Maximising Osun/State Of Saxony Anhalt Collaboration

There is only one word to describe the planned collaboration between the government of the State of Osun and the German State of Saxony Anhalt to boost the state’s agriculture: heart-warming. Undoubtedly, it is an attestation to the fact that the painstaking work undertaken by the Rauf Aregbesola-led administration to attract not just investment, but expertise in critical areas of the state’s developmental needs, is finally bearing fruits.

Viewed within the context of its declared commitment to improve agricultural practices and to boost food security, it is an important signal that the administration’s avowed mission to banish poverty from the state is well on course.

Of course, it goes without saying that the state needs all the help it can get at this time to be able to optimise its potentials be it in agriculture, solid minerals or even in tourism.  As an ideas-driven administration, the present administration in the state has never left anyone in doubt about the important role of international agencies and development partners in the state’s development matrix.

Why PDP Wants Osun INEC Boss, Akeju Out

The consistent calls for the removal of State of Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ambassador
Rufus Akeju by the rattled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) might not be unconnected with the failure of the INEC boss to compromise and allow himself to be used by the PDP, said the Alliance of Collaborating Political Parties (ACPP).

The State of Osun chapter of the ACPP said the unprecedented defeat suffered by the PDP in the 2011 general elections, where the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidates swept all the elected offices in the state, was part of the reason the PDP is currently aggrieved with Akeju.

According to the ACPP, the PDP is not comfortable with the fairness and uncompromised principle of Akeju, hence has to resort to blackmailing the INEC boss, with a view to relieving him of his duty in Osun and influence the transfer of a compromised INEC official to the state.

Aregbesola Promises To Place Traditional Rulers In Rightful Place

The governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has stated that his administration is all out to place the traditional institutions in the state in their rightful positions of honour and dignity, as well as restore all ancient monuments, statues, customs and traditions.

The State Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barrister Kolapo Alimi who represented the governor, made this known at Iragberi in Egbedore Local Government Council Area of the state, during the official presentation of Instrument of appointment and Staff of Office to Aragberi of Iragberi, Oba  Folorunsho Agboade Makanju Ilufemiloye (Osunsoko I).

The governor informed the people that his administration highly recognizes traditional institutions in the state, adding that traditional institutions are indispensable tools for any government because they are the path-finders who represent the people at the grassroots.

PDP Can’t Rule Yorubaland Again - Osun APC

Short of war or brutish violence, there is no way the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can capture, recapture or reclaim any state in Yorubaland again.

“And the reason is simple: the destruction of the development infrastructure created by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo for the well-being of Yoruba nation was ruthlessly destroyed by the PDP between 1999 and 2010 and the Yoruba nation will never forgive the PDP for it.”

This statement was contained in a press statement issued in Osogbo by Osun All Progressives Congress (APC) Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi in reaction to the reported plan of the PDP to recapture the West, starting from Ekiti and Osun states this year.

PDP Earmarks N6bn For Osun, Ekiti Guber Polls

There are speculations that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has concluded plans to lure voters to elect its candidates in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states with N6 billion.

Investigations revealed that the party is relying on President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government, which is desperate to win election in the region in 2015 to actualise the plan as a test-case for the general elections.

The party is set to float cooperative groups among traders and artisans in Osun and Ekiti, with a view to lending them funds for their businesses, in return for their votes in the forthcoming gubernatorial polls in the two states.

Misinformation, Bane Of National Integration - Laoye-Tomori

The deputy governor of the State of Osun, Otunba  (Mrs) Titi Laoye-Tomori, had stated that misinformation and wrong perception from the mass media can lead to the disintegration of not only the community, but the nation as a whole.

Laoye-Tomori made this observation during a courtesy visit to her office in Osogbo by the executive members of the South-West Zone of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) last Thursday.

She reminded the media chiefs on the need for objectivity in their various reports and shun misinformation and misrepresentation of government policies and programmes.

Making inference to some misrepresentations of the various programmes and policies of the state government in some media on school re-classification exercise, the deputy governor carpeted the media report on islamization of the state by the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola-led administration.

No One Can Shatter The Peace Of Osun, Says Govt After Explosive Device Was Detonated In Osogbo

The State Government of Osun has reiterated that no one can shatter the current peace being enjoyed in the state, just as commercial activities were paralysed along Station road in Osogbo, capital of the State of Osun, as bomb scare forced bankers to close business abruptly last Tuesday.

Findings disclosed that a staff of First Bank situated at the ever-busy area discovered the material and alerted the security officials of the bank, who quickly alerted the police.

