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•Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s lawyers. (L-R) State of Osun Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Wale Afolabi;Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN); Chief Kola Awodehin (SAN) and Chief F.O. Fagboungbe (SAN) at the Election Petition Tribunal over theAugust 9, 2014 governorship election between the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the PDP candidate inthe state, Senator Iyiola Omisore, at High Court, Osogbo, last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

Osun Tribunal CautionsAgainst Falsehood•Determines Omisore’s Fate On Aregbesola’s Objection Monday

Osun Govt To PartnerWorld Bank OnEducation – Dep Gov

Osun SSG,Others BagAward OfExcellence

Stop Promoting Anarchy, Osun APC Warns PDP

3-yr-old GirlNeeds N1.6mHelp For HeartSurger y

Weeks before theAugust 9th guberna-torial elections whichwas won by thepragmatic OgbeniRauf Aregbesola ofthe APC, it wasobvious we were upagainst forces otherthan the people ofOsun state whichnaturally should bethe determinant of

how the elections willswing. The Allprogressives Con-gress (APC) stillsmarting from itsshocking defeat in theprevious Ekiti elec-tions had literarilysworn it will loseOsun over its deadbody. The murderousvillain fielded by thePeoples Democratic

The War Called The OsunElections-By Segun Tomori

Party (PDP), outrightlyunpopular with barely afew dozens of peopletrailing him at campaignshowever woretheconfidence of a Gover-nor-In-waiting. He they

didn’t care a hoot aboutthe people’s wish, allthat matters was the fullcompliment of theparaphernalia of Stateactivated by an

imperial Presidentthough utterly clueless,but desperate to addOsun to his conquest infurtherance of his still-born second term bid. Solo and behold, the diewas cast!I have notbeen emotionally at-tached to any electionsin Nigeria as I was withthe Osun elections,

maybe June 12, 1993Presidential electionspresumed to havebeing won by myPresident, M.K.OAbiola could be anexception.It wasn’t because Ihad affinity withanyone in Ogbeni’sgovernment orbecause I enjoyedany form of patron-age but because

Continue on pg5

2 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014News

•Wife of the State of Osun Governor, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola, practising hand washing at 2014 global handwashingday. With her are, State Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Mrs Adetoun Adegboyega (right); StateCommissioner for Environment, Professor Olubukola Oyawoye (2nd right); Mr Kunle Ige (3rd right) and othersduring the hand washing day in Osogbo recently.

Nigerians Yearning For True Change, APCRepresents Hope - Tambuwal

SPEAKER of the Federal House of Representatives,Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday statedthat Nigerians are yearning for true change and his

new party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), representsthe only hope for this change and a promise of a brighterNigeria.

Tambuwal, whoannounced his defection toAPC from the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) onTuesday, said this duringthe Extra-ordinary NationalConvention of the nation’smajor opposition party,which held at the Old ParadeGround, Abuja.

He thanked Nigerians forsupporting him and assuredthem that he would continueto work for the developmentof the country, while alsoexplaining his reasons forjoining the party.

“I embraced the APCplatform for genuinechange. I am truly proud tobe part of the APC family. Iam overwhelmed by theoutpouring of goodwill andwelcome that I havereceived from members ofthis party and otherNigerians since the formalnotification of mymembership of APC. Fromthe depth of my heart, I saythank you to all.

“The programmes of APCare very attractive andwould bring about radicalchanges in the way we dobusiness in Nigeria. APChas been giving Nigerianshope. The party has theprogressive ideals of good

governance to which Isubscribe andwholeheartedly embrace. Ihave embraced the APCplatform as a veritableinstrument for genuinechange and enduringnational development.

“We must constantlyremind ourselves thatNigerians are yearning fortrue change and APCrepresents the hope for thischange and a promise of abrighter Nigeria. This is aparty that we believe, that

by the grace of God, come2015, shall deliver thiscountry from the evil that ithas been plunged into by acertain cabal.

“I hereby dedicate myselfto the task of building andgrowing our great party andhelping our party achieve itsvision of lifting Nigeria to aglorious height and restoringhope to the citizens of ourgreat country. In this regard,I hereby call on otherNigerians to join thismovement to deliver on thepromise on a new Nigeria.

“In the weeks ahead, wewill engage party men andwomen and Nigerians on thefuture direction of our nationand means of rescuing itfrom the malaise of youth

unemployment, insecurity,institutionalized corruption,poverty, social economydecline and infrastructuraldecay.”

Also at the convention,National Chairman of APC,John Oyegun, introduced allthe candidates, who hadobtained the presidentialnomination form.

The surprise of the lotwas Governor of Imo State,Rochas Okorocha, aboutwhose presidentialambition, little had beenheard of before theconvention.

Former Vice PresidentAtiku Abubakar was absent,as he was out of thecountry, while MuhammaduBuhari, Rabiu Kwankwaso,and Sam Nda-Isaiah allspoke to the crowd.

Osun Govt To Partner World BankOn Education – Dep Gov

THE Deputy Governor of the State of Osun,Otunba (Mrs) Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, hasstated on Wednesday in Osogbo that the state

would continue to work with the World Bank tofacilitate development of basic education in thestate.

Laoye-Tomori statedthis when Dr TundeAdekoya, a World Bankrepresentative,, visited herto discuss the bank’sassistance to the state onbasic education.

She said the

government wouldcontinue to partner with theWorld Bank on itsintervention fund for basicand post-basic educationdevelopment projects.

The deputy governor,who doubles as the State

Commissioner forEducation, restated thestate government’scommitment to improvingthe standard of basiceducation in the state.

She stressed that thestate government hasconcluded plans tointroduce local language toteach students at basiceducation level, with aview to ensuring betterunderstanding and

assimilation by pupils inschools.

Earlier, Adekoyaexpressed the commitmentof the World Bank to thedevelopment of basiceducation in Osun.

“The World Bank willcontinue to support basiceducation in the state withprovision of fund to trainteachers and provideinstructional materials inschools as it did in Ekitiand Lagos States,”Adekoya said.

Osun Tribunal Cautions Against Falsehood•Determines Omisore’s Fate On Aregbesola’s Objection Monday

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

THE State of Osun Election Petition Tribunal hasfixed Monday for ruling on the request by thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship

candidate, Iyiola Omisore, that the tribunal should notdetermine the competence of their petition at the pre-hearing stage.

This was just as thecounsel of the duo, Dr AlexIzinyon (SAN), withdrew anapplication seekingextension of time for theongoing inspection of the

election materials and hadit struck out on the basisthat the issue would besorted out administratively.

This happened at thecommencement of the pre-

trial hearing of the petitionfiled by Omisore and hisparty against the re-electionof Governor RaufAregbesola and the AllProgressive Congress (APC)before the newly-constitutedJustice Elizabeth Ikpejime-ledtribunal on Thursday

The petitioners’ counselhad asked the tribunal todefer the preliminaryobjection, which ischallenging the competenceof the petition till hearing

stage, arguing that theapplication of therespondents should beheard along with thepetition.

This, Governor RaufAregbesola, the firstrespondent counsel, ChiefAkin Olujinmi (SAN),described as againstParagraph 53(5) of the firstschedule of Electoral Act,saying the application filedon behalf of his clients arebased on the competence of

the petition.“It is a mandatory

provision of the ElectoralAct that issues bothered oncompetence should be heardafter pleadings. It is aprocedure we need tofollow.

“Because the objectionwe raised bothers on thecompetence of the matter, itis not a thing that can beheard along with thepetition. It must be heardfirst.”

The counsel cited thecase of Okonkwo vs INEC,2004, 1NWLR, Part 854, Page242 at page 277, where,according to him, the Courtof Appeal ruled that it is forthe court to determine thecompetence of the matter.

Also, APC (the secondrespondent) counsel, ChiefRotimi Akeredolu (SAN)argued that the procedure isto hear the preliminaryobjections before going intothe merit of the matter.

He also cited the cases ofMaitisidau Vs Shidari,reported in 2008, 16NWLR,part 1114, page 553 at page572, paragraph C-D, as wellas Kazeem Vs Kola, 2012,1NWLR, part 1282, page 543at page 557 among others.

These cases, he argued,insisted that preliminaryobjections must be heard todetermine the competence

of the suit and jurisdictionof the court to hear it.

The IndependentNational ElectoralCommission (INEC), thethird respondent counsel,Mr Ayotunde Ogunleye,aligned with the submissionof the first and secondrespondents, arguing thatjurisdiction is a foundationalissue that must bedetermined before goinginto the merit of the case.

Subsequently, the matterwas adjourned till Monday,November 3, 2014 for ruling.

Meanwhile, the tribunalalso fixed the same date tohear the applications of thefirst and secondrespondents in anotherpetition filed by AccordParty (AP) governorshipcandidate, Mr Niyi Owolade,against the same August 9,2014 election.

Earlier, the tribunalchairman has cautionedagainst spreading falsehoodover the activities of thetribunal, condeming therumour that was spread lastweek that the tribunal hadgiven order for therecounting of the votes.

Calling for cooperation ofthe parties in the matter,Justice Ikpejime alsoappealed to political partiesto allow the tribunal do itsjob without any distraction.

APC Aspirant Donates600 Helmets In Oriade

By OUR REPORTER

NO fewer than 600 people in Oriade LocalGovernment Area of Osun State on Wednesdaybenefited from the philanthropic gesture of Hon

Abiola Falayajo as he gave out crash helmets and othersafety items to residents of the council area.

Falayajo who is anAustralia social and humanrights activist presented thesafety items to the peopleof the area in Ipetu Ijesa at aprogramme where hedeclared his interest tocontest the state House ofAssembly election on theplatform of the AllProgressives Congress(APC).

Presenting the materialsto the beneficiaries, Falayajostressed the need for thepeople of Oriade stateconstituency to present aformidable candidate torepresent them at the stateparliament.

He assured the people ofthe area of efficient

representation if he emergesas the member representingthe constituency in thestate House of Assemblycome next year, promising toenact bills that will favourthe less privilegedindividuals in the area.

The Ipetujesa-bornpolitician who appealed toleaders of the APC in thearea to shun favourism inthe choice of the candidateto represent the area in thestate House of Assemblypromised to bringdevelopment to the area.

Also, the aspirantpromised to empower thepeople of the area throughvarious means, assuringthat his emergence as amember of the state Houseof Assembly would bringabout liberation for all theyouths of the area.

He promised to use theexperience he had gatheredin Australia where he hadlived for over a decade tobring about development tothe area.

Some of the beneficiariesof Falayajo’s philanthropicgesture were commercialmotorcycle riders, membersof the APC in all the 12 wardsof Oriade Local GovernmentArea, officers of the NigeriaPolice, Man O’War officersand Boys Scout membersamong others.

3 News OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014

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•The Secretary to the State Government of Osun, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (middle), assisted by his wife, while being presented an Award ofExcellence by the National President, Nigerian Institute of Physics (NIP), Professor David Malgwi, at Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu, State ofOsun, on Tuesday.

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

Change Of NameI, formerly known

and addressed as MISSO G I D A NO L U WA J U W O NTEMILADE, now wishto be known andaddressed as MRSA B I O L AO L U WA J U W O NTEMILADE. All formerdocuments remain validGeneral public shouldtake note.

