The Ogun State House of Assembly Monday screened former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Alhaji Waheed Odusile, as the Commissioner for Information.
Also screened is the Vice Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu as Commissioner for Education.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo, while commending the Governor Dapo Abiodun’s nominations, describes both nominees as round pegs in round holes.
Oluomo also charged the nominees to justify the confidence reposed in them by deploying their relevant skills and wealth of experience in their respective fields in turning around the fortunes of their sectors for better.
According to the Speaker, the nominees if confirmed and sworn in by the governor should put in place within the limit of time, strategies towards adding values to the developmental efforts of the present administration in their spheres, with emphasis on sustained but mutually beneficial two-way communication system as well as qualitative education at all levels.
Other lawmakers, who took turn to stress on the role of constructive criticisms in good governance, challenged the nominees to upon assumption of office; put in place innovation to revamp and strengthen the operations of the state broadcasting corporation, through technological advancement, while improving on the harmonious relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government in the state.
The lawmakers sought the need for the Commissioner nominee for Information, Alhaji Odusile to upon his confirmation and swearing in, formulate policies towards propagating government’s infrastructural developments in the rural communities through the traditional media, while projecting the people’s needs to the government.
Responding, Odusile emphasised the essence of effective information management to build and sustain symbiotic relationships among the three arms of government and between the government and the governed, pointing out the need to further propagate all the laudable developmental programmes and projects of the government to the people.
He assured that the experience he had in journalism over the years would be put to use in managing the information and communication sector, especially having served at the apex of his profession in the nation and Africa.
The former NUJ President underscored the need to allow for presentation of fact as against propaganda to aid good governance, positing that the people deserved the right information on government policies and programmes.
Prof.Arigbabu in his response, assured that the sector under his purview would be restructured to ensure increased students’ enrolment in public schools, just as technology would be deployed to achieve seamless teaching and learning in schools, with the introduction of Education Management Information System (EMIS) to improve data gathering and assessment.
He stated that the Education curriculum under him would include the teaching and learning of technical and vocational education to equip the students on how to be job- creators rather than job -seekers, noting that he had recorded a lot of successes on the implementation of vocational studies in TASUED.
