PDP Misinforming Public to Discredit Us, Says Osun Govt

PDP Misinforming Public to Discredit Us, Says Osun Govt

Gov Rauf Aregbesola


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The Osun State Government has described the controversy surrounding the reclassification of schools’ programme embarked upon by Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration as the handiwork of the opposition led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

The state Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties, Mr. Ajibola Bashir, told journalists in Lagos, at the weekend, at a media parley organised by the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Muiz Banire, that the opposition infiltrated some religious sects and self-serving individuals to orchestrate the controversy with the aim of disrupting the age-long smooth relationship among different religious groups in the state.

According to him, the Aregbesola administration has observed at the inception of the administration that there were lopsidedness in the arrangement of things in public primary and post-primary schools in the state, whereby in some schools, there were more than enough teachers, while there were no teachers in others where there were high concentration of pupils and students.

In a bid to improve on the standard and quality of education in the state, schools with fewer numbers of pupils and students were merged with the ones with high concentration of students and the teachers were transferred alongside with them to resolve the problem of inadequate number of teachers.

Bashir explained that the state government would have employed more teachers then but for insufficient allocation being received from the Federation Account.
He disclosed that ongoing investigations had already revealed the opposition compromised some of the students involved in the controversy surrounding the wearing of Hijab in public schools for political gains.

According to him, some of the students who participated in the recent rowdy assembly at Baptist High School in Iwo where students wore choir uniforms, masquerades clothes, hijabs, and church caps didn’t actually belong to the religions that use the paraphernalia they wore.
He revealed that among students who wore hijab, there were Christians and those who wore Celestial Church caps there were Muslims.

“At present, there are 2500 registered students in the Baptist High School, but those who actually come to school are 2,223 students. About 92 students were coming to school in different religious wears. Initially when there was no quarrel, only 25 out them were wearing hijab but when they were infiltrated to start the crisis started, the figure jumped to 261. Then the original owners of the school then declared that they were not going to allow that.

“On the day the rowdy session took place in the school, the teachers decided to take the attendance in order for them to know those in what attire. In the process, photographs of some of them were taken. What we now found out ultimately was that the matter goes beyond the realm of religious issue but into the realm of politics. We found a situation where, for instance, we have Mariam Mohammed, wearing Celestial Church cap and a Christian wearing hijab.
“We later went to various parents to ask how it happened. It was discovered that the parents were compromised,” he said.

To him, the opposition was only looking for avenue to discredit the Aregbesola-led administration having noticed that they could not controvert his performance in office in terms of infrastructural facilities development and other people-oriented programmes.
He expressed regret that the opposition almost set the state on fire capitalising on the minor issue which the state government had not even made any categorical pronouncement on in order to score cheap popularity.

Buttressing his position that the people of Osun had been living in peace and harmony irrespective of their religious background, Bashir said out of the 32 members of the governor’s cabinet, 24 were Christians.

In the state House of Assembly, among the 26 lawmakers, only 10 were Muslims, adding that Hon. Ezekiel Adelabu, the lawmaker currently representing Iwo in the assembly, which is a predominantly Muslim town, was a Christian.
“Opposition cannot say that we didn’t perform, that’s why they are fuelling the religious issue in order to discredit our administration,” he added.

Bashir also dismissed the allegation by the opposition that the state was owing N630 billion, disclosing that there is a standing order that no state can borrow more than 50 per cent of carrying capacity.

“So what we borrowed through bond last year was only N30billion in two phases and this we had been paying back to the bank since 2013. The confusion of the PDP is where we are getting money to finance the various gigantic projects we are doing in various sectors.
“The Turkish construction company that was awarded infrastructural projects in the state got the contracts on the basis of financial deferment. 

The state only signed guarantee that it would pay the company each month it got its allocation from the federation account till the money spent on the construction by the company gets exhausted but the opposition led by Senator Iyiola Omisore is ignorant of this sophisticated approach to good governance and they have to peddle falsehood to confuse the people,” he added.