Osun Defender - September 6th 2014, Edition

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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

The victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC in last Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun State reinforces the opposition against a seemingly rampaging political train of President Goodluck Jonathan

It was a welcome relief to the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Those who saw him yesterday morning asthe result of the Osun State governorship

VOL. 9. NO.107

Front Page Comment

Osun and 2015: The game changer traumatized by defeat poll was declared said they saw a man greatly relieved but reinforced for the battle ahead.Besides being an elixir to the opposition that was badly

in Ekiti a month ago, the Osunvictory acts as a spring for the opposition towards the 2015

presidential prize that was being considered a foregone booty of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The message yesterday was that 2015 is stillwithin play. Despite earlier claims by the

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APC that the presidency was determined to rig the election in favour of the PDP’s Senator Iyiola Omisore, the outcome of the election showed the limit to which President Goodluck Jonathan would go in forcing his will on the Continue on pg5

Publication Of Falsehood On Aug 9 Election:

You’re A Liar - INEC Tells Osun PDP •Says EOs Didn’t Collude With APC To Rig Osun Election

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right) in a handshake with the Team Leader of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Professor Olu Aina (left), while other members of the commission watch during a courtesy visit to the governor in his office at State Secretariat, Abere, last Tuesday.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

- See Story On Page 2

Osun: How PDP Distorted Facts Over - Pg 4 INEC EOs Suspension Foreign Links’ - Pg 2 Students Complain Of School’s Inability To Fulfil Promise Osun Election: Corps Member Alleges Attack, Assault By - Pg 3 Policemen

Aregbesola Is Best Performing Governor - ICPC

- See Story On Page 2

Poverty Is The Brain Of Corruption In Nigeria - Aregbesola

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

You’re A Liar - INEC Tells Osun PDP •Says EOs Didn’t Collude With APC To Rig Osun Election

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

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FFORTS by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to feed the public with falsehood has failed again as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said its two suspended electoral officers did not collude with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the August 9, 2014 governorship election.

The electoral officer of on Monday for what the Osogbo Local Government commission called Council Area, Mr Funsho administrative lapses.

Tope Fabunmi and his Few hours after their Obokun counterpart, Mr. suspension, the PDP, Anthony Olusegun through one of its cronies, Esinoye, were suspended gathered some selected

journalists and fed them with falsehood that the officers were suspended for colluding with the APC to manipulate the poll, the report that was widely published by some national dailies.

However, INEC, in a statement issued by its Chief Public Affairs Officer in Osun, Mrs Adenike Tadese, said the suspended officers were not culpable of selling ballot papers to the APC or manipulating Form EC8C to favour the APC,

neither did they void the PDP votes and counted in favour of the APC, as speculated by the PDP in the media.

It reads: “It is pertinent to clarify and also set the record straight that the two Electoral Officers, Mr Funsho Tope Fabunmi (Osogbo Local Government Council Area) and Mr. Anthony Olusegun Esinoye (Obokun Local Government Council Area) were not suspended based on

•An ongoing school building at Osogbo Grammar School, Osogbo, under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, as captured by GBENGA ADENIYI, recently.

Aregbesola Is Best Performing Governor - ICPC Poverty Is The Brain Of Corruption In Nigeria - Aregbesola

By KEHINDE AYANTUNJI HE Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) on Monday described the governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as the bestperforming governor in Nigeria with his pro-people’s policies and transparency in governance.

The commission said it invited to the commission expected the governor to be office before, as a result of more proactive in alleviating value you place on poverty in the state and be education. We have the more efficient in the privilege to honour you management of public again for your commitment resources during his to banish poverty through second term. education.”

ICPC team led by the He also presented a commission board South letter of request from the West Representative, commission to the governor Professor Olu Aina, said this for the allocation of land to during a courtesy visit to the build a new office to expand governor in his office on the operations of ICPC in Tuesday in Osogbo, the Osun and congratulated the state capital. governor for his reAina said: “Mr Governor, election. you are one of the few Responding, Governor individuals we have Aregbesola, who described voluntarily visited, not for poverty as the brain of interrogation but as the corruption, said the most most-performing governor important aspect of war in Nigeria this year. against corruption is “As part of our re- education to restore human organisation in ICPC, we are and societal values, adding giving serious attention to that corruption has become education. After critical a way of life in Nigeria. examination of various He said: “There cannot cases before us, we be a fresh and stimulating considered education and opportunity than what I orientation as most have today, which is the first important aspects of our war day I resumed office after against corruption and you election. I commend the will recall that you were new philosophy of ICPC to

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enlighten, educate and reorientate all of us to shun corruption. As much as I agree with punishment, education is critical to the war against corruption.”

“The first step to eliminate it, is to educate us against the danger it poses to our society. However, poverty cannot be divorced from corruption. Poverty is a condition of existence, where society does not matter to you, when you are not even conscious of your environment.

“That is why we are struggling to put in place a governing system that will guarantee for the people what Awolowo sought seriously to make a way of life. Starting from our region to the nation, we have succeed in repeating those programmes here, which is the cradle of our party; freedom for all, life more abundant. This is our party’s vision for the people to pursue their legitimate desire and vision.”

Aregbesola said the stance of his government towards the people earned him the victory in the last governorship election, despite intimidation with federal might.

“For those who monitor

the just-concluded election; considering the weakness of our own structure and the strength of the major opposition, we stood no chance on our own, but for the unimaginable support of the masses, it was impossible for any harm to come to us. That was the reason we won conveniently. Therefore, we have no excuse not to stand by the people.

“The welfare of the public is their interest and in a democracy you have no choice than to tailor every aspect of government’s direction to meet the desire of the people. That is why when the security operatives, who wore masks, were shooting sporadically, the people were waving brooms that they were for us and nothing could change their mind,” Aregbesola said.

He added that his administration will continue the O’ Meal, which is providing nutrition for school children and provide jobs for the people, including OYES among others, saying his administration will stop at nothing to make life more abundant for the people.

alleged collusion with the APC to manipulate electoral process in favour of the party in Osogbo and Obokun council areas respectively.

“They were neither culpable of selling ballot papers to the APC nor for manipulation of Form EC8C to favour the APC and voiding of PDP votes, counted in favour of the APC. “Mr Fabunmi was suspended based on administrative lapses occasioned in the course of discharging his duties.

“Mr. Esinoye, on 7th August 2014 was alleged by the people of Obokun Local Government Council Area of diverting sensitive election materials and was arrested by the Police.

“A press release was immediately issued to correct the spurious allegation that nonsensitive materials, which were supposed to be deployed alongside with the sensitive materials were erroneously taken to the Registration Area Centre along with materials meant for the setting up of the centre by the Assistant

Executive Officer of the local government council area, while the Electoral Officer was at the state office of the commission in Osogbo for the collection of the sensitive election materials in the presence of security and political party agents.

“It was at the point of retrieval of the nonsensitive materials that the residents of the area accosted him and raised alarm that drew the attention of the Police.

“It is important at this point to emphasise that INEC headquarters did not find the electoral officers culpable of working for the APC to rig the election, as purported by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“We strongly believe that the stories in the dailies were part of a grand design to cast aspersion on the integrity of INEC. “It is our wish to state unequivocally that INEC will always be forthright, transparent and alive to her responsibilities and have zero-tolerance for indiscipline and will bring erring officers to book,” the statement read.

Foreign Links’ Students Complain Of School’s Inability To Fulfil Promise

By OUR REPORTER

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NSPITE of the added advantage of going to Deltas University College, Ghana for a month as part of fulfillment for their academic studies, the management of Foreign Link Campus College of Education at Moro in Ife-North Local Government Council Area of State of Osun, has failed to live up to expectation.

According to inside who spoke with OSUN information reaching the D E F E N D E R , medium, it was revealed corroborated this and that the students, many of confirmed that initially, the whom were attracted to authority of the institution the institution by the did not plan to take them fantasy of travelling to to Ghana, and not until the Ghana for a month, were students put pressure on before they devastated when they had them, spent the required number eventually took steps but of years without the to another destination in school making preparation Ghana instead. for the trip.