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is to confirm that

OLAIYA BAMIDELESERAH is the sameperson as OLAIYAO M O L A R ASERAH.That theauthority of osun statepolytechnic iree andpublic should address heras OLAIYA OMOLARASERAH.The documentwith OLAIYABAMIDELE SERAH stillremain valid.

Ifelodun APC Leaders Adopt Akande, Aregbesola’s AideFor House Of RepsTHE Senior Special Assistant to the State of Osun

Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Information andStrategy, Mr Adelani Baderinwa, has received a

thump-up to contest the 2015 Federal House ofRepresentatives election under the All ProgressivesCongress (APC).

Leaders and othermembers of the party inWard 4, Ikirun, IfelodunLocal Government CouncilArea of the state, onWednesday adoptedBaderinwa as their solecandidate to represent thepeople of Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo-Otin FederalConstituency at theNational Assembly, come2015.

Declaring theirendorsement forBaderinwa’s bid, the APCmembers maintained thatBaderinwa deserved to begiven the APC ticket for theFederal House ofRepresentatives election,considering his loyalty,commitment and dedicationto the party operations andactivities.

The APC members gavethe adoption in a well-attended weekly wardmeeting, held at theMethodist School, Ikirun onOctober 28, 2014.

Baderinwa, also a MediaAdviser to Chief BisiAkande, had earlier at themeeting informed the partymembers of his ambition tocontest the House ofRepresentatives electionunder the APC for theIfelodun/Boripe/Odo-OtinFederal Constituency.

The former chairman ofthe Nigeria Union ofJournalists, Ekiti StateCouncil, solicited thesupport of the APC membersin the ward for theactualization of his bid, justas he appreciated the voteof confidence passed onhim and his adoption by theAPC leaders.

He hinted the people thatpart of his manifestoes wasto, among many otherthings; bring qualityrepresentation througheffective lawmaking that willbenefit Nigerians at largeand his constituentsspecifically, with a promisethat the electorate wouldhave value for their votes, ifhe emerged.

Speaking at the meeting,

the APC Ward 4 Chairman,Mr Olatoke Adeyemo, saidthe party leaders and othermembers had for long beenexpecting Baderinwa to

aspire for an elective post,but he was reluctantbecause of his loyalty andsubmissiveness to the partyleaders.

Adeyemo saidBaderinwa’s ambition wastimely, considering the factthat Ifelodun LocalGovernment Council Area isdue to produce the nextcandidate for the Ifelodun/

Boripe/Odo-Otin FederalConstituency.

He described Baderinwaas an intelligent, capable andmarketable person, whocould represent the federalconstituency very well at theFederal House ofRepresentatives, whilecalling on the APC membersto give maximum support forhis ambition.

The Women Leader ofthe party in the ward, MrsEsther Oyetunji, on behalfof women in the party,expressed her satisfactionon Baderinwa’s ambition,describing him as aphilanthropist and reliableparty stalwart.

In his own comments, theYouth Leader of the ward,Mr Moshood Ayanwuyi,said it has become acompulsion for the youths

in the party to intensify theirefforts on the call for thezoning of the House ofRepresentatives ticket toIfelodun Local GovernmentCouncil Area.

Ayanwuyi maintained thatBaderinwa merited the ticketand thus, the party membersin the ward would workassiduously to ensure thathe was given the APC ticketto contest the NationalAssembly election.

Osun SSG, Others Bag Award Of ExcellenceBy KAZEEM MOHAMMED

SECRETARY to the State Government of Osun,Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, has been honouredwith a meritorious award of excellence for his

contribution to the growth of science and technologyin Nigeria.

He was presented theaward on Tuesday by theNigerian Institute ofPhysics (NIP) at its 37thAnnual Conference, held atOduduwa University,Ipetumodu, State of Osun.

Other awardeesincluded the President,Oduduwa University, DrRamon Adedoyin; Acting

Vice Chancellor of theuniversity, Professor(Mrs) OlajumokeOlayiwola; Chairman, IdoLocal Government of OyoState, Professor AdeniyiOlowofela among others.

Receiving the awardfrom the President of theinstitute, Professor DavidMalgwi, Alhaji Adeoti said

the award was a call toservice that would spurhim to continue to pursueexcellence in the publicservice.

While noting that withinthe past four years, he hasbeen part of governancethat shares this ideal ofservice and excellence, hesaid the honour wouldmake him to rededicatehimself to the service ofthe people.

“This award is a goodgesture that I will alwayslive to remember. This is acall to service and a

challenge that theexcellence that one bringsto bear in public service iswhat is important.

“This award, alongothers we have received,will go a long way incementing our resolve togive our best in the serviceto the people and pursuitof excellence, becausethis is a necessaryingredient for success,”he added.

Adeoti ,who regrettedthat Nigeria is laggingbehind in technologicaldevelopment, enjoined the

institure to help in restoringthe spirit of excellence inthe area.

“There is need fortechnological developmentin our society, as it isdisheartening that we stilldepend on foreigncountries in our day-to-dayuse of technologicalmaterials and our industriesare being manned byforeigners.

“I urged your institute tospearhead this course onhow to confront thisproblem for us to meet ournational needs,” he furthernoted.

While presenting theaward, Professor Malgwi,who described Adeoti as areputable personalty andexperienced administrator,said the award was anotherchallenge for the awardeesto give more service to thepeople.

Stop Promoting Anarchy, Osun APC Warns PDP

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in theState of Osun State has warned the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) against creating anarchy

through its propagation of lies.The APC said: “It is time

law enforcement agentscalled the PDP to orderand stop the party fromstoking negative passionsthat could lead to anarchy.”

The party’s commentsfollowed the reportcirculated through themedia that the ElectionPetition Tribunal hadordered the recounting ofthe votes of the August 9,2014 governorshipelection held in the state.

In a statement by itsDirector of Publicity,Research and Strategy,Barrister Kunle Oyatomi,the APC said: “The firstsitting of the newly-constituted tribunal willtake place tomorrow.

“Only five localgovernment council areasshave had their electiondocuments inspected, andno strange ballot paper hasbeen found.

“The PDP in its petition

filed did not ask for arecount of the votes and itcould not have ordered arecount. So that piece ofinformation was adeliberate falsehood. Nohearing has taken place;the judges have made nop r o n o u n c e m e n twhatsoever on recount ofvotes.

“The PDP’s claim thatits candidate, IyiolaOmisore, has more votesthan APC’s RaufAregbesola exposes theparty’s original plan,which failed to materialise.

“It shows that the PDPhas a pre-recorded result,

which could not passthrough the IndependentNational ElectoralCommission (INEC’s)security of the votes. Thatis the result they now wantto force through theElection Petition Tribunal.

The APC thereforeappealed to all mediaorganisations following theOsun Election PetitionTribunal to carefully cross-check and confirm thetruth or otherwise of anystory, statement orinformation they mayreceive from the PDPbefore publishing same.

The ruling party in the

state also appealed to allits members not to worrywhen the PDP speaksbecause it is a party filledwith liars.

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 20144 News

Power Supply: Consumers Groan Under ArbitraryBills And Outages

2015 Elections: Former LASU President Declares For House Of AssemblyBy ISMAEEL UTHMAN

A former Student Union President of the LagosUniversity, Comrade Gbenga Adedeji, hasdeclared his intention to represent the people of

Oriade Local Government Council Area of the State ofOsun in the State House of Assembly.

Adedeji, popularly calledGbenga-Justice, who isaspiring under the AllProgressives Congress(APC), promised tocommit 50 per cent of hismonthly salary to promotesports, education throughdebate competitions inprimary and secondaryschools.

The aspirant, who hailedfrom at Ward 2, Erin-Ijesaof the council area, said hewould also ensure that partof the 50 per cent from hissalary was committed toe m p o w e r m e n tprogrammes, support forthe aged, scholarships andcapacity building /trainingfor his constituents.

Declaring his intentionon Wednesday at Erin-Ijesa, Adedeji promised toinitiate passage of people’sfriendly legislation, policiesand programmes thatwould further promote andconsolidate Ogbeni RaufA r e g b e s o l a - l e dadministration’s six-pointintegral action plan, ifgiven the democraticmandate to serve.

According to theactivist, his aspiration wasnecessitated by the direneed to advance humanityby creating an enablingenvironment for generaldevelopment at grassrootslevel via enactment ofpeoples’ friendlylegislations.

Adedeji, a Senior SpecialAssistant to Aregbesola onMobilisation, commendedthe incumbent leadershipand members of the Stateof Osun House ofAssembly for their supportfor prompt passage ofpeople-oriented bills,which has easedgovernment’s execution

of projects.He said: “The legislature

in the State of Osun, underthe leadership ofHonourable Najeem

Salam, has so far showntrue virtue of theparliament in a sound andparticipatory democracythrough its enactment,approval and promotion ofp e o p l e s - f r i e n d l ylegislation.

“That is undoubtedlyinstrumental to the speedyand obvious dividends ofOgbeni Rauf Aregbesola-

led administration’s six-point integral action plan.

“Today, it is truism thatthe State of Osun hassince November, 2010,been witnessingu n p r e c e d e n t e ddevelopment in all facets ofour lives, due to theemergence of a visionary,dynamic and creativeOgbeni Rauf Adesoji

Aregbesola through hard-earned legal battles.

“However, it is in the bidto consolidate on thisexemplary governance thatI desire to represent youas honourable member ofthe State of Osun Houseof Assembly in theforthcoming 2015 generalelections.”

The activist stated

further: “This position willundoubtedly enhance, aswell as consolidate on thepeace, progress andprosperity currentlyevolving in the State ofOsun and act as a catalystfor the promotion ofdemocracy, goodgovernance anddevelopment in Nigeriaand Africa.”

THE drop in the level of electricity consumption beingexperienced in some areas of Osogbo, the capital ofthe State of Osun is indeed a thing to worry about.

By FRANCIS EZEDIUNO

Complaints reachingOSUN DEFENDERindicated that within thespace of one month,electricity supply to theaffected areas had droppedsharply and the situationhas become worse thanwhen load-shedding wasexperienced.

Apart from the drop inpower supply, consumers

were also complaining ofabnormal electricity billsthey get from the IbadanElectricity DistributionCompany (IBEDC) at theend of the month.

The major complaints ofthe consumers was that thereadings on the bills did notcorrespond with the level ofelectricity they enjoymonthly.

A community leader inone of the affectedcommunities, Mr. IsaacAdekunle, maintained thatthe first time that they hadthis kind of challenge wasduring the onset of the rainyseason but that as at thetime, it was just the powersupply that was erratic butthe bill at the end of themonth was still manageable,as everybody could affordto pay it from the little theyearned, but since the lastquarter of this year, not onlyhad the erratic nature of the

power supply surfacedagain, but this time it wasbeing accompanied by crazybills.

Areas mostly affected bythis problem included thewhole of Ogo-Oluwa, someparts of Dada Estate,Asubiaro, Jaleyemi andAlekuwodo of Osogbo.

According to him, allefforts to reach the IBEDCoffice amounted to nothing,as they were being referredfrom one office to the otheror atimes telling them thatthat marketer in-charge oftheir sector had gone out onassignment.

Some consumersconfessed that because ofthe arbitrary bills IBEDCgives at the end of themonth, they were forcedatimes to tamper with theeffective performance oftheir metres.