It was learnt that when the Anti-Bomb Squad of the Nigeria Police arrived the scene, they had difficulty detonating the alleged bomb material, prompting the banks across the state capital to close business activities for the day.

The alert from the bank, according to a source in the bank, was sent to other banks, which quickly put their banks under lock and key.

June Steenkamp, mother of Oscar Pistorius’ victim speaks out

The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman shot dead by Oscar Pistorius, has told how the Paralympic athlete failed to acknowledge her outside his murder trial this week.

June Steenkamp, whose daughter died at Pistorius' home on Valentine's Day last year, had never met the sportsman before but attended court on Monday in the hope of looking him in the eye on the first day of the trial.

"I wanted to see him and him to see me," she told ITV News. "But he didn't look at me or anything. He just walked straight and looked ahead."

End Continuous Killings In Nigeria - UN Tells Jonathan:

The United Nations on Wednesday urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the Nigerian security agencies to find all the means to end the killings and violence in the country.

Speaking in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP’s correspondent in New York, the head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), Mr. Said Djinnit, stated that the world body was seriously concerned about the escalation of acts of terrorism in north-eastern Nigeria, including along the border with Cameroon.

The United Nations official also condemned the latest wave of “unspeakable” violence in the region and demanded an end to attacks targeting innocent civilians.

Lawmakers In Ekiti Call For Impeachment Of Jonathan

EKITI - Out of 100 per cent, 90 per cent of the members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly want President Goodluck Jonathan out of office over the state allocation.

The call came after the State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, raised an issue about an alleged shortchanging of the state by the Federal Government.

The governor told the State House of Assembly that for some time now the Ekiti State government had been starved of funds from the federal allocation.

Italy: World Cup kit gives footballers 'on-pitch massage'

High-tech football shirts to be worn by the Italian football squad at the 2014 Fifa World Cup can deliver massages to players during the game, it appears.

The shirts, which will be worn for the first time at Wednesday's friendly against Spain, contain a special tape that provides "micro-massages" for the wearer, Italian news website Il Sole 24 Ore reports. The massage strips "maximise muscle power" by allowing the body to recover from exertion more quickly, the manufacturer says.

Commenting on its looks rather than its hidden technology, Italian captain and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says he is impressed by the kit, adding the design has "a true Italian touch".

The Italian national side has lined up friendly fixtures in Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg before they face England in their opening game of the World Cup on 14 June.

Meanwhile, the kit is going on a tour of its own, with the manufacturer, Puma, taking it on a truck around Italian cities so fans "can express their passion for the national team", the website says.

(bbc.com)

Nude Bieber Video to Be Released - thedailybeast

   A Miami judge ordered the release of police surveillance videos of troublesome pop star Justin Bieber, including one in which Bieber is peeing in jail and his genitalia can be seen. 

  "While the defendant may not enjoy all of the expectations of privacy that he enjoys outside of a jail setting, he still retains his expectation of dignity," the judge wrote.  

Florida laws allow the media complete access to everything police collect unless there is a compelling reason to keep something under wraps. 

Photographs of Bieber's extensive tattoos were already released on Tuesday.

How the Nigerian media disgraced Jonathan and his Centenary celebrations, By Garba Shehu

The way the Nigerian media largely ignored the Centenary celebrations underscores how a government and its public can see things differently

The media, as scholars have argued over time, represent the nearest approximation of public opinion because they, as interactive members of the society, affect the communities in which they are found, in the same way they are affected by them.

This lesson was brought clearly home following the big mistake made by the government, of using the commemorative events of the country’s 100 years of existence as a huge self-justification exercise. They looked as if they were more interested in defending themselves against criticism than in defending the lives of citizens we continue to lose. 

Bomb scare in Osun, as police detect explosive inside bank

Pandemonium broke out in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Tuesday, as an explosive object suspected to be bomb was detected on the premises of a branch of a first generation bank in the town.

Residents of the town, on hearing the news, were gripped with fear, as many believed that the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists had extended their terror campaign to the state.

The development, which grounded commercial activities for some hours, culminated in the hurried closure of most of the banks in Osogbo.

Nigerian Tribune authoritatively gathered that a security personnel at the bank located on Station Road detected the device and called the attention of the manager of the bank to the discovery.

Pastor Arrested for Testing Member’s Virginity

Pastor Adekunle Kayode, 34, has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly for conducting virginity test on a 20-year-old female member of his church in Abeokuta, the state capital with his finger.

 The incident was said to have occurred on Sunday within the premises of the Jesus is the Way Evangelistic Ministry, Olorunsogo, Abeokuta.