They however stated The source revealed that that the students had gone the bubble burst last year, to Ghana last year but were 2013, when the students yet to make another this reminded the school about year. the Ghana trip and the Reports also reaching school management could this medium revealed that not offer any explanation. salaries and allowances of On demand, the staff are not paid as and institution’s management, when due; a development in order to forestall any which had made many of students’ demonstration, the workers in the school hurriedly sent a batch of to embark on mass the students to Ghana but exodus in search of other not to Deltas University, means of livelihood. but to another preThe school management arranged destination. had reportedly not paid the On getting to Ghana, the members of staff backlog students were surprised of salaries accumulated that the school couldn’t over the years. meet up with their own Some students who part of the deal, as they confirmed this stated that were not hosted at Deltas most of the qualified hands University College, but at have sought other options another institution.

Some of the students in order to survive.

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Osun Heads Of Agencies Felicitate With Aregbesola

By KEHINDEAYANTUNJI

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services, which has moved government much closer to the people.

He assured the governor that the heads of agencies would continue to work hard with the governor to ensure that the people of the state enjoy dividends of democracy.

The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, who hosted the heads of agencies in his residence, appreciated the

HE heads of government agencies and parastatals in the State of Osun on Wednesday felicitated with the governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on his re-election for a second term in office.

The government heads of services to the people, agencies described the which has made life better victory of the governor as a for all in the state. pool of victory for the He stressed that people of the state and Governor Aregbesola’s democracy in Nigeria, administration’s style has saying it was a vindication restored public confidence that good performance has in government agencies and reward from the people. promote efficiency in public General Manager Osun State Waste Management Agency, Alhaji Ganiyu Oyeladun, who led the

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN delegation of Forum of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, General Managers, Mubibau Adekunle Yahaya, has accused men of the Directors General and Nigeria Police Force of assaulting him during the Executive Secretaries in the state to the Government last governorship election in the State of Osun.

Yahaya in a petition Electoral Commission House, Oke-fia, Osogbo, the state capital, to felicitate before the Osun Standing (INEC) and posted to Oyere with the governor, while Commission on Public Village in Ife-North Local pledging their support to his Disturbance of Peace, on Government Council Area Wednesday in Osogbo, the of the state, for the election. administration.

According to him, the state capital, alleged that he Though, the petition has governor’s first term has was beaten blue black by not been opened for placed Osun at an some policemen on the hearing before the panel, irreversible level, by election day.

Yahaya told the commission Yahaya was one of the that he was ready to resuscitating and funding of government agencies to corps members used by the prosecute his case. improve provision of social Independent National Counsel to the police, Mr

visit and described it as remarkable in charting a new course for the state.

Oyetola commended them for recognising the giant strides of the current administration in close to four years and the development recorded so far, which according to him, was a clear departure from the old trend.

He said the victory in the just-concluded election was the wish of God,

considering the level of intimidation and suppression with federal might.

Oyetola commended the people of the state, who stood their ground before and during the election and admonished the people to sustain that spirit in supporting Governor Aregbesola to succeed in office during his second term.

He challenged the heads

of the agencies to prepare for more tasks during the second term, adding that the governor is determined to fulfil all his electioneering campaign promises to the people.

The Director General, Osun State Broadcasting Commission, Prince Soji Fadehan and other heads of agencies were among the delegation to the Government House.

Osun Election: Corps Member Alleges Attack, Assault By Policemen

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Promise Akanwa, acknowledged the receipt of Yahaya’s petition, saying that the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim Maishanu, has taken up the matter.

Akanwa, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), informed the panel that Maishanu had paraded some policemen before Yahaya for identification some days ago.

The counsel added that Yahaya was unable to identify the policemen that allegedly beat him among

the paraded police officers.

However, Yahaya insisted that he could identify the policemen that beat him on the cause of his duty, saying that the Police infringed on his fundamental rights.

Chairman of the panel, Justice Moshood Adeigbe, urged the Police to file their reaction to the petition

before the next adjourned date.

Adeigbe sympathised with the petitioner, who looked pale, promising that the panel would look at all the evidence before it and make necessary recommendations to the government.

The case was adjourned till September 17, 2014.

Adeleke To Appear Before Panel Of Enquiry On Sept 17

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN ENATOR Isiaka Adeleke has been billed to appear before the Osun Panel of Enquiry on Disturbance of Public Peace on September 17, 2014 to open his case against the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, and his aide, Sogo Agboola.

Adeleke’s appearance been served the notices, the came on the heel of service stage has been set for the of hearing notice and writ panel to hear the matter. of summon served on The commission had, Adesiyan and Agboola during its previous sitting, through courier service, as ordered that Adesiyan and directed by the commission. Agboola be served the The Justice Moshood notices through either DHL Adeigbe-led panel granted courier service or through a Adeleke the leave to open publication in The PUNCH his case, when the case and/or OSUN DEFENDER came up on Wednesday, newspapers. when his counsel, Mr Lekan However, the commission Olayiwola, informed the granted Adeleke the leave to panel that the respondents open his case and adopt his had been served the Notice petition before it on of Summon and Hearing September 17, 2014. through a courier service.

Adeleke had dragged Olayiwola said the duo of Adesiyan, Agboola and the Adesiyan and Agboola had defeated governorship been notified and were candidate of the Peoples aware of the sitting of the Democratic Party (PDP), commission.

Senator Iyiola Omisore, to The counsel stated that the commission on the since the respondents had allegation of assault, harassment and threat at a PDP stakeholders’ meeting held at Ideal Nest Hotel on (PDP) candidate, Senator May 3, 2014 in Osogbo.

Iyiola Omisore, had filed his However, Omisore has own petition, also seeking an order of the tribunal to approached an Osogbo High nullify election in 17 local Court to stop his appearance government council areas before the commission. The and declare him winner of case was yet to be decided the August 9 election in the as at the time of filing this report.

State of Osun

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•Front view of convenience and restaurant building at Ayegbaju Market in Osogbo, State of Osun, constructed under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

Osun 2014: Accord Party Presents 91-page Petition, Prays Court To Invalidate Election In 30 LGAs

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HE Accord Party (AP) governorship candidate in the last gubernatorial election in the State of Osun, Barrister Niyi Owolade, has filed a 91-page petition to challenge the victory and success of the All Progressive Congress (APC)’s governorship candidate, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, at the poll.

Owolade alleged in his 91- asking the tribunal to order page petition that the the Independent National governorship election held Electoral Commission on August 9, 2014 in the (INEC) to re-conduct a new state was characterised by election into the office of the irregularities, while Governor of the State of expressing optimism that he Osun would win the election if He claimed further that privileged to be re- the third respondent, conducted.

Independent National The petitioner, who was Electoral Commission a former Attorney-General (INEC), had collaborated and Commissioner for with the first and second Justice in the state, was respondents, Ogbeni Rauf seeking the order of the Aregbesola and the party, tribunal to invalidate the All Progressives Congress election that was conducted (APC), to rig the justin the 30 local government concluded governorship council areas of the state election.

Owolade added by The petitioner swore to

the 91-page petition on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at the registry of Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

The Secretary of the

tribunal, Mr Adamu Muhammed Aliyu, on receiving the petition file, promised that the tribunal would discharge its duties without any fear or to favour anyone.

Aliyu added that the Peoples Democratic Party

Teenager In Court Over Robbery

By LATEEFATADEPOJU

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NE Abdulkareem Ismail, 18, was last Wednesday arraigned before an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court over alleged case of robbery.

The charge sheet read in the sheet, the accused person open court disclosed that the committed the offence on accused person stole the sum September 1, 2014 at Suite 205, of N690,000 being property of Olatundun Plaza, Igbona in one Alhaji Akinkumi Alabi.

Osogbo, the State of Osun It was further clarified that capital at about 9.00am. the offence is contrary to and However, the suspect punishable under Section 390 pleaded not guilty to the charge (9) of the Criminal Code cap.34 preferred against him when it vol. 11 laws of Osun State was read to him.

Nigeria 2003.

Defence counsel, Barrister According to the charge A. Sanusi, urged the court to

grant the accused person bail on the ground that the offence was bailable and that under the Constitution, the accused is assumed to be innocent until contrary is proved in the court of law.

The defence counsel also disclosed that the accused person would not jump bail if granted and would be present at the court to prove his innocence on the allegation levelled against him, adding that he would provide credible surety to guarantee his readiness to face trial.

Police prosecutor, Inspector Isiaka Ajadi, in his appearance, did not oppose the bail application, saying the court had the discretional right over bail.