“If we tamper with ourmetres in order for theconsumption bills that weget at the end of the monthto be reduced, whose fault

is it?“In any case, it is IBEDC

that taught us to be a littlebit wiser and I do not see itas a crime because there areother demands on us andwe cannot use all the wholemoney just to settle onlyelectricity bills.”

It was further gatheredthat sometimes, the IBEDCmarketers tamper with themetres in their care, with aview to forcing theconsumers to order for thepre-paid metres, which theywould supply at their owngain.

“When you get to theiroffice, they will tell you yourmetre is faulty and they willadvise you to hurry and buythe pre-paid metre, as theold one could not berepaired again due to eitherfault or old age.

However, a call at theIBEDC offices at Ogo-Oluwa and Station Road ofthe state capitalrespectively did not yieldany information as at thetime of going to press.

Bizarre! Omisore Asks For ExclusiveInspection Of Election Documents•Prays APC Lawyers, INEC Officials ShouldNot Attend Inspection

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidatein the August 9,2014 governorship electionheld in the State of Osun, Senator Iyiola

Omisore, through his lawyers at the ElectionPetition Tribunal, has filed a motion dated 27th dayof October, 2014 at the Registry of the tribunal,asking the court to grant an order of inspection toallow his lawyers to complete the inspection exercisewithout the presence of the 1st and 2ndrespondents- APC.

He also asked the courtto grant an order againstINEC to throw its officeopen between 8.00am and6.00pm daily, while theinspection of the electionmaterials lasts.

The respondent, APC,which has already been

served the motion paperhas seven days to react tothe motion.

Meanwhile, reports ofthe ongoing inspection ofelection materials, as at theclose of business onOctober 29, 2014 at INECoffice, revealed that the

inspection team of bothparties (APC and PDP)were able to push theinspection of electoralmaterials and scan ballotpapers up to Ward 10,Unit 11 of Ilesa West LocalGovernment Council Area.

Ward 10 has 13 unitsand the local governmenthas 11 wards in all.

It is however expectedthat the inspection willprogress to the 7th LocalGovernment soonest.

So far, findings duringthe inspection exercise,according to impeccablesources, have attested tothe choice of the Osunpeople as expressed onthe 9th August, 2014through the ballot.

This is contrary to the

PDP’s claim that itscandidate was leading by100,000 votes going by apurported “recountingexercise”.

3-yr-old Girl Needs N1.6m Help For Heart Surgery

PARENTS of a three-year-old girl, AdeoyeOluwatoyin, have

cried for financial help totreat their daughter, who issuffering from Tetralogy ofFallot, a major congenitalheart disease.

To treat the disease,Oluwatoyin has beenbooked down to undergothe definitive open heartsuggery at Biket MedicalCentre, Osogbo, State of

Osun, at a cost of N1.6million.

Tests have confirmedthat the disease has beenaffecting the growth anddevelopment of the younggirl and it can only betreated through thesurgical treatment.

On this basis, theparents of the youngOluwatoyin appealed topublic-spirited Nigeriansor non-Nigerians to help

financially, as no amount issmall to safe the young girlfrom her ordeal.

Any financial assistancecould be offered throughthis bank account: AccountName: ADEOYEOLUWATOYIN; AcctNumber: 4131142407;Bank: Mainstreet BankPlc.

For further enquiries,contact Mr OLAADEYEFA, on 08033135364or xtraprod2010@gmail.com

•Representative of wife of the governor, wife of State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy affairs, Mrs Naimot Alimi, presentinggifts to mother of the first baby of Hijira 1436, Mrs Rodiyat Mumeen; with them, State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Temitope Ilori (left) and othersat ANWO primary Health Centre Ilobu Irepodun Local Governmemt Council Area of the State of Osun recently.

5OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014

The War Called The Osun Elections-By Segun Tomori

THERE is only oneword to describe thep l a n n e d

collaboration betweenthe government of theState of Osun and theGerman State of SaxonyAnhalt to boost the state’sagriculture: heart-warming. Undoubtedly,it is an attestation to thefact that the painstakingwork undertaken by theRauf Aregbesola-ledadministration to attractnot just investment, butexpertise in critical areasof the state’sdevelopmental needs, isfinally bearing fruits.Viewed within thecontext of its declaredcommitment to improveagricultural practices andto boost food security, itis an important signal thatthe administration’savowed mission to banishpoverty from the state iswell on course.

Of course, it goeswithout saying that thestate needs all the help itcan get at this time to beable to optimise itspotentials be it inagriculture, solid minerals

or even in tourism. As ani d e a s - d r i v e nadministration, the presentadministration in the statehas never left anyone indoubt about the importantrole of internationalagencies and developmentpartners in the state’sdevelopment matrix.

We have seen thegovernor make severalshuttles to meet withdevelopment partners aspart of strategies to catalysethe many well-conceivedinitiatives to transform thestate economy in recordtime. A good example isthe governor’s well-publicised visit to theInternational Institute forTropical Agriculture(IITA), Ibadan. Indeed,there are presently on-going discussions betweenthe state government andthe elite institution onpossible areas ofcooperation to boost thestate agriculture. Anothernotable example is the visitby the governor to theGerman State of SaxonyAnhalt in May this year.

Both developments findmeaning in the context of

the governor’s singularcommitment to attracting thebest of technology to thehitherto moribund sectorand to further his goal ofoptimising the state’spotentials.

The visit of the seven-manGerman expert team to thestate is no doubt, an icing onhis cake. It deserves to berecognised as the fruit ofhard work and persistencefor which the stategovernment, most especiallythe governor, deservescommendation.

No doubt, the visit by theteam could not have come ata better time than now whenthe state government ismaking frantic efforts toreposition the agriculturalsector. To start with, there isa lot that our young farmerscan benefit from the expertsin modern farm techniquesand management skills andultimately in the area of themuch needed transfer oftechnology. The state cannotwait to see the gains of thecollaboration in theemergence of newgeneration of farmers inOsun –individuals who seefarming both as a calling

and as a business.At the macro level, we

expect the collaboration toassist in bridging theknowledge gaps in thestate’s agro-business. Thecollaboration is no doubt,a critical step in the state’squest to overhaul of theagriculture value chain asa strategy to guaranteesustainability.

Finally, just as the pointhas been repeatedly madethat a major bane of thenation’s developmentquest is the virtualabsence of technicalcapacity by agencies ofgovernment charged withimplementing well-meaning policies, weexpect the benefits of thecollaboration to extend tothe area of capacitybuilding for officialscharged with policyimplementation.

In other words, thesupport, discipline andcommitment by officialsare no less critical if thenoble intentions behindthe collaboration will evercome to fruition.

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 20146 OSUN DEFENDER LAW

Are Deductions From State Allocation Legal?All Progressives Congress (APC) governors have demanded a meeting with President Goodluck

Jonathan over the cash crisis, which they said is crippling their states, many of which cannot paysalaries. The dwindling allocation to states is said to be, in part, due to certain deductions by theFederal Government. Are the deductions legal? What options are open to the states? JOSEPHJIBUEZE asks.

IS Nigeria broke? No, says the FederalGovernment. But to somegovernors,something is wrong.

Allocations are reducing, and they areunable to meet their states’ needs. Manyhave resorted to borrowing to pay salariesand fund capital projects. Many states arein debt.

It is for this reason that the AllProgressives Congress (APC) governorsmet in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, lastweek and resolved to have an emergencymeeting with President GoodluckJonathan over the crippling cash crisis.

At the meeting were GovernorsAbdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); RaufAregbesola (Osun); Abiola Ajimobi(Oyo); Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara); RabiuKwankwaso (Kano); Ibrahim Gaidam(Yobe); Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers) andRochas Okorocha (Imo).

The governors were worried thatallocation from the Federal purse keepsreducing, even as the central governmentsays the country is not broke. Manystates, they said, may not be able to paytheir workers.

Okorocha said the dwindling allocationfrom Federation Account AllocationCommittee (FAAC) has hampered states’capacity to pay salaries.

“This has become a very seriousconcern to us as governors and we feltthat issues that affect the lives of ourpeople must never be politicised. Werefuse to accept that this nation is broke. Ithank God that the Federal Government isnot broke, that if the nation is not broke,what is due to states as revenue shouldbe paid to the states.

“This idea of cutting down what shouldgo to states does not in any way promotedemocracy and democratic dividends andso we as progressive governors do call onthe Federal Government to look into theissue of dwindling resources or convinceus as to why the states should not getwhat is due to them.

“We do not know why our colleaguesin the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) arenot talking of this matter. If they are nottalking, it is either they are not affected orsomehow they are getting something fromthe back door, which we do not know.

“But if that is not the reason, I think thePresidency or the Federal Governmentshould act quickly on the present uglysituation which this terrible condition ofdwindling revenue has caused us bymaking sure that the states get what isdue to them at least to pay the basicsalaries of the workers.”

Deductions to fund the policeThe APC governors’ complaint is not

new. In October last year, they threatenedto employ all constitutional means tocompel the Federal Government to payexactly what was due the states. Theimmediate past Ekiti State Governor, DrKayode Fayemi, had said: “We continueto insist that we condemn the illegal andunconstitutional deductions.”

States were said to have lost 40 percent of their normal earnings from theFAAC. They argued that based onbudgetary benchmarks, oil never sold foranything lower than $115 per barrel, andtherefore, there was no basis for theincomplete allocations.

In March, Lagos State challenged at theSupreme Court the Federal Government’spower to deduct one per cent from therevenue due to all federating units fromthe Federation Account for the purpose offunding police reforms.

Lagos said the defendant had beendeducting the one percent since October2013, describing it as unconstitutional andillegal.

The state asked the Supreme Court “todeclare that it is unlawful for thedefendant to deduct at source onepercent or any other fraction or per centof the revenue due to Lagos State and itslocal government councils from theFederation Account under the AllocationRevenue Act for the purpose of fundingpolice reforms or for any other purpose.”

Lagos also sought a declaration that it“is unlawful for the National EconomicCouncil or any other agency of thefederation to authorise, by resolution,decision or consensus, the charge ordeduction at source by any authority orperson of any part of revenue due toLagos State Government and its localgovernment councils under the AllocationRevenue Act for the purpose of fundingpolice reforms.”

The state prayed for an ordercompelling the defendant “to immediatelyreverse the unlawful deduction of onepercent…and to credit the amounts so fardeducted to Lagos State Government withinterest at the current Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) minimum rediscount rate.”

Governor Babatunde Fasholacontended that, as a result of thededuction, insufficient statutoryallocation “has reduced the capacity ofthe state and its local governments tofund their programmes and projects.

“The police as constituted is an organof the Federal Government and theconstitution does not prescribe asituation where one level of governmentwill impose a financial obligation onanother level of government.

“The National Economic Council hasno power under the constitution ofNigeria or under any act of the NationalAssembly to approve any deduction,appropriation or expenditure from thefederation account or statutoryallocations due to the states and local

governments,” he said.

Fuel subsidy deductionsThe 36 states are challenging at the

Supreme Court the Federal Government’sdeductions of funds for fuel subsidy andrelated expenses from crude oil proceedsbefore making payment into theFederation Account.

They are unconvinced about thegovernment’s transparency in its handlingof proceeds from crude oil sales andurged the apex court to stop the practice.

The states, in a suit filed by theirAttorneys-General, described as“unwholesome and unconstitutional” thepractice of deducting “fuel subsidy fundsand other expenditure from oil proceedsbefore it is paid into the FederationAccount.”

