Salaam Emerges Osun Speaker

Hon. Nojeem Folasayo Salami today was elected the Speaker of the 5th Osun State House of Assembly where Governor Rauf Aregbesola warned that he would institute the process of recall against any lawmaker that abandoned the people’s cause.

Other elected principal officers of the House are: Deputy Speaker, Hon. Akintunde Adegboye; Chief Whip, Hon Ipoola Binuyo; Leader of the House, Hon.  Timothy Owoeye; Deputy Leader, Hon Afolabi Atolagbe; Deputy Whip Hon Taiwo; Osun Central Senatorial district Whip, Hon. Olalekan Afolabi; Osun West Senatorial district Whip, Hon. Ajibola Akinbiyi and Osun West Senatorial district Whip, Hon. Mohammed Olatunji Ibrahim.

Addressing the 26-member legislative assembly, all members of the Action Congress Nigeria (ACN), Governor Aregbesola warned the new legislators to hit the ground running and justify the confidence of the people who gave their mandates on them.

He told the lawmakers that “I will not hesitate to personally initiate the process of recall against any lawmaker that abandons the cause of his people or could not pull his weight in this assembly.”

The governor asserted that he has a state-wide mandate and therefore belongs to all the communities in the state, adding that he intended to use that power derivable from his mandate effectively.

While promising reward for excellence and loyalty to the cause of the people and that of their political party, Aregbesola told them that service had its reward and promised that “those of you that are diligent and faithful to the cause of our party and your people will be recommended for higher service”.

Governor Aregbesola who observed that he could proudly claim that his administration had begun with the new parliament urged the legislators to realise that the time had come for the people to have the best.

While explaining that there was no hindrance to the new administration anymore, Governor Aregbesola challenged the lawmakers to see clearly that they have the opportunity “to do whatever we want to do; we have the clay in our hands. It is our duty to get the best for our state”.

He urged them to see the proclamation of the legislature as a great opportunity “to recompense the people who stood by us through thick and thin – those indefatigable men and women who suffered deprivation and personal injuries but stuck by us and loyally supported us to victory”.

He described the task of improving the environment and rescue the state from urban decay as an urgent task which would tackle the phenomenon of filth taking over urban centres while discouraging the “villagisation of our cities”.

He called for sensitisation campaign on personal hygiene and ensuring that the environment was clean without filth while trees, shrubs and grass are nurtured in a way that will make the environment beautiful.

“All it takes is the right concept, proper legislation and faithful implementation. We must restore the beauty of the environment in a way that will promote healthy living,” he stressed.

Governor Aregbesola who submitted that the focal point of his administration  was healthy living which was not just making quality healthcare services available to the sick but also living in a way that would enhance disease-free life.

Describing the immediate needs of the people as food, the Governor recalled that when he came to power last November “we discovered that most of the food items consumed in Osun State were brought in from other states and outside the country. This is unacceptable to a state with arable farmland and a large number of farmers.”

As a result of this, Aregbesola explained that without abandoning cash crops, his administration developed a new focus which was based on the realisation that the beginning of development for any people in history was self sufficiency in food production.

He called for legislation that would strategically position farmers in Osun State in a strategic point to benefit from the N3.5 billion daily food market in the state.

Aregbesola expressed regret that “our education system is in a shambles. Only three percent of our school leavers are fit for further studies. This is scandalous. We need to transform the system and expose our people to at least qualitative and functional basic education that will imbue them with life supporting skills and would be affordable to all.

“We also need to provide jobs for our people. Every job provided supports and strengthens at least a family. We have started this with the Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) through which 20,000 jobs were created in less than 100 days of our coming to power. We need to consolidate on this by empowering the private sector to be able to create jobs on a multiplier scale far beyond what the government alone can do. When jobs are created, families are empowered and the government rakes in more revenue which enables it to touch the lives of the citizens in a better way.”

 Challenging the legislators to embark on the task of galvanising the people and positioning them for productivity, wealth creation and enhanced existence, he charged them to make good laws for the state in exercising their oversight functions on the executive arm of government.

The Governor warned them not to turn themselves into mere rubberstamp that could not make any meaningful contribution to debates and policy either at the party level or on the floor of the House.

By Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan