Tag: Osun

By Iyiola Olalere

Oshogbo (Flowerbudnews):  The Osun State House of Assembly has officially passed the Consumer Protection Agency Bill, 2024, into law after its third reading.

During the plenary session today, presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun, the bill received overwhelming support from assembly members, a statement by Olamide Tiamiyu, Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, OSHA disclosed.

Sponsored by the majority leader of the House, Hon. Babajide Kofoworola Adewunmi representing Ede North State Constituency, the bill aims to promote and protect the rights of the consumer and also to promote fair trading practices throughout the state. It establishes a dedicated agency, Osun State Consumer Protection Agency, tasked with safeguarding the interests of consumers.

The passage of the bill followed a comprehensive report submitted by the ad hoc committee led by Hon. Tajudeen Adeyemi.

The committee’s findings played a crucial role in refining the bill’s provisions, ensuring it effectively addresses thec needs of consumers in Osun.

The copy of the bill will be produced and forwarded to the executive governor of Osun State for his assent.

With this new law, Osun State is poised to empower consumers, provide mechanisms for dispute resolution, and foster fair trading practices, marking a significant advancement in consumer rights within the state.

By Biola Lawal

Abuja (FLOWERBUDNEWS):  National Pension Commission (PENCOM) has acknowledged Osun State as the third best state in country implementing the contributory pension scheme for Pensioners’ enhanced welfare.

In a public notice by PENCOM, the Commission  Ranked Osun State 3rd in Nigeria for Contributory Pension Scheme Implementation.

Commentators described the national recognition as ”a confirmation of how effective, Governor Ademola Adeleke is taking care of the welfare of Pensioners in the state.”

They noted that the PENCOM ranking was also a recognition of Gov. Adeleke care and compassion for workers while they are in service and during their retirement life.

”It is a certainty that by the time a comparative analysis will be done for states committed to the payment of minimum wage in the country, Osun State under the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke will also be in the frontline,” some beneficiaries remarked.

‘:Congratulations, Osun State, may the light continues to shine.  *#ImoleTill2030,” a Commentator wrote. (FLOWERBUDNEWS)

By Olajide Idowu

Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun has forwarded a bill to the State House of Assembly, requesting that the Osun College of Health Technology, Ilesa, be upgraded to a polytechnic.

The Speaker, Mr Adewale Egbedun, who made this known during plenary session on Monday, where the bill tagged ” Osun State College of Health Technology and Management Sciences Establishment Bill 2024″ was read.

Egbedun quoting the governor said, “I wish to inform you that the above named bill has been processed and ready for your consideration and passage.

“The purpose of the bill is to upgrade and regulate the activities of the Osun State College of Health Technology, Ilesa to a polytechnic status.

“It shall be changed from the Osun State College of Health Technology to Osun State Health Technology and Management Sciences,” he said

Similarly, Egbedun read another bill forward by the governor seeking the establishment of an “Osun State Startup Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship”.

Subsequently, the Osun State Emergency Management Agency Amendment No. 1 Bill 2024 and Osun State Road Traffic and Vehicle Inspection Service Bill, 2024, were passed for first reading.

The Assembly later dissolved into ‘Committee of the whole’ and deliberated on the Osun State Sports Commission Establishment Bill, 2024.  (NAN)

By Flowerbudnews

The Osun State Government has officially petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former governor and current Minister of Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, over allegations of mismanaging a $20 million World Bank health grant.

The government led by Governor Ademola Adeleke accused Oyetola of financial misconduct, money laundering, and violations of the Public Procurement Act in handling funds meant to improve the state’s healthcare sector.

According to a petition dated March 7, 2025, Oyetola chaired a special Health Intervention Committee during his tenure as governor, which allocated the entire $20 million to renovate 320 primary healthcare centers across the state. However, the government claims that these contracts were awarded without proper bidding and instead given to individuals closely linked to the former governor, including cabinet members, government agency heads, and personal associates.

In the petition written by the government’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, it was stated, “In flagrant violations of the above clear provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, Oyetola did not call for bidding as mandatorily required under the PPA, let alone allowing competition which would have afforded the state the best qualified contractors to handle the projects. Rather, the former governor in observing the provisions of the Act in breach, awarded the contracts to individuals who were either his cabinet members, head of one agency of government or the other, his proxies and cronies who claimed to have incorporated business names/inactive companies.”