They contended that the practice,carried out through the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation (NNPC), is a meansthrough which the states and localgovernments are shortchanged.

The states claimed that the practice hasoccasioned inaccuracies in thecomputation of oil revenue remitted to theFederation Account by the governmentand its agencies and urged the court toabolish the practice.

Sovereign Wealth FundThe Excess Crude Account (ECA) was

replaced with the Sovereign Wealth Fund(SWF) to manage Nigeria’s excessearnings from crude oil. In other words,the fund would hold the differential in oilrevenues above annual benchmark price.

The Nigerian Sovereign InvestmentAuthority was set up in May 2011 tomanage the SWF in the form of FutureGenerations Fund, Nigeria InfrastructureFund and Stabilisation Fund.

Implementation of the SovereignWealth Fund began with an initial fund of$1 billion. President Jonathan assented tothe bill setting up the fund on May 27,2012.

Governors have opposed the Fund,

describing it as illegal, and saying itwould deny them the opportunity to haveenough money to develop their states.

A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is astate-owned investment fund investing inreal and financial assets, such as stocks,bonds, real estate, precious metals, or inalternative investments, such as privateequity or hedge funds. Sovereign wealthfunds invest globally. Most SWFs arefunded by revenues from commodityexports or from foreign-exchange reservesheld by the Central Bank.

Analysts say SWFs are typicallycreated when governments havebudgetary surpluses and have little or nointernational debt. It is not alwayspossible or desirable to hold this excessliquidity as money or to channel it intoimmediate consumption.

High volatility of resource prices,unpredictability of extraction, andexhaustibility of resources are some of thereasons for creation of SWFs. It may alsobe economic, or strategic, such as warchests for uncertain times.

The states are challenging the legalityof the Excess Crude Account and thedecision to transfer $1bn from the accountto the SWF. They sought an orderdeclaring the SWF illegal andunconstitutional.

When the case came up on September24, the Supreme Court said it was notready for hearing. It adjourned till January26 next year.

Presiding judge Justice MahmudMohammed said the case was not ripe forhearing because vital documents were notin the file. “In order to hear the case, it isnecessary for counsels to go to theregistry and make sure that all necessaryprocesses were in the file,” Mahmud said.

The government had challenged theSupreme Court’s jurisdiction to hear thesuit, arguing that the matter was notbetween states and the federation, but adispute between the states and thegovernment, which it said ought to havebeen filed before a Federal High Court.

The states also prayed the court toorder that all sums standing to the creditof the Excess Crude Account be paid intocourt or be secured as the court may deemfit, pending the hearing and determinationof the substantive suit.

The states sought an order compellingthe Federal Government to pay into theFederation Account N5.51 trillion beingthe balance of the money that accrued tothe central purse between 2004 and 2007from crude oil sales, petroleum profits taxand oil royalties.

The government, however, accused thestates of mischief because they allegedlytook part in the deliberation of theNational Economic Council where thedecision to transfer the $1bn from theExcess Crude Account to the SWF wastaken.

But the states insisted that they hadshared only the legitimate fundsdeposited in the Federation Account andnot from the funds illegally deposited inthe Excess Crude Account.

‘Nigeria not broke’Coordinating Minister for the Economy

and Minister of Finance, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, while giving account ofher ministry’s stewardship in the last ninemonths, insisted that all the economicfundamentals remain strong.

“The country is like a household. There

Continued on page 7

•MUKHTAR

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014 7OSUN DEFENDER LAW

Are Deductions From State Allocation Legal?may be periods that your income

may shrink because of some unforeseencircumstances and you just adjust.

“If you were indulging in veryexpensive food you may tell your childrenthat its time we just manage garri and ifyou have a spouse that is not working,you tell her please you must go and starta trade.

“You would not jump out and begin totell people that your condition is worstand you are dying because you know thatit’s a temporary condition. That is thesame with a country.

“We are facing a temporary challengebecause of the fluctuation in both priceand quantity of oil produced. Yet we aremeeting our obligations. We have not gotto where we can’t pay our salaries nor arewe failing to meet our obligations to ourcreditors.

“Our foreign reserve is robust at $39.48billion as at October 16 and it can financenine months of import. We are graduallyrebuilding our excess crude account,which is at $4.11 billion at the moment andwe are working to increase the account.

“Our Sovereign Wealth Fund todayholds investment of $1.55 billion… This isas a result of confidence in our economy,which is today the third destination offoreign direct investment in Africa as aresult of the recent rebasing of oureconomy.”

Are the governors’ claims valid?The 2006 United Nations Human

Development Index puts Nigeria at 159 of177 countries, with 70.8 per cent of thepopulation living on less than one dollar aday and 92.4 per cent on less than twodollars a day.

According to the National Bureau ofStatistics, the number of the poor is rising.In 2004, 55 per cent of the people wereliving in abject poverty. By 2010, this hadrisen to 61 per cent.

Corruption has been identified as thecountry’s major source of poverty. Aformer Economic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) Chairman, NuhuRibadu, once said more than $380 billionhas either been stolen or wasted byleaders since 1960. Nigeria is regularlyranked as one of the most corrupt by graftwatchdog, Transparency International.

A former Minister, Oby Ezekwesili,reckoned that $400 billion of Nigeria’s oilrevenue has been stolen or misspentsince independence. It is reported that oilis being stolen at a record rate. Someanalysts say it is still unclear how muchoil Nigeria actually produces. If there werea reliable figure, perhaps the trulyhorrifying scope of corruption would beexposed.

To observers, if corruption andwastages are tackled, there will be enoughresources to truly transform the countryand its citizens.

This year’s budget is based on aprojected $79 per barrel of crude oil. Thecountry has been selling above $100.This, observers say, tends to validate thestates’ claim that there is a problem.

The constitution vests too much powerin the Federal Government, giving it wideand imperial powers over other tiers ofgovernment. It has been noted that theexclusive Legislative list takes initiativesaway from the states, resulting in theirdependence on the Federal Governmenton several issues. There have, therefore,been calls for a reduction or devolution ofthese powers.

Former Chairman, Nigerian BarAssociation (NBA) Ikeja Branch, MrMonday Onyekachi Ubani described thegovernors’ move as “a wise step and athoughtful process to getting properinformation on what is going on in themanagement of our economy”.

He added: “It is clearly frightening asmost states that are heavily reliant onfederal allocation are on the verge ofcollapse due to their inability to meetbasic economic needs like payment of

salaries to their workers. Their demand islegitimate and calls for urgent redress toavoid catastrophic backlash on the entirecountry.

“If it is true that the FederalGovernment is making certain deductionsfrom the federation account which isunknown or not disclosed to the othertiers of government, then suchdeductions are unconstitutional, unlawfuland legally redressible.

“The budget of 2014 was based on acertain bench mark as pertains to the saleof our crude oil. How come we are in deepeconomic quagmire so soon due to crashin oil price when for a very long time wehave experienced boom in crude oil salesin the international market?

“The reason is not far-fetched. Wehave as a nation mismanaged oureconomy based on greed, corruption andoutright theft of our resources.

“Despite bold face denial by theFinance Minister that we are not broke,the truth of the matter is that Nigeria’seconomy presently is not healthy, andwhen you take into account that electionis next year, then be rest assuredthat more dangerous health issues on theeconomy will crop up as we matchtowards 2015.

“In all these we pray that what we knowfrom facts available should not happen asits consequence is better imagined thanexperienced,” Ubani said.

According to the rights activist, it isillegitimate for the Federal Government tomake unauthorised deductions frommoney due the states’ and must bechallenged in court.

“If its true and the Federal Governmentdoes not show remorse and repentance, Iwill advise the state governmentsespecially, those states that cannotmeet their financial obligations to file astraight action before the Supreme Courtof Nigeria to halt the illegality and todemand the immediate refunds of suchillegal deductions into the federationaccount for a common sharing.

“They should seek the instruments oflaw to nip the illegality in the bud. It is theonly way out. Another method may be(used advisedly) seeking political

solution.“The National Assembly that should

carry out their oversight function is failingheavily in this regard. How come they arethere and the executive is basking andcarrying out illegality with impunity asalleged, and they have not spoken ordone anything about it? They havecertainly failed the citizens.

“The Federal Government is advised tostop those deductions that are onlyknown to them as that violates theexpress provision of the Constitution.They can only spend their ownmoney after the sharing.

“It is unconstitutional for them to diptheir hands into the Federation Accountand begin to spend the money that is notmeant for them alone. It is not onlyunconstitutional, it violates the spirit offederalism which we preach that we arepractising! That is a short- term solution.

“A long term solution is theentrenchment of fiscal federalism that willenable each state to produce and controltheir resources while paying certainpercentage to the federal government forcommon good.

“Until we start to practise truefederalism, encouragecompetitive economic spirit and diversifyour economic pursuit as a nation we willcontinue to suffer what is happeningpresently and that is the truth!” Ubanisaid.

Executive Director, Legal Defence andAssistance Project (LEDAP) ChinoObiagwu

urged states to be more creative in themanagement of available resources.

“The deductions are based on thesliding national income and huge debtportfolio of states. The truth is that somestate governors in the last two tenureshave been fiscally reckless. Most of thestates have borrowed more money fromlocal and foreign creditors than theirstates can re-pay in 20 years.

“Rather than save for the future, thegovernors are creating liabilities for theirpeople. Rivers State for example has adebt portfolio of nearly $1 billon. So alsoLagos, Imo, Benue etc.

“Recently, Benue State divested it’s

investment in a major industrial stock andRivers wants to dissipate its long-heldreserve. These are reckless financialmanagement. The truth is that nobusiness can run for long in borrowedfunds without creating its own wealth.Governance is a business.

“Most of these people that foundthemselves in government have never runany business successfully and so theydon’t understand wealth building. Thestate governors are not creating wealth atall. They are not empowering theirpeople. All they do is get money monthlyand throw around or build elephantprojects and wait for the next round ofsharing.

“Unfortunately the state Houses ofAssembly that are supposed to bechecking on the executive are just mererubber stamp legislature. The civil societyon the other hand has paid most attentionto to federal government but there are alot of rot taking place at state levels,” hesaid.

Obiagwu said LEDAP sued 15 stategovernors to account for the millions ofdollars they borrowed from the capitalmarket.

“None of them has provided anyanswer. So, since Federal Government isthe guarantor of these credits, it’s naturalthat it will make deductions from stateallocations.

“Another reason for deducting is thedwindling national income. We all knowthe price of oil is going down and the UShas started massive oil production andhas not been importing oil. So thataffected the crude oil market.

“We will continue to see slides innational income for a long time to come.So any governor who still sits back andwaits for the national cake should thinktwice. It’s time our state governmentsstarted building capacity of their peopleto create wealth so they can justify thepublic vote,” Obiagwu said.

•Culled from THE NATION

Continued from page 6

•JONATHAN •FASHOLA

8 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014PHOTOTALK2014 Governorship Election Petition Tribunal Between The Governor Of The State OfOsun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola And The PDP Governorship Candidate In The State,Senator Iyiola Omisore, At The High Court, Osogbo, Last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•(L-R) Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN); Kemi Pinhero (SAN) and Dr Muiz Banire.

•A cross section of lawyers inside the court.•State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honourable Sunday Akere(middle); Diran Odeyemi (right) and other people within the court premises.

•Securitymen, journalists and political party members at the court premises after the sitting.

9 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014PHOTOTALK

•Politician leaders and lawyers at the court premises.

2014 Governorship Election Petition Tribunal Between The Governor Of The State OfOsun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola And The PDP Governorship Candidate In The State,Senator Iyiola Omisore, At The High Court, Osogbo, Last Thursday. Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•Securitymen and pressmen after the tribunal’s sitting.

•PDP lawyer, Chief Alex Iziyon (SAN), answering questions from journalists at the court premises.

10 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014FEATURE

Enough Is Enough, APC Won,Lets Stop Fooling OurselvesTO my PDP family, I am sick of

these lies and I strongly suggestthat it stops. We are quickly

becoming an embarrassment to ourgovernorship candidate, SenatorIyiola Omisore.

As I posted, immediately after theresult was announced, our candidateperformed extra-ordinarily andwhether we appreciate it or not, hehas set the State of Osun on differentpolitical pedestal. We have shown theworld that our democracy isbecoming mature and never shouldany politician take us for granted.

I am privileged to know Omisoreand worked in my little way for him,not only on social media but on theground. I expended some of myhard-earned resources on hiselectioneering and even risked my life.I wanted him to defeat Ogbeni RaufAregbesola and APC at all costs. Notmany of the Facebook PDP liars canmake such claim.

They took his money, enrichedthemselves during the electioneeringcampaign, lost their units and wards,yet they are now crying foul.Aregbesola and his campaign teamknow that Omisore is indeed a man. Idoubt if any incumbent had workedharder than Aregbesola and his team.I am very close to a section of APCleadership and I know thepreparation that was put into thecampaign. Before I continue, I wantto state that I still prefer Omisore toAregbesola and if I have my way, Iwill install Omisore by all means. Butthis is democracy, where we have torespect majority decision and abideby it. More than 100,000 votersprefer Aregbesola to Omisore.SIMPLE! Let us move on and pleasesupport the government.

Aregbesola won the election. I amnot here to defend rigging and minorcrimes on election day, but forheaven’ sake, how could anyone haverigged election the August 9, 2014governorship election held in thestate. In the PDP, we havecontinuously proven ourselves to haveintellectual deficiency (with duerespect to few). We started bycomparing 2003 with 2014, believingthat the workers were angry and thusbelieved that Aregbesola was gone.Sheer foolishness!!!

I saw it coming and argued iteverywhere, but no one listened tome. Babalawos, pastors and alfas allpredicted victory for Omisore. Whata scientific projection in 2014! Weagain believed because it happened inEkiti, it must happen in Osun. Yet, Icautioned, but I was tagged apessimist and an APC apologist. Icomplained about our problems inOsogbo and Olorunda localGovernment Council Areas and fewleaders indeed admitted, but nothingwas done. We were busy relying onfederal support and how much moneywe could bribe voters and electoralpersonnel with. It never worked.

After election, we started

comparing Aregbesola’s court casewith that of Omisore, an errantnonsense and stupidity of the century. Ihave the privilege to read Aregbesola’sfinal written address to the Court ofAppeal judges. WOW, even my son inBasic 2 didn’t question why electionswere cancelled in those 10 localgovernment council areas. We riggedsenselessly and carelessly.

Because we did that, we assumedAPC members would be as stupid aswe were. Though, it is the bitter truth,but Osun PDP is no match for OsunAPC intellectually.

Most of us are illiterates andsignificant percentage are morons.With the number of lawyers inAregbesola’s cabinet, I mean eminentones, if they rigged at all, PDP wouldnever be able to prove anything. WhileI am not here to defend APC onrigging, it is not uncommon for politicalparties to rig, the world over. In therecently-concluded referendum inScotland, there were few irregularities,can you imagined that!

I voted on August 9, 2014 andmonitored elections in units and wardsin my village. I was on phone withfriends in other wards across the state.No single agent from my samplecomplained of any atrocities by APC.Till date, I never heard of anycasualties in APC’s attempt to rig. Withour level of preparedness anddetermination, I don’t know how APCcould have rigged without violence. If

they had successfully done that, weare not equipped to trace it. Ourweekly lies or denial cannot changefacts and election tribunal and ourjudicial system rely on facts andevidence.

To digress a little, I have no doubtthat some corruption might be goingon in our judicial system and if youcare to know, where there is alacuna in law, a Judge can have hisway. But to a large extent, there isreasonable justice in our system.Please, if you have never read anySupreme Court judgment, don’targue with me. First, go and readfew and point at anyone where youthink they should have judgedotherwise based on evidence beforethe court. When we failed toprepare for our case, we then blamethe judges.

Before you roll out next series oflies, please present facts and notanecdotes. I am really surprised thatsome people even peddle these liesand unfortunately it is difficult toprofile these peddlers. My highly-educated mother also believed that arecounted result was posted atINEC and sent me to confirm. Ofcourse, I knew there was nothinglike that but I dare not refused mymother.

But to a large extent, illiteracy andjoblessness accounted for thespread of these lies. When theappellate court ruled on jurisdictionand technicalities sometime ago, myPDP family members were warming

up for fresh elections. They jubilatedover nothing and on mere imagination.Instead for us to first get a copy ofthe judgement, analyse it and makeofficial interpretation, we allow ourilliterate leadership to take control,confuse our innocent, ignorantmembers and embarrass helplessmembers like me.

We need not build our hope on lies.I believe in miracle and if that is whatwe count on, please let make it clearand I have no problem with that. I ameducated and please stop propagatinglies and spread rumours. Please don’task me to believe you when youdon’t have your facts. If you are notready to disclose your facts to me,don’t expect me to just believe you.

I pray that God gives Aregbesolathe wisdom to govern us well in thenext four years and that God giveshim discerning spirit on the grievancesof about 300,000 PDP voters, so thatwe shall all bid him farewell in 2018. Iam looking forward to hisinauguration in November andsuccessful completion of our roadsand extension of stomachinfrastructure to all of us (not onlyschool children and adults). Long liveour governor. I remain a loyal PDPmember but I can no longer stand ourtoo many lies.

•Ojewale, a PDP card-carryingmember in Osun wrote this in fromOsogbo.

By BUKOLA OJEWALE

•AREGBESOLA •OMISORE

11 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014HEALTH

Update On Osun Tribunal

THE Osun Election Tribunal began its hearing todaywith a pre-hearing session. The tribunal was chairedby his Lordship Elizabeth N.Kpejomi with Hon.

Justice Vincent Ofesi and A.I Kutigi.The session started with an opening remark by the

tribunal chair, Hon. Justice Nkpejomi who asked for thecooperation of all parties towards ensuring smoothadjudication of the matter before them. She particularlywarned the media to ensure accurate reportage of events atthe tribunal.

The tribunal frowned at the lies being peddled aroundthat the tribunal had given an order for recount when inactual fact no such order was granted. He warned thathenceforth, the tribunal will not take kindly to any attemptat spreading outright falsehood against the tribunal.

While responding on behalf of other counsel in thematter, Chief Akin Olujinmi SAN appreciated the courageof the tribunal in pointing out the reckless dissemination offalsehood by some segment of the press and assured thetribunal that they would cooperate fully with the tribunal toensure that justice is done without fear or favour.

Dr. Alex Iziyon who led four SAN and 14 other lawyerson behalf of the petitioners (Omisore and PDP) informedthe court that there were four pending applications beforethe court. 1 from the petitioner; 2 from 1st and 2ndRespondent and 1 from the 3rd Respondent. He informedthe court that issues have been joined on the 2 Respondentsmotions. He posited that the two motions which issueswere joined bother on the issue of jurisdiction andcompetence of the petition which can be taken together with the main petition.

He is of the opinion that they had already wasted2months out of 6months slated for the petition and it is inthe interest of justice for the other applications to be heardtogether with the petition. He also withdrew the onlyapplication by the petitioner seeking to exclude the 1st and2nd Respondent from further inspection of pollingdocuments at INEC office having realised that theapplication is dead on arrival.

Chief Akin Olujinmi while responding to the applicationof the Learned Counsel for the petitioner Dr. Alex IziyonSAN referred to Paragraph 53 (5) of 1st Schedule ofElectoral Act 2010 as amended which provides that anobjection challenging the regularity of the petition shall beheard and determined after close of pleadings. Pleadingshave closed, the objection challenges the competence ofthe petition and so cannot be taken along with the petition.

The court on its own referred Chief Olujinmi toparagraph 12 (5) of the amended Act but Chief Olujinmiinsisted that Section 53 (5) is specific on jurisdictionwhile 12 (5) is general. According to the learned Silk, theessence of the motion is that if the petition is not properlyfiled, there will be nothing for the court to look at. Whilethe other motion relates to pre-trial, failure to apply withintime. In his word, “there is no authority that pre-hearingmotions should be taken together with the mainpetition”.He cited Okonkwo v. INEC (2004) 1NWLR pt854 pg.242 at 247.

Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN who appears for the 2ndRespondent asked a pertinent question to wit: if a petitionis filed out of time will this tribunal proceed to hear it?

The Electoral Act is strict as to time to file petition. Theissue in question is analogus to the issue of competence we have raised. He cited the case of Maitsidau V.Shidari& ors (2008) 16NWLR pt 114 pg 553 @572paragraph C-D .

Kazeem V. KOLA (2012) 1NWLR part 1282 pg543@556.

Ajayi V. NOMIYE (2012) 7NWLR pt 1300 pg 593 at617.

Ogunleye Esq, Counsel to INEC alligned himself withthe submissions of the two learned silk. He posited bysubmitting that paragraphs 12 (5) and 53 (5) aredistinguishable. According to him, parag. 12 (5)envisages a competent petition that is already before thecourt and there is a challenge to its hearing. While Sect.53 (5) deals with when a petition’s competence ischallenged. Which shows you can’t put something onnothing. He also submit that going by paragraph 18 (3,4)1st schedule to the Electoral Act, the only jurisdiction thecourt has in the circumstance is to look at the petitionwith a view ti striking it out or validate it. See Enpwezorv. INEC (2009) 8NWLR pt 1143 pg 223@227 par. H-K.

DR. Alex Iziyon while replying on points of lawOsunbor v. Oshiomole & ors (2007) LRECN pg 79.

Enukeme v. ONUMASI ORS (2014) LPELR pg 23540and aubmit that motion can be heard together with themain petition.

The rulling on whether the pending motion should beheard together with the main petition is adjourned to 3rdNov. 2014.

INEC INSPECTION UPDATE AS AT WEDNESDAY(29/10/2014)

As at the close of business at INEC Office today, 29/10/2014, the inspection team of both parties (APC and PDP)were able to push the inspection of electoral materialsand scan ballot papers up to ward 10, unit 11 of Ilesa-West Local Government. Ward 10 has 13 units and thelocal government has 11 wards in all. The implication isthat we have two more units and a whole ward to bethrough with Ilesa East Local Government hopefully bytomorrow. We may likely move to the 7th LocalGovernment which has not been determined. Theinspection revealed as usual the choice of the people asexpressed on the 9th August, 2014.

Despite the bogus claim by the PDP that they areleading by a hundred thousand votes, the reality had dawnon them about the futility of their efforts at spreadingoutright falsehood on the purported “recounting exercise”.

The petitioner (PDP) has filed a motion dated 27th dayof October, 2014 at the Registry of the Election PetitionTribunal asking the court to grant an order of inspectionto allow them to complete the inspection exercise withoutthe presence of the 1st and 2nd Respondents (APC).

They are also asking the court to grant an order againstINEC to throw its office open between 8am-and 6pmeveryday including Saturday and Sunday to enable thepetitioners conduct inspection of the Electoral materials .

The Respondent (APC) is already in possession of themotion paper and has 7 days from yesterday to react tothe motion. We shall keep you posted as the events unfold.

Tribunal Frowns At Spreading Of FalsehoodBy LAWAL IBRAHIM

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 201412

Job Vacancies In Nigeria

You can subscribe to Job Vacancies in Nigeria, Jobs in Nigeria via your e-mail: www.jobszilla.ng

Education Jobs in an International School in AbujaA new international school located in the heart of Abuja with excellent facilities is looking for qualifiedcandidates to fill the following positions:Job Title: Early Year CoordinatorQualificationsBachelors degree in Education from a reputable university.Must have experience in jolly phonics and understanding of EYFS profile in the British Curriculum.Job Title: Head TeacherQualificationsBachelors Degree in Education from a reputable university.A good understanding of Nigeria and British Curriculum.Minimum of five years work experience in an international school.Master degree is an added advantage.RemunerationPay package is very attractive.Method of ApplicationInterested and qualified candidates should forward their CVs to: integratedassociates06@gmail.comApplication Deadline 6th November, 2014—————————————————————————————————————Current Vacancies in a law firm located in IkejaDr. Wunmi Bolaji & Co, a law firm located in Ikeja is currently seeking to employ qualified candidates forthe following positions:Position: LawyersQualifications4 years post - call experience in litigation.Able to work unsupervised.Position: Office AssistantsQualificationSmart School Certificate/OND.Position: DriverQualificationMinimum of 7 years work experience.Position: SecretariesQualificationsFluent in English Language.Computer and Internet guru (Microsoft Word, Excel, Corel Draw).How to ApplyInterested and qualified candidates should send their applications and CV’s by post to:Dr. Wunmi Bolaji & Co.27, Molade Okoya Thomas Street,Adeniyi Jones Ikeja,Lagos.Application Deadline 11th November, 2014.—————————————————————————————————————AIM Consultants Limited Job Vacancies for Engineers and Architects in AbujaAIM Consultants Limited, a subsidiary of AIM Group is a leading Consultancy Company in Nigeria thatrepresents the entire spectrum of professional skills and experience related to the built environment.Our client is seeking to employ suitably candidate to fill the following positions:Job Title: Administrative Civil EngineerQualificationMinimum of 4 year working experience to work in MD’s cabinet.Job Title: Civil Engineer - Business DevelopmentQualificationFluent in English Language for the development of technical proposals (Training available).Job Title: Registered ArchitectQualificationsMinimum of 8 years working experience.Must resides in Abuja.How to ApplyInterested and qualified candidates should forward their CV’s to: jobs@aim-consultants.comApplication Deadline 11th November, 2014——————————————————————————————————————Jobs in Lagos for Marketers in a Health Equipment Manufacturing Company(UFP Global)UFP Global is one of the leading health equipment manufacturing company, requires the services of the vacantposition of:Job Title: Senior MarketersLocation: LagosQualifications / Experience:B.Sc or HND in Marketing or any other social sciences. A minimum of 2 years experienceJob Title: MarketersLocation: LagosQualification:Fresh graduates, OND or any other sales related qualifications.RemunerationSalary is very attractive and meets industrial standard.How to ApplyInterested candidates should their CV’s and application to: ufpmentor@gmail.com |uniquefamilypride@gmail.comApplication Deadline 10th November, 2014——————————————————————————————————————Oil and Gas Company Jobs for Sales Executives in Abuja, Ibadan, Kano, Lagos and Port HarcourtA reputable oil and Gas firm is looking for goal-driven individuals resident in Abuja, Ibadan, Kano, Lagosand Port Harcourt as Sales Executives.Job Title: Sales ExecutiveLocations: Abuja, Ibadan, Kano, Lagos and Port HarcourtSlot: 5Qualification/RequirementB.Sc (Hons) - minimum second class upper division - in any of the Social Sciences.Age: Not more than 30 years old.Experience: At least two (2) years post graduation.How to ApplyInterested and qualified candidates should send their CV’s to: vacancyoct2014@gmail.comNote: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.Application Deadline 11th November, 2014.————————————————————————————————————Abuja Graduate School recruitment for Part-Time LecturersIncorporated in April, 2008; Abuja Graduate School (AGS) is a bourgeoning Business and ManagementSchool.It is also a Research and Consulting institution engaged in helping businesses and organisations transformpotentials into high performance in continually changing and dynamic environments. AGS is designed toprovide executive education, aiding private and public sector organisations realise their manpower trainingand productivity needs.The School, by offering international class, quality and modern executive education, research andconsultancy; aims to enrich the knowledge and capacity of its clients and guide them transform their visionsand goals into endless possibilities in the world of industry, commerce and public service.AGS strives to become a world-class business and management school and aims to produce champions andleaders who are poised to take their immediate organisations and country at large to greater heights.Abuja Graduate School is recruiting to fill the position of:Job Title: Part-Time LecturerLocation: AbujaJob DescriptionAbuja Graduate School (AGS) urgently requires professional and committed PART-TIME LECTURERS todiligently deliver the following academic programmes:Enterprise Software & Business InfrastructureProject Management in ITResearch in IT and Strategic information System Analysis.RequirementsCandidates should hold a postgraduate degree or equivalent professional qualifications in ICT related fieldswith minimum of 2 – 3 years post qualification experienceRemunerationRemuneration rate is competitive.Method of ApplicationInterested candidates should send a detailed CV, stating which particular subject/subjects they can teach to:info@abujagraduateschool.net by 8th November, 2014

Or visit our premises at:Abuja Graduate SchoolNo. 1 Ikeja Street, Off Oyo Street, Area 2,Garki, Abuja,Tel: +234 (0)803 135 0929 or 0805 884 4361Application Deadline 8th November, 2014———————————————————————————————Fountain University recruitment into Academic and Non-Academic Staff VacanciesFountain University, Osogbo invites applications from suitably qualified candidates for the following vacantpositions in the University.ACADEMIC STAFF1.) Professor2.) Associate Professor / Reader3.) Senior LecturerA.) College of Natural and Applied Sciences {CONAS}i.) Department of Mathematical & Computer ScienceComputer Scienceii.) Department of Chemical ScienceChemistryBiochemistryiii.) Department of Physics, Electronics & Earth SciencesEngineering PhysicsMaterial Physics &Electronics Physicsiv.) Department of Biological ScienceMicrobiologyB.) College of Management and Social Sciences {COMAS}i.) Department of Economics & Financial StudiesAccountingBanking and FinanceBusiness AdministrationEconomicsii.) Department of Psychology & SociologySociologyCriminologyiii.) Department of Political Science & Industrial RelationsPolitical SciencesPubic AdministratorQualifications and Experience Required for the Various PositionsComputer literacy is required for all positions while relevant Professional qualification (like ICAN, ACCA forAccounting Programme) would be an added advantage for various vacant positions.i.) Professor/ Associate Professor (FUASS 07):Candidate must possess P.hD from recognized institutions, with minimum of 9/10 years teaching experience.Candidates must have a strong record of publications in relevant and reputable national and internationalacademic journals and other publishing outlets.In addition, candidates must also possess some measure of experience in administration of academic Unitsand University Governance.ii.) Senior Lecturer (FUASS 05):Candidates must possess the above qualification and must have had at least 6 years University full-timeteaching and research experience with ability to initiate and supervise research projects.Administrative experience will be an advantage.Successful applicants must be able to give academic and professional leadership in the chosen discipline.NON ACADEMICA. Registryi.) Senior Assistant/Registrar (FUNTISS 11)Applicants must possess a good honours degree from any Humanities or Social Science discipline or otherrelevant discipline from recognized University and must be a qualified Member of a recognized relevantprofessional body(ies) with at least 9 years of University administrative experience.In addition, applicants must be computer literate and have ability to use computer software and ability tohandle administrative relevant issues.ii.) Administrative Officer (FUNTISS 07):Applicants must possess a good Honours Degree from any Humanities or Social Science discipline or otherrelevant discipline from a recognized University.In addition, applicants must be Computer literate and have ability to use computer software and ability tohandles administrative related issues.B. Libraryi.) Principal Liberian (FUASS 05)Applicants must possess a good honours Degree plus a Master's in Library Science from a recognizedUniversity.In addition, applicants must have at least 9 (Nine) years of post qualification cognate experience and a goodrecord of publications in reputable journals; must be Computer literate and have a good understanding ofInformation and Communication Technology as applicable to Library services.Salary and Other Conditions of ServiceSalary, conditions of services and Pension Packages are as obtained in Federal University System generally.Application Closing Date17th November, 2014How To ApplyAll applicants for various vacant positions are required to submit a set of their credentials and fifteen (15)copies of their online printed application giving the following in the order listed below:Full Name:Post Desired and Department:Date of Birth:Place of Birth and State of Origin:Sex:Nationality:Permanent Home Address:Currant Postal Address:Cell Phone Number:E mail Address:Marital Status:Number of Children with Names and Ages:Institution Attended (with dates):Pure Academic Qualification (with dates):Professional Qualification (with dates)Scholarship and Prizes at University Secondary or Technical Level only starting with the latestTraining Programme Attended (period of Training and College describe courses taken starting with the latestHonours, Distinction and Membership of Learned Professional Societies (starting with the latest)Working Experience (General and Specific Experiences starting with the latest)Research Interests or Commissioned Projects.Completed starting with latest)In progress (list)List of Publication with Details of title Publishers or journals dates and pages where applicable)Major Conferences and Workshop attended with paper read (starting with the latest)Information and Fellowship Master's Project include the following (starting with the latest)Title of ThesisName of StudentDate/Year of CommencementCompleted/Ongoing (Anticipated date of Completion)Sole/Collaborative SupervisorDetails of Administrative ExperiencesTeaching ExperienceService to the community (with status and Date)Present Employment, Status, Salary and EmployerExtra Curricular ActivitiesNames and Addresses of three Referees (two of whom must be professionals or authorities in relevant fields) itis the duty of the candidate to inform the referees to forward their confidential report to the RegistrarAll applications for the various vacant positions are to be forwarded to:

The Registrar,Fountain University, Osogobo,P.M.B. 4491,Osogobo, Osun State.Note: Only short listed candidates will be acknowledged.

13 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014

Fashion & LifestyleWith

ENIOLA AGBAJE and SHOLA OKPOMU

Lifestyle

Fashion

BAD breath, morningbreath, breath odour orHalitosis are all terms

used to describe a noticeablyunpleasant odour exhaled on thebreath. Halitosis is not a problemthat should be ignored, as it cancause concerns in ourinterpersonal relationships.

We are well aware of how theconsumption of some certainfoods such as garlic and onionscan affect our breath. This occursbecause these foods areabsorbed into our blood stream,where they are transferred to ourlungs and exhaled. Fortunately,bad breath caused by the foodswe eat is only temporary.

Generally, bad breath comesfrom food particles that are stuckin our mouths. These foodparticles become a breedingground for the bacteria that cancause bad breath. Some othercauses include improper cleaningof dentures and poor oral health,periodontal disease, as well assmoking and tobacco products.

