“Aregbesola Has Charted The Cause Of Growth And Development In Osun”

• As workshop on budget planning and implementation ends.

Participants at a two-day capacity building workshop organized on Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS), on Wednesday commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for passionately charting the course for the growth and development of Osun.

The state government, through the Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development, in the bid to drive the development of the state through proper budget preparation and implementation organised a capacity building seminar for Sector Plan Development Teams.

Participants at the workshop held in Ede include: private sector organisations, Civil Society Organizations, Non-Governmental Organisations, Community Leaders, Political Parties, Security Agencies, members of organised Labour, members of the state executive council, heads of government agencies and parastatals among others.

The  state’s Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperative, Mr Ismaila Alagbada, who was at the training workshop described it as a step in the right direction as it would surely give direction to every stakeholder involved in the Osun project.

He explained that the workshop has availed participants the opportunity to peep into the visions of the Governor and to know the 10 years plan of building an Osun that is self sustaining.

Alagbada held that any state that is determined to grow beyond the reliance on monthly allocations from the federal government needs to give development a human face the way Osun is doing.

“I am happy to have participated in this very useful workshop, it is an opportunity to join in the planning for the growth and development of our dear state.

“The Governor is passionate about the growth of Osun and we have seen that through this workshop. For Aregbesola to approve this, it shows he wants every stakeholder to be on the same page with him.

“This is what any state or society that is determined about growth and development must do”. Alagbada stated.

Another participant at the training, the Coordinator, Osun Civil Societies Coalition, Comrade Waheed Lawal, who said the workshop has been eye opening explained that sector plan development teams now know the essence of prioritizing programmes based on the need of the people.

He said through such workshops unnecessary programmes that are money wasting won’t be included into the budgets of government agencies.

Lawal who noted that every sector development team needs to fully understand the workings of the Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) for proper budgeting explained that the state of Osun is no doubt setting the standard for meaningful development.

He said the vision of Rauf Aregbesola to develop Osun is crystal clear, hence the approval of such workshop to share the vision with all stakeholders.

According to Comrade Lawal, “We are lucky to have a visionary governor like Aregbesola at this time, Aregbesola is a governor that is passionately concerned about the development of Osun, or how do we explain this? What we have just done through this workshop is to plan for the growth of Osun.

“This simply means that the governor doesn’t want any stakeholder who has something to do with the growth of Osun to work without a vision, that’s why all stakeholders in the Osun project have been invited.

“This administration wants everybody that is involved with the Osun project to flow with the tide of development that is going on in the state”.

The state chairman of one of the political parties who attended the workshop, United Democratic Party (UDP), Prince Adesoji Masilo, noted that it is gratifying to know that Aregbesola is already planning a 10-year development plan for the state.

He explained that with the money coming from the federal government already dwindling, the governor is going in the right direction by planning for the incoming government to be self sustaining.

He said, “what we are experiencing through this workshop happened in Lagos state during the regime of Bola Tinubu as Governor, he laid a plan for the government of Raji Fashola and Akinwumi Ambode which is why Lagos is doing very well today.

“The largess coming from the federal government through the sales of petroleum and other products are dwindling, so Aregbesola feels the need to plan for the government outside oil.

“I have gained a lot from this programme because we are crafting a future for our state that we will all be proud of, I am happy to be part of this”.

Coordinating Director, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mrs Femi Webster-Esho, who is also a participant, said the governor through the workshop wants public servants to always see the faces of women, children, the aged and the masses of the state when planning for programmes and projects.

She noted that the state government wants Sector Plan Development Teams to run a sustainable development plan that will give life to everybody, saying the Governor intends everybody to be carried along in the running of the state.

Webster-Esho explained that the capacity building workshop has brought a new orientation into the minds of public servants to do their job with the mindset that Osun is one big family which must witness all round growth and development.

“This workshop is very important and highly expository at this time. Personally, I see this as a medium through which Mr Governor is telling public servants to see their job as one that will move Osun forward as one big family.

“This workshop has made me to see my job differently, I now feel the passion to work for the people of Osun more than ever before”. Webster-Esho stressed.