Presiding magistrate, Mrs Habibat Basiru, granted the accused person bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties, who must be residents within the court’s jurisdiction and must also possess tax clearance certificates.

The magistrate therefore adjourned the case till November 5, 2014 for mention.

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Osun: How PDP Distorted Facts Over INEC EOs Suspension

By KAZEEM MOHAMMED

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MERGING facts over the suspended Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Electoral Officers of Obokun and Osogbo Local Government Council areas of the State of Osun have shown that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has distorted facts over its failed plot to rig the August 9, 2014 governorship election.

It was reported in some materials to polling units on national dailies on Wednesday the alleged order of EO of that a PDP source informed Obokun Local Government journalists that the EOs were Council Area on the eve of the suspended because they election. colluded with the All An eye witness recounted Progressives Congress (APC) that he was in the house of an to manipulate the electoral APC leader at Otan-Ile at about process in the two council 10.00 pm of Thursday, August areas.

7 when he saw a pick-up van It was however, reliably driven into a primary school gathered that it was members and quickly moved closer to the of APC that reported to the school to find out what was police and instigated the arrest happening. of the electoral officers while Pretending to be the security distributing sensitive election man for the school, the witness

said, he caught the INEC officials, off-loading the election materials from the vehicle and challenged them.

He said that when the INEC officials could not offer any explanation, he created a scene, a situation that prompted hot arguments and attracted agile youths around, who in a jiffy gathered to assist the witness.

The Obokun Divisional Police Station in Ibokun, according to the witness, was quickly alerted and some policemen came to arrest the suspects with the pick-up van containing the materials.

Also, the APC Collation Agent for Obokun Local Government Council Area, Mr Agbaje Olajide, revealed that the EO, himself and agents of other political parties, including

the PDP, went to the INEC headquarters in Osogbo on August 7 to collect the election materials and when they got back to Obokun INEC around 8:30pm in company of some police officers, they all agreed to come back the following morning of August 8 to distribute the materials to the wards and polling units because it was late.

He stressed that he was later contacted on phone later in the night that some INEC officials had been arrested while distributing the materials, a situation that propelled him to also move down to the police station.

On getting to the police station, Agbaje recounted that he queried the EO on the initial agreement and he confirmed

before the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) in Obokun that they all agreed to distribute the materials the following morning.

He narrated that the Commissioner of Police incharge of the election in Ijesa Zone later came with a police officer to the police station, handcuffed the EO and the driver of the pick-up van and whisked them away to the SCIB, Osogbo after their statements had been taken.

According to him, nothing was heard on the matter again, as the issue was said to have been buried based on an order from above.

The EO was later released

and returned to Obokun to conduct the same election.

The INEC later spoke on the matter and claimed that non-sensitive materials, which were supposed to be deployed alongside with the sensitive materials were only erroneously taken to the Registration Area Centre along with the materials meant for the setting up of the centre by the Assistant Electoral Officer of the council area, while the Electoral Officer was at the state office of the commission in Osogbo for the collection of the sensitive election materials in the presence of security and political party agents.

Ayeni Celebrates Aregbesola’s Victory With Fanfare

By ABOSEDE AKINPELU

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•A multipurpose hall at Ilare Elementary School in Ile-Ife, State of Osun constructed under the administration of Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI. Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Reps Aspirant Faults Osun PDP Over Propagation Of Falsehood

By BOLANLE BABALOLA ORRIED by the lying culture of State of Osun chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ijesaland, Architect Babatunde Ojo Desmond, has cautioned the PDP and its handlers in the state to desist from dishing out falsehood to the people of the state in the spirit of sustainability of the reigning peace in the state.

Ojo who spoke with embrace falsehood and OSUN DEFENDER through distortion of facts to telephone on Thursday said advance its cause, adding decent politics could still be that it’s only once that a done without necessarily hunter who kills an elephant embracing falsehood by the with an ordinary cap is opposition in order to gain famous for his action. undue upper hand in He cautioned the politicking. leadership of the party to The APC chieftain who is stop not playing politics eyeing election into Oriade/ according to the rule Obokun Federal because of the Constituency in the House interconnectivity of the of Representatives party at the Federal level. observed that the rate at It would be recalled that which the opposition the leadership of the PDP resulted to propagation of just woke up on Tuesday, falsehood before, during telling the world that two and after the August 9, 2014 electoral officers who governorship election, was allegedly worked for the alarming.

APC during the Osun He noted that the PDP governorship election, had was fond of accusing the been suspended by the APC of criminal activities its INEC authority in the state. agents and political thugs Refuting the allegation in were perpetrating on Osogbo on Wednesday, the members of the APC in the INEC through its Chief state.

Public Affairs Officer, Mrs Ojo could not see any Adenike Tadese, said the reason why the PDP should story extensively

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propagated by the PDP was false, as only one of the affected officers was suspended for administrative lapses.

In a press statement, Tadese said it was imperative to correct erroneous impression created over the pages of the newspapers concerning the suspension of two INEC officers over alleged electoral fraud during the August 9 governorship election.

Her words: “It is pertinent to clarify and also set the record straight that the two electoral officers (EO), Mr Funsho Tope Fabunmi (Osogbo Local Government) and Mr Anthony Olusegun Esinoye (Obokun Local Government) were not suspended based on alleged collusion with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate electoral process in favour of the party in Osogbo and Obokun local government councils respectively.

“They were neither culpable of selling ballot papers to the APC nor manipulating Form EC8C to favour the APC and voiding of PDP votes counted in

favour of the APC. Mr Fabunmi was suspended based on administrative lapses occasioned in the course of discharching his duties.

“Mr Esinoye, Electoral Officer, Obokun Local Government, on 7th August, 2014, was alleged by the people of Obokun Local Government Area of diverting sensitive election materials and was arrested by the police in the area”.

Ojo said, based on the foregoing, the Osun PDP could only maintain a good name if it plays politics with human face.

LL roads led to Ido-Ijesa in Ilesa-East Local Government Council Area of the State of Osun last Sunday when Hon Lawrence Babatunde Ayeni Foundation celebrated the August 9 reelection of State of Osun governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, with fanfare.

Series of activities were contributed to his success held in commemoration of story in life. the Aregbesola He appealled to parents governorship victory at the to hunt for the talents of poll, parts of which are up- their children, adding that coming artistes’ some important people made performance; kid dancing; it to the top through the dancing competition; First early discovery of their and second parades of Miss talents.

Ijesa Beauty Pageants His words: “Today’s Competition 2014 and event is an admixture of comedian performance. empowerment of our youths It was a lot of fun at the through the discovery of event as guests had a full their talents and celebration dose of series of of the victory of my political entertainments with a lot of idol, Ogbeni Rauf attractions to keep whoever Aregbesola, who has were in attendance busy. touched the lives of so The sponsor of the many souls through his programme, Honourable selfless politics.

Lawrence Babatunde Ayeni, “I am indeed very happy who is a member of Lagos to identify with the vision State House of Assembly, of Ogbeni Aregbesola. He is disclosed on the occasion definitely going to leave a that the Aregbesola election worthwhile legacy for our victory was a source of joy and inspiration for him as it dear state. He has done a lot has opened various to uplift Osun; and we have opportunities for all and not seen anything yet. sundry in the state and Ogbeni is fully prepared for the governorship office.” beyond.

Some of the dignitaries at Ayeni who used the occasion to inform his the event are President, admirers that he would Oranmiyan Worldwide, contest the next election in Prince Felix Awofisayo; Dr Osun appealled to his co- Yemi Adegoke; Honourable contestants within the party Idowu Korede; Prince Wale to handle politics with the Adedoyin; Ogbeni Kola Olabisi; Mrs Sola Adeoye spirit of sportsmen.

Going down memorylane, (Califonia); Mrs Florence the lawmaker said his Eniola Adekunle (Iya involvement in footballing Ajinde); Mrs Jumoke Bepo; at Ewekoro in Ogun State at Mrs Abeke Aluko and Hon a time in his life, has Adeniji (Congo).

Police Arraign Man Over N1.2m Fraud

By ISMAEEL UTHMAN

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OLICE authority in the State of Osun has dragged a 34-year-old man, Adeoye Olatunji, before an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court for alleged N1.2 million fraud.