Xerostomia (dryness of themouth) can also cause Halitosis.When our mouth is dry, salivaproduction decreases. Saliva isthe mouth’s natural mouthwash,as it contains properties that

Major Causes Of Bad BreathHealthy Living

Reflection

reduces bacteria in the mouth.Alcohol consumption can alsolead to the dryness of the mouth.

How to get rid of bad breath * Brush and rinse your mouth

thoroughly after every meal. * When brushing, also brush

your tongue, as the tongue iscovered with tiny hairs that cantrap bacteria.

* Regular checkup with yourdentist.

* Chew sugarless gum or suckon sugarless lozenges to increasethe flow of saliva.

* Drink lots of water. * Avoid breath mints and

mouthwashes that containalcohol. They actually make badbreath worse, as they temporarilycover the smell and tend to dry themouth, creating a more favourableenvironment for bacteria.

* Avoid alcohol and caffeineconsumption, which can dry themouth.

* QUIT SMOKING!!!!!! * Baking soda can help

maintain good oral health andfighting bad breath.

* Mixture of 50% hydrogenperoxide and 50% water can beused as a mouthwash. It kills manybacteria that can cause bad breath.

Conflicting Interest Between Humans And Objects“SOMETIMES, we look for

gold when all we need is ahand to hold”. Those were the

words of a dear friend of mine. Itpuzzles my mind realising howmuch emphasis has been placedon ownership of properties, thanmaintaining healthy relationshipwith people around us. Idiscovered that we have removeda lot of things from their rightfulpositions. Humans and materialthings competing for the sameposition.

Originally, people are to beloved and things are to be used,but now, it’s directly opposite. Inefforts to look better and livebetter, we purchase new cars, newfurniture, new clothes, latestgadgets and trending things. Werenew our belongings almost ondaily basis. Thanks toadvertisements and online shops,they make it look effortless. “Buybigger, live better, 99 percentdiscount off, buy now pay later.”Most of us even get addicted topiling up irrelevant things, but ifwe are asked to stay in touch orconnected to friends and orfamily, it becomes a tug of war.

Hold on a second, does havingpossessions reflect our selfworth? If we can’t afford to buythe latest and greatest things,does it make us less of who weare? It’s understandable thateverybody thrives forrecognition and ownership ofcertain things help in theaccomplishment of this goal, butdoes it have to be at the detrimentof people around us? We canlove our cars, shoes, houses,jobs, clothes and gadgets and stillbalance our relationships withthose that should matter.

Some of us already burnbridges, batter our associationwith other people because ofmaterial things. We substitutehumans’ position to that ofinanimate objects. We oftenconclude that since no one isirreplaceable, loving things isbetter. With the failing nature ofman, we find a way to justify ourdecision for earthly possession.If there is a fire outbreak and we

can only save one thing, friend,family or our overpricedpossession, a number of us wouldpick the latter part.

It has actually gotten worse tothe extent that the society is nolonger interested in how manyfriends an individual have or howmany faces has a person put smileon, but concerned with how muchriches has been accumulated byan individual.

Often times, we retain certainpeople in our lives to yield results.Like a livestock or farm animalsreared to produce profits.Sometimes we keep people aroundus only because of their benefits,service they can render and thingswe want to get from them. To us,it’s all about getting something outof everything, even humans. Ifthey are not a means to an end(getting more possession) , thenthey are considered useless. Weturn our relationships andfriendships to an investment thathas to bring in profits.

Yes, it is good when our fellowhumans are forthcoming. It isexceptionally satisfying, when thepeople around us are supportiveand they help in realisation of ourgoals and accomplishment. Buthumans are not dividends or somebusiness ventures to gain profitsfrom. Their presence in our livesare beyond gains and profits.They are to offer things long-lasting than riches andaccumulated properties andwealth.

Henry David Thoreaux oncesaid: “What’s the use of a finehouse, if you haven’t got atolerable planet to put it on? It’ssad that people are so fixated onmaterial things that they fail to stopand take a second to notice whatit is we really need. what it is thatreally makes us as human tick? It’snot fame, it’s not money or wealth,its togetherness. Unity and lovefor one another. You can build themightiest of house but it can neverbe called a home, if you don’t havea family or something akin to afamily living in it. You can buyacres and acres of lands with realestate in it and name yourself king,

but it can never be called akingdom, if you don’t havepeople to live in it and give youtheir loyalty as your subjects.

Nothing in life makes anysense, if there is no one to shareit with . There’s a differencebetween being rich and beingwealthy. You’re just rich, if youacquire all the money in the worldfor personal consumption andthat alone. You are wealthy if yourriches touch lives and helpsothers.

So why not decide today tolove one another and help oneanother with material things,instead of helping yourelf toacquire more by using people .Even, in all of the differentreligious books, Bible, Quranand whatever else, love for oneanother is the ultimate thing tostrive for, not wealth or riches.We as humans were naturallydesigned to be social creatures.There’s a saying that “no man isan island”, and this is because inlife, whether we choose to admitit or not, we were all helped inone way or the other to becomewho we are right now in life.Issac Newton said: “For everyaction , there’s an equal andopposite reaction”. A chain ofevents have occurred to bringyou to the point you are in rightnow in the universe. It all startedfrom our birth and interaction withothers. Through home trainingand school discipline , our braingather information from peoplearound us. Along the way,information gradually shapes andmakes us into the person we aretoday.

Getting to where we are todaywouldn’t have happened, if wegrew up in isolation . Directly orindirectly, people contributedinto what we are today, notmaterial things. So it’s obviousand apparent that we as humansneed each other primarily. Wealthand material acquisition are onlybut secondary. They are merelyfor comfort and aid. You are nevertruly wealthy if you lack love andsupport from others.

Purses, Bags & Occasions

WHEN you are talkingabout a lady and herwardrobe, one of the

few items that can be mentionedmust include her purse. Pursesand bags are one of women’smost valuable possessions. Mostwomen can actually dress up foran occasion without wearingmakeup but never will you seeany woman without her purse orbag.

The love affair runs that deepbetween women and their purses.Its simply an amazing feelingknowing that you have anaccessory that can carry almostanything you want it to! Someladies feel very safe with theirpurses or bags on. The trust theyput into that piece of leather orwhatever material it is made of isutterly phenomenal.

For cocktail/evening outings,small clutches, which comes in

various shapes and sizes, arepreferable and more suitable. Itadds class, edge and style to alady’s appearance. Clutch pursesare also suitable for weddings and

birthday parties.Bags are appropriate for casual

outings, hanging out with friends,offices and most importantly, fornursing mothers.

Entertainers And Political Palava

We have all heard about therecent gists going round townthat some of our very ownentertainers have decided todelve into politics. Well, shockingand hilarious as this may sound,the gist has been confirmed true!LOL!!!!!!!!

Now considering the fact thatthe American actor, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, contested to begovernor of Califonia in theUnited States of America, thelikes of actress Kate Henshaw ,actor Kenneth Okonkwo,Desmond Elliot, Bob ManuelUdokwu and probably Yemi

Solade, can be pardoned formaking such a huge step towardswhat I consider “quick sand” butthe likes of musicians Mr AboloreAkande (9ice), Tony Tetuila(seriously, where did this guycome from???) and even Julius“the genius” Agwu ????? No!No!! No!!! Why would these guysjust wake up and decide topursue a political career? Nawaaah oh!

I guess we will have to sitback, relax and watch how thiswhole new political brouhahaplays out in the entertainmentindustry.

14 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014

Fayose: A Wrong Choice For Ekiti - Hon. OwoeyeHe is a gentleman to the core. He picks quarrel with nobody, even under the provocative Peoples

Democratic Party’s regime. A fantastic human spirit and humour merchant. To him, the key tobeing a David in the State House of Assembly is the ability to be able to differentiate yourself asattested to in this interview with the State of Osun Leader of the House of Assembly, HonourableTimothy Owoeye by TUNDE ESAN of OSUN DEFENDER. Excerpts:

•OWOEYE

OSDF: Why are you into politics?OWOEYE: I am into politics to better my

immediate environment. I considered theplight of my people which I considered notup to the required standard before I joined. Idid not join to improve my own standard ofliving or to enrich my pockets.

I am going for a fresh term to improve onthe good job I have done in the past twoterms, which are visible for all to see. Moreso,there is no law prohibiting legislators fromcontesting again and again, as long as suchlegislators have the wherewithal and theblessings of their people in theirconstituencies. If someone has done well, itis the people he represents that will clamourfor his return, with the belief that he wouldperform better. Also, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola, the governor of the state, zealfor development in the state came to me as achallenge to improve the social and economicwellbeing of my people in general.

OSDF: How has the combination ofbeing a lawmaker and a family man beenworking well with you?

OWOEYE: Everything has been going onwell with me family-wise and as a member ofthe State House of Assembly. My family andmy work cannot be divorced from each other.At least, I share 10 out of the 24 hours a daywith my family, while the remaining 14 hoursare for my work and the people of myconstituency.

OSDF: Do you foresee APC winning atthe federal level come 2015?

OWOEYE: The All Progressives Congress

(APC) is the only solution to the country’smulti-faceted and hydra-headed problems.Going to 16 years now, I think the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) has been saddledwith the responsibility of taking this countryto the Promised Land, but what we got insteadare epileptic power supply, corruption at thehighest level, killing of our refineries, as wellas a battered foreign relations among others.I travelled to the United States a couple ofmonths ago, where to my disbelief, I wassubjected to a high level of inhumantreatment at the point of entry. I was drilledand questioned on various societal ills, whichhave befallen our great country. Imagine!They asked me whether I was a terrorist ordrug addict. I was thoroughly searched fromhead to toe while trying to find incriminatingthings on me. I think the stage is set for anAPC-led government at the centre to correctall these anomalies.

OSDF: How did you become the HouseLeader considering your age andexperience?

OWOEYE: The age of Methuselah hasnothing to do with the wisdom of Solomon. Iwas once the Minority Leader under theadministration of Governor OlagunsoyeOyinlola. I gained a lot of experiences beforeI became what I am today. The experiences Igained under Oyinlola’s PDP-controlledlegislators really worked for my emergenceas the current House Leader. I once toldmyself, if I could survive under that unfriendlyatmosphere and shunned the N18 millionbribe offered me to cross to the PDP, then, I

can do better for my party. I thank God formaking me to overcome the monetarytemptation. I also express my profoundgratitude to the good people of Ilesa,especially in the Ilesa-East Local GovernmentLocal Government Council Area for theirmoral support. They are my backbones.

OSDF: How are you going to cope withthe numerous aspirants eyeing your post in

your constituency?OWOEYE: Unseating me will be an

herculean task. First of all, do they have theexperience, because experience counts inpolitics? Where are they going to start from?I have being tested and trusted. Our party isa disciplined party. They can’t just entrustanyone, who can betray them in the futureinto any sensitive post. You must passthrough the school of experience andtrustworthiness before you can aspire to besomebody in the party. I am a lit candle whichthe party has put on the table, and notunderneath.

OSDF: There is a law banning whoeverhas been impeached not to contest for publicoffice for 10 years, yet Ayodele Fayose wentahead to contest in the last Ekiti Stategovernorship election. What is yourreaction to this?

OWOEYE: PDP is a reckless party. Theydon’t have respect for the rule of law. Theyhave mounted the back of a lion and I amawaiting how they will disembark. The lawstipulates a 10-year ban on any impeachedgovernor, yet, they fielded him. I believe thelaw will take its course on this. We are waiting,we are watching the film as it unfolds.

Moreover, there is no basis for comparisonbetween Kayode Fayemi and AyodeleFayose. Comparing them is like comparinglife and death. Fayose has no wherewithal,the wisdom and mental ability to govern EkitiState. His government will not succeed at all.He is a wrong choice for Ekiti people. Howcan his like rule over a state regarded as thecitadel of education in Nigeria? Let us waitand see what unfolds as he governs.

Round-Table ChatOsun Defender Round-Table chat is aplatform for all aspirants in the State of Osunto espouse their programmes for theelectorate.

It is a forum where activities aspirants intendto embark upon are brought bare to thepeople.

It exposes the real person of the aspirant,his values and his plans for his constituency.This forum is open to serving public officialsas well as those who intend to contest.

For any additional information on the aboveissue, any of these numbers should becontacted: 08033927286, 08033880205,08061197897 and 08062207954.

– ManagementINTERVIEW

15 OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, November 1, 2014

The People’s Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, wouldbe inaugurated on Thursday November 27, 2014 for his second term.

There is no denying the fact that Ogbeni Aregbesola has warmed himself into thehearts of the people of the State of Osun with his massive developmental projects.

His impact has been felt in all the nooks and crannies in the state while he hastouched every aspect of our lives in the State of the Virtuous.

What else could we do as individuals or corporate bodies on this auspiciousoccasion if not to identify with him by congratulating him.

Your popular soar away grassroots tabloid, OSUN DEFENDER Newspaper,is doing a supplement to congratulate the workaholic governor of our time incommemoration of the inauguration. Individuals, corporate bodies, institutions,and well-wishers can avail themselves with our low advert rate below:

ADVERT RATEFull Page Colour - N150,000Full Page Black & White - N120,000Half Page Colour - N80,000Half Page Black & White - N70,000Quarter Page Colour - N50,000Quarter Page Black & White - N40,000

Any of these phone lines can be contacted: 08033927286, 08033880205,08061197897 and 08023191891.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s Inauguration

- Management

NEWS FEATURE

Societal Ills Among Campus StudentsTHE height of happiness that

replaces the nervousness as onegoes online or notice board and

sees his name appear on the admissionlist is immeasurable. When one departsfrom one’s home into a newenvironment, there is a mixed feeling ofloneliness and enthusiasm of what thefuture holds. Then follows the parentaladvice on the good, the bad and theugly, and campus life in general.

On arrival into school, one meetsvarious people with different lifestyles,behaviours, languages, culturalbackgrounds and orientations. As thedays go by, you tend to make newfriends who might influence you or youinfluence them.

However, for the unfortunate ones,who tow along the wrong path; skippinglectures, keeping late nights, co-habiting (girls sleeping over at their guy’splace,etc), cultism, sorting, prostitution,just to mention but a few, becomes alifestyle. Some boys go to the extent ofborrowing clothes and accessories tolook good in order to impress aparticular girl. Girls on their own part,turn into commercial sex workers, justin a bid to belong to the ‘Aristo’ class.

I remember vividly a story told duringmy first year about a girl, whosebirthday was on the 10th of February.On that day, her mother decided to giveher a surprise package by visiting her

unannounced. On her arrival into theschool, the mother drove to herdaughter’s hostel, which was inside thecampus. On getting into the room, shemet her daughter’s absence and sheimmediately dialed her daughter andinquired of her whereabout. Trying toplay a fast one, she told her mother thatshe was downstairs washing.

At about 9.00pm, her mother dialedagain and this time, she told her motherthat she was in her room reading,unaware of the fact that her mother washer room. Around 11.00pm, she gainedentrance to her hostel, which normallycloses by 9.00pm through the windowwith the skimpy clothes she was puttingon and like tales by moonlight, shebeheld her poor mother, sitting indisappointment waiting for herdaughter. What do you think the motherwill do to her? Your guess is as goodas mine.

Perhaps, more worrisome is themanner in which these students dress,half naked if not total naked. Thus theissue of sagging is a normal practice andmore glaring among the youths.Sagging, which is a fashion of wearingshorts/skirts, which hang down, so thatthe top is significantly below the waist,sometimes revealing much of theunderwear, was adopted from the

United State’s prisons. Belts wereprohibited in prisons to prevent inmatesfrom using them in committing suicideor murder. The style was laterpopularized by hip-hop artists such asIce-T and 2-Short, which supposedlyenhanced their tough guy cachet.

Notwithstanding, many youths goahead to practice sagging, even withthe awareness of its origin and meaning.Many students on campus have theirdifferent views about sagging.According to Christian Udembah, athird year student of the Department ofComputer Science, UNN, ‘sagging,with its origin from the prison, is a signof slavery, because prisoners are seenas slaves. He further stated that saggingportrays irresponsibility, both physicallyand spiritually. It is indiscipline and doesnot speak well of their familybackground”. There is a saying that youshould dress the way you are to beaddressed.

Innocent Emmanuel, a 200-levelstudent of Mass Communication,UNN, opined that “sagging is not agood practice, especially in this part ofthe world, primarily because it does notportray responsibility. Moreso, it is aborrowed culture from the West.Therefore, sagging is not good, becauseit is contrary to African culture.

In a bid to attain development,Nigerians with their “foreign idea

By FAITH EHIREMEN syndrome”, copy both what is good andbad from the whites. However, saggingis a practice frowned upon by Africansbecause it is not part of our culture. Itrelegates our culture to the backgroundand given its origin, sagging is debasingand childish as even little children sagthese days.

In the Holy Book, Christ cautions usthat our body is the abode of the MostHigh, but some females, while sagging,expose their buttocks, especially whenseated, thereby leading people intotemptation.

It is quite funny that some guys gothe market to buy a pair of trousers forN2000 or there about and come backto pull down the trousers just to showa boxers of N250 all in the name offashion.

Although this practice is frowned at,youths still sag. According to Chika, asecond year student of the Departmentof Political Science; “sagging is seen as“swag” or style and there is no crimeon sagging”. He jokingly added that itis the size and weight of the wallet thatpulls down the trousers. How true? Hegoes further to say that there is adifference in the way Americans andNigerians sag. Americans pull theirsway below the buttocks. Stop thatexplanation. What difference does thatmake? The fact remains that sagging isa wrong practice and should berejected by all concerned.

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OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. Allcorrespondence to the Managing Editor, KOLA OLABISI, Telephone: 08033927286 (kolaolabisi@yahoo.com); Editor, KAYODE AGBAJE, Telephone: 0803-388-0205, E-mail:osundefender@yahoo.com, kayodeagbaje@yahoo.com. ISSN: 0794-8050.Website: www.osundefender.org.

Blatant Lies In The Name Of Politics

AUDACIOUSEXPLOIT

withMURTALA AGBOOLA

TEL: 0806-119-7897E-mail: murtalamuag@yahoo.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

•AREGBESOLA

CALL it wicked lies orabsolute falsehood and youwill not be far from right.

The build-up to the August 9th

gubernatorial election in the Stateof Osun was fraught with a lot ofpropaganda and evil machinations.The federal might was brought tobear on the hapless citizens of thestate. Hooded security officialswere brought to the state to do thebidding of the opposition PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) byinstalling an unpopular candidate.Not only were soldiers, who oughtto be drafted to Sambisa forest,deployed to the State of Osun,policemen, members of theDepartment of the State Security,Nigeria Security and DefenceCorps personnel and anti-bombsquad were mobilized to Osunbecause an election was to takeplace.

To their utmost surprise,however, the people weredetermined and resolute that theywould stand by the truth andensured that justice prevailed.They voted and ensured that theirvotes counted. Among the lies toldagainst Governor Rauf Aregbesolabefore the election was that heplanned to turn Osun into anIslamic State. He was also accusedof planning secession. Howridiculous and ludicrous thisassertion can be knowing full wellthat the state is in the heart of thecountry and such cannot be donealone.

Some people have turned blatantlies into an art and feel that politicscannot be practiced without lyingto the people. Some politiciansjust sit down and cook up storiesand begin to spread it around.

In the case of Osun, somepoliticians and their followerswere so gullible to believe thatGovernor Rauf Aregbesola was ofunsound mind and could notundertake the task of governancein the State of the Virtuous. It wasbecause of these negativetendencies that in the 60s, somepeople were of the view thatpolitics was not meant for goodpeople or men of God. However,if we continue to hold thatposition, it means we would haverelegated our basic duties to riff-raffs and nonentities, who wouldlead us astray.

The last election in the State of

Osun brought out the desperadoesin some of the oppositionpolitical parties.

The candidate of the majoropposition party was cocksuresure that he had the governorshiptitle to pick on the election day.Cabinet in-waiting had beenformed, people to be dismissedfrom civil service have beenpencilled down, men and womento replace current office holdersin agencies and organizations havebeen drawn up.

A seeming aura of a governorhad enveloped the majoropposition candidate before theelection. He had during hiselectioneering campaigns alludedto the fact that some traditionalrulers would be destooled. Thingswere done with impunity. Hechose not to campaign on any solid

issue except the fact that he willundo all that the sitting governor haddone.

He also told the people at hiscampaigns that the supporters ofthe government party do not knowthe value of the ballot papers, so itshould be retrieved from them.

The supposing overwhelmingsupport of the federal might wasthe basis for that audaciousposturing realizing that, resourcesin terms of money and securitypersonnel would be at his beck andcall.

Strong supporters of the AllProgressives People’s Congress(APC) were either arrested byphantom security personnelwearing masks on the eve ofelection day or were chased out oftown.

In all their calculations, they

forgot to factor-in providence orthe will and determination of thepeople to take their fate in theirhands.

Propaganda, which is falseinformation emphasizing just onepart of a situation, is allowed inpolitics and even in internationalpolitics, albeit not outrightfalsehood.

What transpired in Osun beforeand during election was outrightignominy. There were subtleattempts by the opposition party inthe state to change election results.Some even attributed the delay inthe pronouncement of the winnerof the election to a shenanigan sortof.

Some analysts have concludedthat the resort to the ElectionPetition Tribunal by the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) was aploy to keep their supporterstogether, else, they would abandonship.

First, it was the misinformationor misinterpretation of the AppealCourt verdict in Akure that refusedthe prayer of the IndependentNational Electoral Commission(INEC) as it affected the 2011general elections, that sent is someignoramus into wild jubilation.

The opposition party went totown that the court had nullified allthe election conducted by INEC inthe state in 2011, when thesubstantive Resident ElectoralCommissioner, Ambassador RufusAkeju, held sway, which is absolutefalsehood.

The latest of the malicious liesis that the Election PetitionTribunal (EPT) ordered inspectionteam of ballot papers hasrecounted the votes in the disputed17 local government council areasand that the report shows that IyiolaOmisore has more valid votes thanAregbesola. In reality, only ballotpapers in five local governmentcouncil areas have been inspectedas at Thursday, October 30th.Unfortunately the AfricanIndependent Television (AIT) fellfor it and fed its teeming viewerswith the false information. This, thetelevision station has retracted thenews item and apologized for beingmisled.

Desperado and malicious liescannot win election. It requiressolid preparation with goodmanifesto.