibrahim, Akinola Adufe, Olaolu Oyeniran, Yemi Taiwo, and Clement Akanni urged the guards to be conscious of their jobs and change their behaviours.

 

They charged the guards to work together as a team to fight timber theft and Fletcher to obtain proper documents before engaging in tree felling.

 

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Natural and Mineral Resources, Mr Tunde Ajilore lamented on the position of forestry across the state which he described as a disadvantage to the state, due to forest guards’ habits, saying, if the forests are properly managed, it would earn the state huge sum of revenue on monthly basis.

 

Ajilore alleged that forest guards have connived with fletchers to cut economic trees in the various forests without proper permits which, he said has done more harm to government.

 

The Director of Forestry in the ministry, Dr. Bibilari Henry lamented on the encroachment problem in the state, which he described as a long time problem, saying that at as of now, there is no boundary guide for the various forest in the state.

 

Najeem Salaam: Celebrating Honest Broker @52, By Goke Butika

The concept of time is still a work-in-progress, because some of the early thinkers who dwelled on the matter of time were only deploying intellectual arguments. Time is different things to different worldviews.

 

Time to the western worldview is money, because wages are quantified by the numbers of hours put in a job. So, to the western employer, it is time that should be priced not the quantity or quality of work; for it is believed that job description has taken care of the two variables. Whereas, in Africa, if the thought of J. S. Mbiti is given a filtered look, events constitute time; all things being equal, time is still a work-in-progress, because human beings designed to use time to measure their milestones as constituted by events are created in such a way that the philosophical principles of: thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis are work-in-progress too.

 

How time flies? Rt. Hon. Najeem Folasayo Salaam, Speaker, State of Osun House of Assembly is a year older today, and his milestone deserves to be noticed not because he is the presiding officer of the

state parliament, though part of it; the fact that many had occupied the exalted position before him, and certainly legions of people would still occupy the post after him, makes one to relegate transient

position as indelible mark.

 

The question would now be, what makes Speaker Salaam birthday deserving? Then, it would conform to logic to argue that his humility, brilliance and accountability which have formed the core values of his

statesmanship disposition in the discharge of duties his office dictates, is worth celebrating.

 

Born 52 years ago from Ejigbo, Speaker Salaam who was an orphan at the

early stage of life, knew that education is a leveller, and it is the gateway to success in life. As a result of that, he braves all odds to obtain knowledge for the journey of fate, and in the process, he studies political science at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, where he bags his first degree; he proceeded to obtain his masters in the same field at the same prestigious citadel of learning and at the peak of being inducted into the hall of

doctoral fellows in the same discipline at the same respected university to which its practicality has shot him to political limelight from the grass of the grassroots.

 

Being a certificated politician, his deft moves in politics with grassroots appeal suggests that Speaker Salaam is a certified politician whose focus is service to the people, and his philanthropy

bears eloquent testimony to the solidity of his acceptance by the people at his remote, immediate and extended constituencies.

 

Speaker Salaam was elected in 2011 by  the Speakers of 36 states of the federation as the national Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly, and the way and manner he fixed the conference of equals before he midwifed it into democratic formation, speaks volume about his democratic

credentials, and leadership potentiality.

 

Not a few are wondering how Speaker Salaam has been coordinating the

parliament since 2011 without hitch, but those who are observing him keenly will agree that his core value: humility,

brilliance and accountability are the attributes deployed to carry along his colleagues in the house. His humility is not pretentious, it appears it is in his DNA, for he believes that success in life lies in

being stooped to conquer, and that all humans are equal before the Creator; his brilliance is rooted in native wisdom and emotional intelligence; his accountability is grounded in open-door policy garnished with collegiate system he upholds in the discharge of his responsibility.

 

It is a public knowledge that Speaker Salaam is a peace maker, and his

effort as go-between in some disputes concerning public institutions,

and his persuasive skill which has made the State of Osun House of Assembly as honest broker, have created an enabling atmosphere for development being witnessed at every nook and cranny of the state.

 

If the attributes mentioned above are worth celebrating as virtues, an individual who exhibits such a character profile should equally be celebrated, and that is the reason why Rt. Hon. Najeem Folasayo Salaam is being celebrated today as he marks his 52nd birthday on earth.

 

Happy birthday Speaking Speaker!

 

Goke Butika

Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker

State of Osun House of Assembly