OSUN ALGON: “How we are managing the Osogbo Prime Council in the last one year” – Musa Adegoke (interview)

In this interview with OSUN REPORTERS, Hon. Musa Adagoke Olusegun exclusively explained the fifteen months journey as the Osogbo Local Government Chairman, developmental projects, challenges and expectations among other important issue within the Osogbo Prime Council.

We would like to know your fifteen Months journey as Executive Chairman of Osogbo Local Government?

We thank Almighty Allah for his mercy on us for keeping us together as a team till today. Despite the financial challenges facing this council, we have been able to embark on many projects in which some have been completed while some are ongoing as we speak.

When we resumed office, we repaired the damaged water pipe supplying Ikolaba area with almost Two Million Naira, we organized Skill Acquisition Programmes for our youths in Osogbo local government, we resuscitated the dilapidated bulldozer by replacing the engine with a new one for grading of roads in our various communities, we also built a ten (10) lockup shops complex to assist the market women and to boost our internally generated revenue, provision of electric borehole at sha-sha market.

As I speak to you, we are also into farming where we planted crops to generate fund for the local government. We have leant to manage with the resources we have. We have also organized series of seminars for our staffs to improve their working abilities, provision of new vehicles for the hurdle planning and for our party chairman (best party in Africa), we use to pay our board members monthly in Osogbo.
These are some of what we’ve being able to do in the last one year in office among other projects.

Administratively, there were news of suspension and reinstatement of a Local Government Chairman by the council parliament for misappropriation of fund, how do you manage other parliamentarians in your local government?

We are all matured fellow as the municipal local government in Osogbo. Normally, there is no way you can avoid misunderstanding so to say, but we manage ourselves with maturity. I have been able to maintain peace to avoid misunderstanding that can lead to such in this local government.

How will you describe your fellow parliamentarians working with you?

Sincerely, they have been cooperating with me to have a successful administration. it would not have been possible without their support and I thank them for always supporting and standing by me.

The Osogbo LG Parliamentarians led by Hon. Musa Adegoke

The Osogbo LG Parliamentarians led by Hon. Musa Adegoke

Are you telling us that the 9 members, including the Secretary and Special Advisers have performed excellently?

Yes, Yes and Yes, as regards to the executives, there may not be 100% but what else do you need when you have 80% or 90%. We are not God, likewise I am not a prophet, and when you have the larger percentage of the likeminds, things work for you like magic.

Page-3 of the June/July edition of Osun Reporters Newspaper (2019

According to the information at our disposal, Some Local Governments do receive allocation worth five-times of others in Osun. Do you belong to such category?

If you have the detailed information, Osogbo local government have been experiencing that for many decades for being an urban area, there are some facilities in which state government helps the local governments to take care of. How can you compare the local governments in the rural areas where there are less than 100 teachers with Osogbo local Government where we have over 2000 teachers. The problem started when they were drafting allocation sharing formula, the ratios were done according to the population and landmass of each local government. The problem have been like that but we are praying for a permanent solution. As the municipal local government of the State Capital, the allocation should be more than that of other rural local governments as we have more responsibilities while we keep expanding as regards to many things including staffs. Presently, we have more 280 staffs while other rural areas have 80, 90, and 100 staffs.

Don’t you think creation of LCDAs has added to the financial suffering?

Osogbo have been experiencing such even before the creation of LCDAs, and that is for you to know it has not been easy. This same issue was presented in the last meeting we had with the governor that how could a municipal local government like Osogbo have less funding unlike Orolu local government that is favoured by landmass than this local government which is assumed to have accommodate more people than Osogbo, and they are not even up to one-third population of Osogbo. This has been like that for long but we are praying that the governor looks into this for amendment.

Don’t you think the recent Local government financial autonomy will help the situation?

Basically, it is likely to happen, if you could remember vividly that during the time of Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo and Alh Fatai Diekola as former Chairmen of this council, the same thing happened because there was nothing like State/Local government joint account. Instead, it was called zero allocation account by the then government. With the availability of fund, some of predecessors have been able to perform excellently. But we are pleading and praying for better days ahead.

Is there any harmonious relationship with your colleagues in Osogbo West and South LCDAs in achieving this and most especially in developing Osogbo at large?

Yes! there is. There is development in Oke-Arungbo by Osogbo West, the same thing is applicable to Oke-Osun by Osogbo South, that is the expansion we are talking about. We are ready to deliver as the closest government to the people. There is no rancor among the three of us, we do things in common but we are all financially incapacitated especially the prime council.

Do you have any project in pipeline for the people of this local government?

There is no way an administration would claim excellent performance without constructing roads, building hospitals, social amenities among others. All these are in pipeline. we are going to embark on them and more programmes that will positively affect the life of the people as money comes in.

Your words of advice to the people of Osogbo local government?

I will appeal to them to be law abiding and be security conscious. Our door is always open for any useful advice. Finally, the support for our party, All Progressives Congress (APC) by our people is very Paramount, that is when we can do more.

God bless the people of Osogbo, State of Osun and Nigeria. Thank you.