Olatunji allegedly defrauded while introducing himself to his a civil society man, Kayode victim.

Lawal, of the sum on the Olatunji, according to the pretence of helping him to charge sheet, was arrested by secure a N20 million loan from the police with some United Bank for Africa (UBA) Permanent Voters’ Cards, PLC. bearing his name, picture and The charge sheet made addresses on them. available to OSUN The accused person was DEFENDER on Wednesday suspected of double alleged that Olatunji committed registration during the last the offence between June 20 voters’ registration exercise. and July 3, at the branch of the The charge sheet stated that bank at Olonkoro area of the offence was contrary to and Osogbo. punishable under Sections According to the charge 419,484, and 430(1) of the sheet, Olatunji also Criminal Code Cap 34, Vol.11 impersonated a son of a retired Laws of Osun, 2003.

Deputy Inspector General of The suspected however Police, Mr Adeoye Adebayo,

pleaded not guilty to the charges of fraud and stealing levelled against him.

Defence counsel, Mr Sunday Atofarati, applied for the bail of the accused person in the most liberal term, praying the court to be liberal on the bail terms.

Atofarati maintained that the accused person was still presumed innocent until contrary is proved in a court of law, even as he promised that reliable sureties would stand for the suspect.

Magistrate Adebayo Lasisi of the court granted bail to the accused person in the sum of N500,000 and one surety, who must be resident within the court jurisdiction.

The case was adjourned till September 25, 2014 for mention.

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

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Osun and 2015: The game changer Continued from pg1 Overwhelming presence The overwhelming presence of security men in the state in the days ahead of the poll did not impede the electorate from exercising their will on who governs them. That indeed, is a reassuring sign for many Nigerians and the international community that the 2015 election could be a free and fair election.

Indeed, ahead of the polls last weekend, the APC and its flag bearer, Aregbesola, had in the face of the strong presence of security men around the state betrayed clear signs of unease. The APC’s national spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in statements painted the impression of the determination of the presidency to rig the election in a clear determination to reshape the political configuration of the Southwest ahead of the decisive 2015 election.

Such panic caused the opposition party to summon all its elected office holders and political appointees from across the country to show presence in Osun State from last Tuesday as a way of boosting the morale of its supporters in that state.

The PDP’s candidate was also lifted by the presence of strong detachment of the security forces whose presence helped to suppress whatever advantages the incumbency factor would have given to Aregbesola.

Omisore also had his friends from the Senate including Senators Enyininnya Abaribe, Ehigie Uzamere and some others to lift his heart. But the most decisive factors were the voters on ground who at the end of voting on Saturday showed their

preference for the incumbent.

The outcome was, however, not a rout as the Aregbesola camp had predicted it would be without rigging.

That underscored the agitation among some PDP loyalists who had sought for an alternative candidate. Omisore, a former deputy governor of Osun State had before this election been on the winning side of all the gubernatorial elections conducted in Osun State. He was deputy governor to Chief Bisi Akande, strongly supported the immediate past governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in 2003 and 2007, but, however, came short in delivering himself into an office he had in the past helped others to enter.

Though a very lively man with sound education, the factors against Omisore were mostly fanned by perceptions about him arising from his trial for the murder of Chief Bola Ige, a former attorney general of the federation. Omisore who was acquitted of complicity in that murder, however, did little to clear that perception. Besides, his political foes helped to fan the negative perception about him.

Oyinlola, the immediate past governor of the state who himself had a grudge against the PDP rubbed in the Ige wound on the people when he questioned why President Jonathan had surrounded himself with all those who were questioned over the murder of Ige. “The candidate of the PDP was arrested for killing Ige. He was arrested and detained. “The national secretary of the [PDP], Professor Wale Oladipo, was also detained in connection with the killing. The Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, was also detained.

“The chairman of the party in this state, Ayobami Olaoluwa, was also arrested. So, why is everyone who was in detention given appointment or

put in a position of authority? We need to ask the government,” Oyinlola said.

Great minus Linking anyone or party with the death of Ige was a great minus especially given the adoration that Ige continues to draw from most parts of the state. The election was also an opportunity for political enemies in the Southwest to hit at him. Tinubu had by every indication mounted the platform of political leadership of the Southwest with the dominance of his party in five of the six Southwest states. After the loss of Ekiti, his political empire was trimmed to four states and the prospect of losing Osun, had in the last weeks of the campaign become an exciting lure for Tinubu bashers in the region.

Internal dissent It was especially so, given that Aregbesola was generally considered the closest of the APC governors to Tinubu.

The internal dissent to Tinubu in the Southwest was especially fanned by vestiges of Afenifere, the sociopolitical organization through which Tinubu, himself emerged as governor of Lagos State in 1999. But the former governor’s alleged role in splintering Afenifere after his emergence as governor helped to create animosity that today irks many Yoruba leaders.

Even though many Afenifere leaders did not come out openly to antagonise Tinubu and Aregbesola ahead of the election, some of them were enthusiastically waiting to celebrate the downfall of the APC in Osun.

Celebrating the downfall APC leaders who learnt from their laxity in Ekiti were well prepared for Osun and went out of the way to woo known and unknown enemies. PDP on the other hand did not help its candidate with the clear animosity towards rebels in the party. The

treatment of Oyinlola and another former governor of the state, Senator Isiaka Adeleke subsequently proved to be one of the major problems for the PDP on Election Day. Though Oyinlola did not muster enough votes to win his booth, Adeleke’s grip on Ede, one of the largest towns in the state helped to firmly deliver the town to the APC. After being lured into the PDP gubernatorial contest, the former governor was allegedly forced out by what he claimed to be impediments put on his way. That was the beginning of his defection to the APC, a move the PDP would now regret not to have stopped.

One APC source revealed that Adeleke was the candidate the party feared most could trouble Aregbesola. But even after he withdrew, the PDP hierarchy in the state failed to soothe him giving him room to defect. Tinubu, the APC national leader and the many presidential aspirants in the party would be very gleeful with the outcome of the polls. Yesterday, a source said Tinubu was himself very bouncy as he saw the result as a vindication against the aspiration of his internal foes in the Southwest. For the presidential aspirants, the outcome of the election gives hope that their permutations of forging a Southwest and Northern alliance against the PDP remains feasible.

For President Jonathan, the permutation may have been that whatever loss of support he may have suffered in the North would be gained in the Southwest. Now, it is back to basics.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

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FOR THE RECORDS

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Insecurity And Election Malpractices: Bane Of Good Governance Being the text of an address delivered by Comrade Amitolu Shittu at the annual workshop of Jama’atu Tahawunil Muslimeen in conjunction with Friedrich Ebert Foundation at Iwo Town Based on the obvious budget on defense in Hall, Iwo, State of Osun Recently. the last 7years, President Goodluck Jonathan’s INTRODUCTION am extremely delighted to be invited to deliver this special lecture at this occasion.

I am particularly pleased to stand before this distinguished gathering of academics, leading intellectuals and youths who are the molders of our tomorrow, to share with you my views on the state of our nation in relation to insecurity, election malpractices and good governance .

May I therefore first of all start by extending my special gratitude to Almighty Allah who spared our lives to witness this unique annual workshop. In addition, I am equally thanking the organizers of this programme for inviting me to come and present this paper at this historic gathering.

I found it most expedient and important to set aside all my official duties today in order to come here personally and deliver this lecture. I have chosen to do this for at least 2 reasons; Firstly, the choice of the topic is both timely and appropriate considering the fact that the country in general and Osun State in particular is already in the transition mood. In fact, in the next 96 hours, general election will hold in this state. Therefore, I have no doubt in my heart that this gathering will open the eyes of many people to the dangers inherent in electoral malpractices in relation to good governance which everybody is yearning for.

Secondly, we all know that the past 15 years of democratic rule have been most critical in the history of Nigeria as we set for ourselves the task of building a durable democratic system based on the principle of justice, good governance and accountability. As an active participant representing Civil Society Organization in the current democratic experiment – I feel it is just right for me to use this special privilege to join you in appraising the democratic journey we all started in May 1999, compare notes and share ideas on areas where adjustment is inevitable.