The government further alleged that the beneficiaries of these contracts included businesses with no prior experience in construction, such as food vendors, salon operators, supermarket owners, and web designers. Among the companies named in the petition were Poshpreneurs Nig., allegedly owned by the children of former Head of Service Olowogboyega Oyebade; Dotfam Multiventures Ltd, linked to the siblings of a former APC State Chairman; The Ice Firms Nig. Ltd, reportedly owned by former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adebayo Adeleke; and Afamoks Web International, which was allegedly linked to former Amotekun Field Commander, Amitolu Shittu. The state government claimed that these companies, lacking expertise in construction, executed substandard renovation works while still receiving full contract payments, leading to the misappropriation of the $20 million grant.

On the issue of money laundering, the petition alleged that over ₦1.5 billion was funnelled through the Osun chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) between January and October 2022. It named former ALGON Chairman, Abiodun Idowu, Secretary, Olubisi Oladosu, 28 former local government caretaker chairmen, and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Yekeen Adebayo Adeleke, as key figures in the alleged scheme. The government further alleged that financial records showed a clear case of money laundering involving the past administration of Oyetola.

According to the petition, financial records indicated that large sums of money were repeatedly transferred from the ALGON account at Zenith Bank (Account Number: 1016607858) into the private account of Akeem Ibitoye, a local government employee and Director of Finance at Ejigbo Local Government. The government claimed that withdrawals ranging from ₦10 million to over ₦30 million per day were made in cash, with no evidence that the funds were used for any official government projects.

However, Adebayo Adeleke has dismissed the allegations, describing them as baseless.

He stated, “EFCC has not invited me, and I have not seen a copy of the petition for me to know what it is all about. If there is no proof, then the allegations are frivolous and of no stance.”

He further accused Governor Adeleke and the PDP of political persecution, saying, “I have become a thorn in the flesh of Governor Adeleke and the PDP, and I won’t be surprised if some baseless allegations are levied against me. Anyway, they think trying to dirty my white garment will make me keep mute about their fraudulent ways of governance.”

(Governor Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke of Osun State riding high)

By Comrade Olayiwola Adekunle (Da’Peace)

FLOWERBUDNEWS:   I have listened to and watched various arguments on the Osun State local government legal matter over the week, and I think Nigerians, especially the neutrals and lovers of true democracy deserve to know the facts of the cases and court judgments involved with respect to the actions of the concerned parties.

1. The Federal High Court Osogbo in two different Judgments involving the (PDP v. APC, OSSIEC & others) and (APP v. APC, OSSIEC & others) nullified the Notice of election, set aside the election, Sacked the APC YES/NO council Chairmen and Councilors before the Governor was sworn in.

2. Both Judgments were appealed separately by the APC at the Court of Appeal Akure. This shows that the two cases were attended to and the Judgments were delivered separately and not jointly.

3. APC deliberately abandoned their appeal against APP and chose to pursue that of the PDP for the reason best known to them.

4. The Court of Appeal on 13th January 2025 delivered their ruling and dismissed the APC appeal against the APP for want of prosecution, affirming the judgment of the Federal High Court Osogbo, which sacked the APC council Chairmen and Councilors.

5. The Court of Appeal on 10th February 2025 delivered their ruling on APC’s appeal against the PDP and considered issues 1&2 out of the four issues formulated by the APC, the issues were as to whether the Federal High Court, Osogbo had as at the time the case was filed, the jurisdiction to hear and determine the case. The Court of Appeal resolved that there was no cause of action as at the time the case was filed by PDP and therefore, the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear it. Issues 1&2 were therefore granted and struck out the case.

The Court of Appeal held couldn’t go ahead to consider the remaining issues 3 & 4 which had to do with the validity of the Local Government Election and sacking of the YES/NO Chairmen and Councilors, having earlier struck out the case and described doing so as an Academic Exercise which Milords were not ready to go into.

This is against the position of the APC, the judgment never talked about any reinstatement; the court only described the prayers of the APC’s appeal as an academic exercise.

6. APC chose to cause mayhem in the state using the judgment of the Court of Appeal against the PDP to force their way into the Local Government Council Secretariat across the State with the support of thugs who unleashed terror on the people that resulted into several killings and injuries across the state.