Let me add a caveat, it is my hope that the organizers of this programme are not expecting me in this short paper to attempt to answer the fundamental but difficult question on why our dear country is currently insecured and why election irregularities are rampant? I belief my job is a simple one – to pose questions, to raise issues and to provoke debate on this rather contemporary issue of national interest and in the process, raise the quality of our intellectual discourse with a view to finding a lasting solutions to the challenges of our times. If I succeed in doing just that, then, my objective would have been achieved in coming to attend this workshop.

request for $1 billion( about#165billion) loan to fight the insurgent group, Boko Haram is not only in bad faith but also in bad taste, indeed a lot of people and group have questioned the sincerity of such borrowing. May I quickly ask, what happened to the defense budget to warrant a supplementary loan of #165billion? it is time for international community to question the institutional looting of government of third world country.

Invariably and rightly so, the problem with our military is not more money, but bad management of previous budget to enhance and strengthen our military. May God save us from us.

I

CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATIONS To enhance better understanding and appreciation of this chapter, I find it necessary to succinctly define and explain some concepts, namely insecurity, election malpractices and good governance before highlighting the nexus between them.

Insecurity The word insecurity is taken from insecure, both are from the Medieval Latin word “insecurus”. The word insecurus in Latin is from “securus” which means safe or certain.

The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines it as “ the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury”, Insecurity is also seen as the anxiety you experience when you feel vulnerable. The main descriptive phrases and words that are central to understanding what constitute insecurity include: a state of danger, anxiety and susceptibility to harm or injury.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it therefore implies clearly that wherever and whenever any situation presents itself with these factors in place, insecurity becomes the order of the day.

Election Malpractices This word is usually used inter-changeably with political malpractices. It simply means illegal interference with the process of an election. In other words, it is an act of fraud that systematically affects the vote count which brings about an election result whereby a particular candidate is unduly favoured and another is depressed and suppressed using the apparatus of state power. In short, it is indirect way of turning an election into selection, unfortunately that is what goes on in Nigeria and man 3 rd world countries.

Good Governance According to United Nation definition, Good Governance is a process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard to the rule of law. The good test of good governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights: cultural, civil, economic, social and political rights.

•SHITTU The globally accepted key attributes of good governance are: · Transparency · Responsibility · Accountability · Participation · Responsiveness (to the need of the people) NEXUS AND FRAMEWORK OF THE SUBJECT MATTER Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, from the above illustrations and definitions, one can rightly and unequivocally generalize that insecurity, election malpractices and good governance are all contradictory compatibility.

To this end, I shall pinpoint one by one the effect of the former on the latter.

THE EFFECT OF INSECURITY ON GOOD GOVERNANCE Permit me to take excerpts from the introductory statement of President George W. Bush when the bill for the establishment of Department of Homeland Security was presented to congress in June 2002. The American President’s opening statement went thus: “ The President’s most important job is to protect and defend the American people.

The changing nature of threat facing America requires a new government structure to protect

From this table, we can see that our security agencies are grossly insufficient in number, more than just that they are also poorly motivated and ill equipped to meet the many challenges of insecurity in Nigeria.

ONE BILLION DOLLAR LOAN? Based on data from National Bureau of Statistics, however inadequate one may argue, we can safely assume that Nigerian is secured but the data is not the true reflection of our security forces. According to Global Fire Power (GFP), Nigeria Military have Active Frontline Personnel: 130,000 and Active Reserve Personnel: 32,000, which are grossly below the National statistic.

Also in terms of Defense equipment, Nigeria Military have, 1,450 Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs), 29 Self-Propelled Guns (SPGs),680 Towed Artillery, 21 MultipleLaunch Rocket Systems (MLRSs). Nigeria Airforce have 96 Aircraft, 10 Fighters/ Interceptors, no Fixed-Wing Attack Aircraft,36 Transport Aircraft, 40 Trainer

American against invisible enemies that can strike with a wide variety of weapons”.

The basis for the above excerpts is to enable us first and foremost appreciate that insecurity in any form and many anywhere is a major challenge to good governance in one hand and admitting the fact that number one indices of measuring good governance is the provision of security on the other hand.

THE COST OF INSECURITY ON GOOD GOVERNANCE Insecurity has attendant consequences and it is an aggregate of these consequences that makes insecurity to become a challenge to Good Governance. Some of the basic fall outs of insecurity challenge to good governance are in following areas: · Loss of Lives and Properties · Psychological depression and fall out · Economic Realities · Socio–cultural disaffection · Strain in Foreign Relation among others.

WAY FORWARD This submission will be incomplete without attempt at suggesting a way forward to this menace which is a total overhaul of the security agencies in our country.

There is no gainsaying that we have a poor level of national security preparedness. It is even evident in the number of personnel making up our security agencies, their contemporary knowledge, the skills and tools at their disposal to combat insecurity. Before I go further, it will be insightful to give you this tabular analysis it may shock us to know these facts and figures.

Aircraft,36 Helicopters,8 Attack Helicopters.

With these statistics, we can safely say that Nigeria Military is dangerously ill-equipped.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me quickly discuss Defense budget, from 2000 to 2013, defense budget has be on the increase, as shows by the table below:

THE EFFECT OF ELECTION MALPRACTICES ON GOOD GOVERNANCE Ladies and Gentlemen, the resultant effect of election malpractices to good governance is more pronounced to insecurity. This is because there is no way one will talk about anything election without mentioning democracy. The main reason for this is the fact that the only factor that distinguishes democracy from all other forms of government is periodic election.

Therefore, election malpractices put democracy, which births good governance, in serious danger.

Election malpractices give room to the following: · Loss of Legitimacy to govern · It breeds political apathy which is an underdevelopment tendency · Destruction of lives and properties · It promotes hatred, rebellion and impunity on the part of citizens · It is a gradual route to anarchy.

Let me say this, free and fair election is not only a means to ensure, confirm and re-affirm the legitimacy of a government through a regular consents but also provides fertile ground for democracy to exist. However, rather than being a political asset and legitimizing force since independence, election in Nigeria through election malpractices, have become a political liability and decay. The various experiences in competitive money politics and maneuvering gimmicks carried out by electoral candidates in order to gain access to office in Nigeria have brought the worst in political thugery, unmediated and unrestrained violence characterized by wanton abuse of fundamental human rights of the citizenry. I strongly feel it is high time we turned a new leaf in order to enjoy good governance which democracy promises.

CONCLUSION Ladies and Gentlemen, let me state that Nigeria is a lucky country, because we are one of the few countries in the world today that went through series of turbulent political periods and yet survived.

We have gone through so much in our 54years of nationhood, the era of operation “wetie” in the west, military coups genocide, a 30monthlong civil war, June 12, ethnic and often times religious and faith-based uprisings and currently Boko Haram. We have survived all and I believe we shall also survived Boko Haram.

As we move towards Osun and the 2015 elections, all Nigerians must put our heads together to ensure that the elections are held freely, transparently and peacefully. The political elite have the responsibility to pull back the country from the precipice on which it stands, to pursue politics of principle, politics of nationalism and politics of integration. We must avoid doing anything that will undermine or retard the progress we have made so far. We must remember that democracy and good governance are two side of the same coin; there cannot be one without the other. Let us all prevail on our political leaders at various levels to evolve a country that we can all be proud of.

That is what we want, after all they claim to represent us.

Thank you all for listening. God bless you all.

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

PHOTOTALK

Some Of The Completed Roads In The State Of Osun Under The Administration Of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•Oke-Opo road in Ilesa.

•Prudence road in Ijebu-Ijesa.

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8

PHOTOTALK

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Members Of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) Paid A Courtesy Visit To Governor Rauf Aregbesola In His Office, In Osogbo, Last Tuesday.

•The governor, State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right); Team Leader, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Professor Olu Aina (left) and other dignitaries, during the commission’s visit to the governor in his office, Osogbo, State of Osun last Thursday.

•

•Governor Aregbesola (3rd right); Professor Aina (3rd left); Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (2nd right); Head, Lagos State ICPC Office, Mr Shintemap Binga (right); Superintendent, ICPC Ibadan Office, Mrs Adeoluwa Faustina(2nd left) and other dignitaries in a group photograph during the commission’s visit to the governor in his office.

9

PHOTOTALK

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Members Of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) Paid A Courtesy Visit To Governor Rauf Aregbesola In His Office, In Osogbo, Last Tuesday.

Photo: GBENGA ADENIYI.

•(R-L) Governor Rauf Aregbesola; ICPC Team Leader, Professor Olu Aina and Head of Lagos State office of ICPC, Mr Binga Shintema at the event.

•Chief of Staff to State of Osun Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (left) and some members of the ICPC.

•

•Some of the members of ICPC during the courtesy visit.

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

10 RESIDENT Goodluck P Ebele Jonathan in the first quarter of the year caused to be convoked the National Conference, popularly called confab.

The 492-member conference was headed by a retired Supreme Court Chief Judge, Justice Idris Kutigi from Niger State. He was assisted in the onerous task by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi. The Ifewara, State of Osun born professor of Political Science was a one-time Minister for External Affairs.

After the initial controversy on how decision should be arrived at, the confab settled for 70% concurrence, instead of the initial 75%.

The confab was made up of elder statesmen, distinguished bureaucrats, accomplished lawyers, academics and activists among others.

The report was submitted to the President Goodluck Jonathan recently. However, Nigerians have yet to see how the report would be adopted. It is still yet to be finalised. Some analysts have suggested that the draft constitution should be subjected to a referendum by the people.

According to this school of thought, since the Constitution is meant to govern the life of the citizens, they should have the last say. There are, however, others who disagree with this proposition. They posit that since there are elected representatives of the people in the National Assembly; they should rather be saddled with that task.

The final outcome is yet to be known on the matter and if the body language of the President is to be correctly interpreted, then by asking leaders of the National Assembly to join him in receiving the confab report, it may mean that the report would end up in the national legislature.

There are two issues that caught my fancy. The issue of state creation. The confab recommended the creation of 18 additional states, which if approved would make Nigeria a federation of 54 states. States creation if anything at all is only to serve elitist interest. The reality on ground is that the more states created, the weaker the centre and states become.

However, with the depleting resources from the centre, the states become more subservient to the federal authorities. Rather than demand for the creation of additional states, we should channel our resources towards generating more federallycollected revenue. Creation of more states to me is an elitist’s

candidate emerge.

This experience is not only peculiar to Nigeria but even to the US, where we borrowed the system. How can appointees or elected executives of the party with confront the chief executive, who is unpopular because his policies MURTALA AGBOOLA had made the party vulnerable in TEL: 0806-119-7897 E-mail: murtalamuag@yahoo.com an election?

In the parliamentary system, however, the cost is less. Cabinet members are drawn from the parliament.

Lawmakers who contribute effectively are made ministers, which enhance productivity. If a government is unpopular, a vote of no- confidence can be passed by the parliament, which brings the government to an abrupt end.

What an individual attains in government is contingent upon his contributions on the floor of the hallowed chambers of the assembly.

In the presidential system, the weapon of impeachment can be used to terminate the government of a chief executive rightly or wrongly. Starting from the first impeachment in Nigeria, when Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa was removed till now, the exercise has been tainted with partisan politics and not an objectivity. In 1980 the Kaduna State House of Assembly dominated by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) removed the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) governor of State, Balarabe Musa. His impeachment was based purely on sentiment of NPN, being the dominant party in the state legislature.

The recent exercise of the failed attempt to remove the governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, from office by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)•JANATHAN dominated legislature is only a parliament. This means that the witch-hunt exercise. All these are self interest. executive arm is different from exercises are not productive. In Some of the proponents of new those who make laws. view of this, it is my humble states hope to benefit from the Sometimes there is a deadlock submission that the two issues exercise, which would not meet between the two organs of should be revisited to allow the the yearnings of the masses. The majority benefit from the creation of new states brings forth government which hampers governmental activities. The dividend of democracy. a new class of privileged citizens salary and perquisite of office In the presidential system, with the attendant depletion of holders combine to take a large power revolves around the chief state resources. The common executive, whereas in the cabinet people always at the receiving end chunk of the state resources.

Above all, a non-performing system, the party as a unit wields of such exercise. much influence. Our system The second issue has to do with chief executive, who desires a the sustenance of the presidential second term in office cannot be should encourage the building of institutions rather than system of government. Though the denied. The second term ticket system has thrived successfully in of the chief executive is given as individuals. The country stands to taken if he is interested. This benefit greatly if power is not the United States of America stems from the fact that he is concentrated in individuals like (USA) our experience is less than the leader of the party, hence his we have now. With the massive a success. wishes must be automatically power invested in individuals like Going by our own experience, obeyed.

The implication is that we have now, there is always the the system is not only expensive in practice, the party would tendency to misuse it. but dictatorial.

The system is expensive because prefer to lose the office by retaining the incumbent, rather members of the executive than allow a new but popular (cabinet) are not taken from the

AUDACIOUS EXPLOIT

My Take On The Last Confab

11

FEATURE

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Who Actually Attempted Rigging In Osun?

DEMOCRACY is a game of consensus in which competing elite groups offer differing ideas of how best to organise society. Their primary theatre of competition is election. Though conflict is embedded in politics, the players have at the back of their mind the best of their people at heart. After elections have been won and lost, the losers take it calmly and retreat to prepare for the next one. This is the fabled ‘spirit of sportsmanship’ that has become the hallmark of developed society and which makes democracy to serve the best interest of the people ultimately.

However, looking at the events leading to, during and immediately after the August 9, governorship election in Osun State, the conduct of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has left much to be desired.

It is like they are at war with the people of the state. They have given the impression that they must win at all cost or heaven will fall.

One of their assaults on the people is unconscionable fabrication and abuse of media access. It is a seriously perturbing development to find a syndicated story in many of our national dailies on Wednesday September 3, to the effect that two staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have been suspended because they, according to the quite reprehensible story, allegedly colluded with the All Progressives Party (APC) to rig the August 9, 2014 gubernatorial election in Osun.

It is reprehensible on the one hand, because the apparently uninvestigated story projects our newspapers in very bad light as thoroughly shoddy and quite careless in their reportorial duties. On the other hand, the utter falsehood of such story gives away the unconscionable character of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and invariably that of the politicians with which it is peopled.

That the party will have the effrontery to turn the truth on its head and flip facts over in the service of its failed political bid to foist a candidate of irreparably damaged reputation on the people of Osun during the August 9 election remains an incomprehensible mystery.

Unfortunately for the party, facts, given their nature, are not easily amenable to the kind of senseless revisionism as the PDP is trying to engage in. For the record; the fact of the matter is this: the two Electoral Officers (EOs) in question were in fact working in cahoots with and for the PDP to subvert the will of the people of Osun State before and during the governorship election.

One of the two culprits, Segun

•AREGBESOLA

By MIKE OGUNDELE

Eshilokun, was the Electoral Officer (EO) for Obokun Local Government who, along with one Ismaila Taofik, was apprehended with a truck full of election materials a day prior to the election day, before INEC officially began to distribute such materials.

Eshilokun and his partner were handed over to the police by the youths, only to be subsequently released to a PDP top functionary from Ile-Ife, Professor Wale Oladapo. The excuse given for their release was simply and barefacedly, ‘Order from Above’.

The second suspended staff of INEC was the EO for Osogbo Local Government Council Area during the election. Being the largest voter base in the state, and given the already widely known support for the APC in Osogbo, this EO made spirited attempts to manipulate the electoral process in favour of the PDP. It was the vigilance and persistent complaint by the APC that prevented his brazen attempts from succeeding.

In fact, his suspension was consequent upon petition to INEC by the APC about his numerous attempts to twist the voting process in Osogbo in favour of the PDP of which he is a card-carrying member. For instance, it is on record that on election day, he released only 64 out of the 227 identification tags he was supposed to release to APC polling agents.

The intent was to deprive the APC

•OMISORE

polling agents of access to their polling units to monitor the accreditation process. The APC had to call INEC Commissioner for this zone, Ambassador Wali, to intervene.

But he was not done yet. When voting came to an end, the same EO withheld the customised Form EC8C meant for recording collated results for Osogbo Local Government Council Area. Again, the APC had to call in Ambassador Wali, who issued him a second query in one day for the form to be released.

If we put these and other shameless incidents of attempted rigging by the PDP alongside the militarisation of the state, the cases of widespread bullying by gun-wielding agents of the PDP-led federal government, the unlawful arrests of APC bigwigs, including members of the governor’s cabinet among many other such horrifying acts, would it not be clear to all which party actually attempted to rig?