7. In all the two judgments of the Court of Appeal, none restrained the OSSIEC from conducting the election.

8. On 20th February 2025, AGF only advised the Osun State Government to cancel the election, citing the Court of Appeal judgment of APC against the PDP and deliberately turned deaf ears to the judgment of the Appeal Court in the case of APC v. APP which was dismissed and favors the APP for want of prosecution

9. On 21st of February 2025, the PDP who had earlier gone to Osun State High Court Ilesha to seek the interpretation of the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of APC v. PDP and that of APC v. APP to know if any of the judgments had restrained the OSSIEC from conducting the election, got a court order that compelled the OSSIEC to proceed with the conduct of the election. The court also ordered all security agencies to provide security for the election.

10. In reaction to the order of the Osun State High Court, Ilesha which stated that there was vacancy in the 30 local government areas of the state as held by the judgment of the Federal High Court Osogbo, compelled OSSIEC to proceed with the conduct of the Election with the security agencies to provide security for the process, the Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice having been served the court order, made the position of the Osun State Government known that it was ready to comply with the order and proceed with the conduct of the election known through a World press conference on the same 21st of February, 2025.

11. Two hours before the election at about 10:10 PM on the 21st of February 2025, the Nigerian Police Force, through their FPRO, also advised that the Osun Local Government Election should not hold, giving a purported security intelligence report as a reason.

12. On the 22nd of February 2025, OSSIEC conducted the election in a very peaceful atmosphere across the state, and winners of the election emerged in obedience to the court order and in accordance with the established laws of the land and the 2022 Electoral Act (As Amended.)

13. On 23rd February 2025, Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Executive Governor of Osun State, swore in the 30 Elected Council Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen who subsequently swore in their Ward Councilors.

14. The Governor directed the newly elected Chairmen to stay away from the Council Secretariat to maintain peace and avoid the YES/NO APC Chairmen who had broken Council doors to force their way in and were ready to kill as many as possible to make the state look insecure.

Having listed these facts, the questions Nigerians should ask the APC and their legal advisers are:

1. How will the APP benefit from the Appeal Court judgment that favors them if a new election is not conducted?

2. Why is everybody in the APC, including the AGF not talking about that APP judgment of the Court of Appeal? Or, is the APP and its members not Nigerians like the APC or any other political party members?

3. Without conceding, if we have to go by the argument of the APC and their actions, is breaking doors to the council Secretariat the best way to enforce a court order?

If No, why do they want the Governor who had earlier raised the alarm in a world press conference on the plans of the APC to cause unrest in the state to take responsibility for the bad scenario when the security agencies have failed to discharge their lawful duties to secure people’s lives and properties.

4. If every party in the case of APP v. APC is not bound by the Court of Appeal judgment of 13th January 2025 which affirms the judgment of Federal High Court Osogbo that sacked the APC YES/NO council Chairmen and Councilors, why did APC return to the Court of Appeal seeking the court to re-list the case they had earlier dismissed for want of prosecution?

The fact speaks for itself and if the Osun APC truly has an order from the court that reinstates them back to the Local Council Secretariat, they should go back to the court to seek an order to enforce such court order and not result to self-help and taking action capable of truncating the peace of entire state.

Comr. Olayiwola Adekunle Babatunde Da’Peace is my name, I write from Odeomu Ayedaade LG of Osun State.

🐆🥰🐆

The Osun State Government has dismissed allegations claiming that it is forcing career officers in local governments to change signatories to council accounts amid the ongoing tussle between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) over local government control.

Naija News understands that the Chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Osun, Adewale Adebayo, alleged that Governor Ademola Adeleke was forcing Finance Directors and Heads of Local Administration to alter council account signatories.

“We reliably gathered that Adeleke’s government has started taking 30 Local Government Area Finance Directors and Heads of Local Administration to an undisclosed location forcefully. This is unconnected to the contention over who controls the local government”, Adebayo claimed.

Responding to the allegation Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, dismissed the allegations as “mere speculation.”

“This is just an attempt to say something because the Commissioner for Local Government has confirmed that he never gave such a directive. They have made themselves look foolish in the eyes of the public, so they want to create a false narrative.

“We have never changed any local government account signatories. They should remain troubled. APM is just crying more than the bereaved,” Alimi stated.