That the PDP can now turn around to enrol the media in its reprehensible propaganda to change the facts is quite inconceivable. But it is even more unfortunate that our media practitioners will allow themselves to be co-opted into this kind of disgraceful agenda to turn the victim into perpetrator over-night.

The cases of attempted electoral manipulation against the two suspended INEC staff are in the public domain and were given good coverage in the media. It is the least any media practitioner should do in

satisfying the requirement of professional ethics to do a proper check of the accuracy of a story before rushing to press.

The blatant falsehood of this story gives the impression of media collusion with the PDP to convert lie into truth. Against this background, INEC also owes it a duty to Nigerians, the people of Osun, and to morality to come out clearly and say which party the suspended EOs were actually colluding with. Associating the name of INEC with this mendacious story can only drag its name in the mud and give it a taint of partisanship.

The electoral body would lose nothing by coming out to announce which party is involved in the attempt to manipulate the election for which the two EOs were suspended pending the completion of the investigation it is conducting. After all, it is still in the process of investigation. But to keep quiet in the face of this morally damaging story in which INEC’s name has been mentioned in the authentication of plain falsehood cannot bode well for the integrity of the electoral body.

It is not only a matter of moral obligation for INEC, but the electoral body would also be making a strong statement that no political party or partisan group has a right to use its name as a stamp of authority for falsehood.

•Ogundele writes from Osogbo, State of Osun.

FEATURE

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OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Osun, Electoral Militarisation And 2015 Nigerian electoral politics today, IN the term, militarisation, has come to acquire an extended cultural meaning, consisting of three semantic components: (1) the deployment of security forces, consisting of military, police, the Department of State Service, and other security operatives; (2) the deployment occurs during an election; and (3) the election takes place in an opposition state. However, the third semantic component may not be retained during the 2015 general elections, when all states and all political parties will be involved simultaneously, including states controlled by the ruling PDP. I will return to this issue later.

What is clear for now is that, since President Goodluck Jonathan came to power in May 2011, such excessive deployments have taken place in all five governorship elections conducted under his watch, namely, Edo and Ondo states in 2012; Anambra in 2013; and Ekiti and Osun in 2014. What is common to all five states is that they were controlled by one opposition party or the other.

It is also evident that the scale of the deployment has increased with each successive election.

The last of these elections, in Osun State, is the focus of this article for three reasons. First, many observers concluded that the militarisation of the state during the election was excessive. It was widely reported that well over 70,000 security operatives, including 15,000 soldiers, 30,000 policemen, 8,000 operatives of the Department of State Service, and 20,000 civil defence officers were deployed in the state just for the governorship election. That’s not all.

One hundred specially trained dogs were also deployed in the state.

Fifteen of the dogs, we were told, had just arrived from the United States, where they were trained to detect Improvised Explosive Devices.

No wonder, then, that some observers noted that Boko Haram would have become “a thing of the past” had such forces been deployed in Borno State all these years.

Besides, the movement restriction imposed on Osun State during the election period was more intense than the one imposed on the three northern states under a state of emergency: From about 6pm on the eve of the election and while the polls were open, you could not enter or leave the state to transact any business nor could you move from one part of the state, or even your city, to another.

If the right to freely exercise one’s franchise is what democracy confers on voters, then that right was either withdrawn from some Osun voters, through intimidation or harassment, or it was timidly exercised by others. It is in this sense that the Osun case was considered an affront to democracy.

This leads to the second reason for focusing on the Osun case. Unlike previous cases, the security operatives scared Osun voters ahead of the election. It was widely reported

By NIYI AKINNASO

that numerous vehicles, filled with uniformed security operatives, paraded major cities in the state, with hooded and masked operatives shooting sporadically in the air. It was a menacing signal to Osun voters that they should beware of August 9, 2014. The effect was voter intimidation, which led about 46 per cent of voters, who collected their Permanent Voter Card just weeks earlier, to stay away from the polls.

Third, a number of observers and voters who dared to exercise their freedom of movement and franchise were traumatised in various ways.

This was particularly true of the leaders, representatives, and polling agents of the All Progressives Congress, the ruling party in the state, who were arrested, detained, or otherwise prevented from participating in the election by observing, supervising, or voting.

Beyond the media attention on some high profile members of the APC, including its chief spokesperson, Lai Mohammed, who were unnecessarily traumatised on the eve of, and during, the election, well over 600 APC members were involved in one form of security “brutality” or the other. They included commissioners in the state

government, notably, the state Attorney General, Wale Afolabi; the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Wale Adedoyin; and the Commissioner for Tourism, Sikiru Aiyedun. The state’s federal legislators were not spared, including Senator Bayo Salami and a serving member of the House of Representatives, Folarin Fafowora.

Nor were traditional rulers exempted, as the Regent of Iloko, High Chief Ogunsanya, was also harassed. The litmus test was simple: You were under suspicion if you were identified as an influential supporter of the APC. It is the one-sidedness in the show of force against members of the APC in Osun that heightened the criticisms of electoral militarisation, especially as it came on the heels of the Ekiti election when notable supporters of the party, including Governors Chibuike Amechi and Adams Oshiomhole, were prevented from entering the state.

To be fair, rumours were widespread that the APC had planned to import thugs and voters from Lagos into Ekiti and Osun states during their governorship elections.

Such fabricated rumours have become facts in the minds of many citizens. I remember a PDP supporter once insisting that the crowds at Aregbesola’s campaign rallies were imported from Lagos!

It is also fair to add that rumours were equally rife that the PDP wanted to take Osun, not just from the APC but specifically from Aregbesola’s hands. Having wrested Ekiti from the APC just two months earlier, a win in Osun was considered a high possibility. Perhaps, the suppression of votes for the APC candidate might enhance the chances of the PDP candidate.

However, such rumours belong to the realm of the hidden script when it comes to the government’s policy on electoral militarisation. The official, public script, revealed by President Jonathan after the Osun election, points to a more fundamental reasonthe dual need (1) to maintain the sanctity of the ballots and (2) to avert the kind of widespread violence that followed his own election in 2011.

Here’s how the President put it, referring to Nigerian voters: “They want to vote and want their votes to count; they don’t want to be molested; they don’t want ballot boxes to be hijacked by criminals. If they are convinced that the process is free, fair and credible, they have no reason to be angry.”

Well said, Mr. President. No one needs to be a Transformation Ambassador to agree with the sentiment behind your statement. I also strongly believe that you really mean well. However, the facts on the ground, as detailed above in the Osun case, do not assure voters of a level playing field. They also make militarisation appear as a suspicious method of achieving your stated goals. To the extent that the most popular candidate won, and with a wide margin, it is fair to say that the election was credible. But the process was neither free nor fair, especially on many members of the APC. The President’s continued silence on the harassment of the APC members in Ekiti and Osun may have turned a hidden transcript into an official one.

Rather than address this matter, the President has gone ahead to insist that the 2015 general elections will be militarised as well. It remains to be seen, however, whether opposition states will be more militarised than others. Most importantly, all opposition party leaders and wellmeaning Nigerians must demand ahead of the elections that security agents must not be used by the ruling PDP to harass members of the opposition parties during the general elections.

It is here, I think, that Prof. Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, still has a job to do. It is not enough to support a House of Representatives bill that limits the role of security forces, especially soldiers, during elections. He needs to ensure the constitutional independence of INEC in conducting elections by demanding non-interference from the presidency or the ruling party ahead of the 2015 elections.

•Culled from THE PUNCH

13

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

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14

EDITORIAL FROM OTHER NEWSPAPERS

T

HE blight of credible elections has been quite traumatic for the country. For years, the voter’s wish had always been submerged in the context of rigging that has made nonsense of elections in the country. And Professor Attahiru Jega, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saddled with election planning and management sometime ago gave a hint of his determination to prove that the commission will do everything possible to conduct reliable, free and fair general elections in 2015.

His bright spark is the proposed deployment of card readers on the day of elections by the commission. Jega unfurled this in a paper titled: “Stakeholders and the Electoral Process in Nigeria” that he delivered at a lecture at the Department of Sociology, University of Lagos, in which he reportedly declared: “If you buy voter cards, you can’t use them on voting day because the mechanism we are putting in place in every polling unit will detect fraud and whoever that was involved will be arrested on the spot for

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

2015 Card Readers •INEC Should Deploy The Device To Make Crooked Elections electoral fraud and mitigating incidents of voting been doubted and mostly Straight prosecution.” The goal of this irregularities that Nigeria ridiculed in the past because its scheme, according to him, is to ensure that those card readers detect voter’s impersonation at polling units through their fingerprints.

We are aware of the efficacy of a card reader being data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium. These electronic devices can read plastic cards embedded with either a barcode, magnetic strip, computer chip like the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) that is just being distributed to Nigerians of registered voting age. The PVC is a chip-based card and contains a chip that carries all details and information about each registered voter, including his photograph and fingerprints, amongst others. If properly managed and made available in polling units across the country, the card reader machines will effortlessly ensure authentication of legitimate holder of voters’ cards; thereby

has become legendary for on issues of election and abuse of voters’ cards.

The question to ask is whether INEC will not bungle the otherwise lofty scheme. We recollect that during the 2011 general elections, the Data Capturing Machines (DCM) deployed by the commission became nightmares and most actually got jettisoned in most voting centres across the country due to the notorious but avoidable ‘Nigerian factor’.

Perhaps, the electoral umpire must invest in human capital by ensuring that its staff are properly trained and accorded the right orientation to prevent unscrupulous ones amongst them from derailing the electoral process through criminal compromise of the machines and by extension, the electoral process. The election management prowess of INEC has largely

staff often fall for the alluring inducement offers of desperate politicians.

Equally, by Jega’s admission, using the January/February 2011 voters’ registration exercise, Nigeria has about 73.5 million voters. It is not cheering news to note that the commission plans to give PVCs to only about 40 million registered voters out of the 73.5million by December, while it intends to distribute the balance early next year. This, uncomfortably, is less than two months to the general election.

Beyond this, INEC must endeavour to make this initiative work. The commission needs to realise that the card reader machines will be useless without the commission’s speedy and efficient issuance of the PVC to qualified voters. The two are crucial to the success of the new initiative by the commission.

Culled from THE NATION

Congratulations The People’s Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has been re-elected to carry on for another term of four years.

Ogbeni Aregbesola recorded a resounding success in the justconcluded election.

The election shows that the Governor is well embraced by all the people of the State of the Virtuous.

In view of this, your popular grassroots tabloid, OSUN DEFENDER newspaper, is doing a supplement to congratulate the People’s Governor.

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15

PHOTOTALK

OSUN DEFENDER Saturday, September 6, 2014

Some Of The New Schools Built By The Governor, State Of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, As Captured By Our Cameraman, GBENGA ADENIYI, Recently.

•The newly-commissioned ultra-modern school building of St. Stephen’s ‘B’ Middle School, Modakeke, State of Osun.

•Entrance of the newly-constructed L.A Elementary School at Obada Area, Ede, State Of Osun, under the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

H

AVING lost shamefully in the recentlyconcluded governorship election in the State of Osun, the leaders and the drivers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a conglomerate of Nigerian oppressors and axis of evil, which has so far succeeded in keeping millions of Nigerians in perpetual homegrown slavery and sprawling poverty, has lost sleep, and plotting endlessly how to supplant the masses’ victory, by using the weapons of lies, with a view to railroading the gullible ones into a hidden agenda from the pit of hell.

Failure to muscle the poor electorate of Osun into cowardly voting for its candidate, whose baggage is loaded with murder allegation, betrayal, disloyalty and annoying arrogance, the plotters have been working hard in the shadow to retrieve the mandate freely given to Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola through the backdoor.

Recall that the Vice President Namadi Sambo, who has elected to lead the political war in the South West had said on a national television weeks before the election that the mandate in Osun would be taken through the backdoor. Yes, because their Senegal marabouts had told to him that the victory would not be achieved at the poll.

Honestly, this statement is not a joke.

Perhaps, this time-out will tell you about the conviction of the power mongers in crystal ball: Ever since Nostradamus, the man who saw tomorrow had hinted the world that, “the power of the world (America) would shift to the Middle East and that the fall of the super power would begin with the fall of twin towers,” the mythologists of American dream have lost sleep; they love America, their new world and want to guard it jealously, but could not afford to allow the predictions of Nostradamus to come to pass. So, everything must be thrown into it to suppress any nation in the Middle East that makes move to compete with new world.

Why did Nostradamus’ prediction give American thinkers headache? The wise men behind the American dream were mythologists, who relied on the power of dream and vision to make things happen and my journey to Disney World situated in Florida, USA further revealed the secret of a dream and vision. Their successors knew the efficacy of the crystal ball that bequeathed to the world branches of philosophy like Metaphysics, logics, mathematics and ethics. So, Nostradamus must be taken seriously.

Immediately after the bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York and attack on Pentagon in Washington in 2001, the twin towers that suggest commerce and defense of America, the

By GOKE BUTIKA

Another Off-side For Desperadoes

•AREGBESOLA

political leadership did not wink before a finger was pointed at Iraq, which had been marked out as “axis of evil”, because it was erroneously believed that Saddam Hussein had developed capacity for nuclear weapon; making Iraq to be flexing muscle with her, having realized that Afghanistan was just being needlessly stubborn. So, Saddam Hussein must be brought to dust before he drives the prediction of Nostradamus into reality.

In order to storm the desert, President George Bush had to put up sex-up facts which indicted Iraq and painted Saddam Hussein a new face of evil and when the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. Kofi Anna, demanded for thorough investigation of the facts supplied by the USA, he was over-ruled through veto power and the war began.

In the process, Saddam and his children were exterminated, millions of Iraqis killed, millions lost their homes, but not an atom of nuclear weapon was discovered in Iraq. It was a mere oppression of the super power driven by lies and phobia for Nostradamus’ prediction. Ever since then, yours sincerely has agreed that diplomacy of the world is a by-product of lies and lies.

So, the noise of the PDP on the Boko Haram issue is understandable. The oppressors of the masses had heard about the time ticking of the oppressed to put up a fight that would dismantle the axis of evil, which the PDP represents from some of their marabouts, and that the battle of liberation would start from the West by one man, who would defy all their antics to drive the masses.

It was reliably gathered that at the build-up to the Osun governorship election, a senior PDP chieftain was sent to a renowned future teller in the Middle East to go and find out about the foretold calamity that would befall the “nest of oppressors” in Nigeria, but the first warning the crystal baller to the PDP chieftain was, “an election is going in your country now, manipulating the result would hasten the collapse of the republic...” The agent quickly spoke to the war room in Abuja about the new revelation and that was the secret of congratulatory messages from President Goodluck Jonathan, Minister of State for Defence, Musliu Obanikoro and others to their sworn-enemy, Aregbesola.

However, they thought that the messages would hoodwink the people of Osun into letting down their guard before the plan ‘B’ is thrown up, but the loser in the election is a bad loser, who must throw away the baby with the birth water. His gaze fixes on the seat of the governor; he wants to rule the State of Osun at all cost, even just a day. So, he chose to operate a clandestine agenda different from bigger plan of his party.

When the two INEC staff caught by the APC youths a day before the election for moving sensitive materials in a Toyota Hilux van marked with Presidency and handed over to the Police were suspended by the management, the disgruntled PDP in Osun quickly twisted the story and went to the rooftop through its partners in crime, using veil of the media. When the much-abused Nigerian Tribune with terribly compromised reporter splash the headline: INEC SUSPENDS TWO STAFF FOR COLLUDING WITH APC TO RIG OSUN GOV ELECTION, the PDP began to celebrate that the victory would now be snatched at the tribunal with the story.

Quite sympathetic, the joy was short lived. INEC under Professor Attahiru Jega that had earlier gone to town to boast that Osun election was the most successful poll it has ever conducted would not have it. So, a strongly worded press release was issued, putting lie to the account of the suspension and quietude is now the answer from the camp of desperadoes.

Honestly speaking Nigeria as a country is at a great risk in the hands of wanderers on the corridors of power in Abuja, the collective destiny of the people is being toyed with by the ruler with diabolical bent and that is the clear and present danger the country is contending with.

I rest my case.

•Butikakuro is the Press Secretary to The Speaker, State of Osun.

OSUN DEFENDER is published by Moremi Publishing House Limited, Promise Point Building, Opposite Guaranty Trust Bank GTB, Gbongan Road, Osogbo, State of Osun. All correspondence 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.