Ekiti 2022: I’ll Embrace LG Autonomy, Says ADC Candidate, Oluyede

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

An Australian-based medical doctor and candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the June 18 governorship poll in Ekiti State, Dr. Wole Oluyede, has promised to allow local government autonomy if elected governor.

Oluyede said it would take concerted and ingenious efforts for Ekiti State to stand afloat economically with over N88 billion debt, N37.8  billion indebtedness on retirees’ gratuity and arrears of workers’ salary.

The medical practitioner cum politician spoke in Ikere-Ekiti yesterday during an interactive session with journalists on his programmes for Ekiti State.

Lamenting how the governors had been opposing local government autonomy, Oluyede said: “Why are local governments not autonomous? If the government is local, then development will be local.

“If elected governor, all the LGAs allocations will go to them directly in order to bring development to the state. Too much control of government makes things difficult. We must make government more accessible to the people by removing bottlenecks that is what is obtainable world over.”

Oluyede said the state may find it as herculean task to develop if it continues to rely solely on federal allocations to drive development.

“As I was told, the state had borrowed up to N88 billion. We have 2.3 million well educated persons having nothing to do. If all Ekiti people is to share from the N2.3 billion monthly allocation, then it amounts to N1,100 per month and N35 per day. This is extreme poverty and there is no plan on how to get out of this.

“Our politicians are no longer talking about how to improve our IGR. Our election is now see and buy. Until we gain the insight and believe that we are poor, we are not going to solve our problem,” he said.

 Oluyede promised to carry out radical development by focusing on wealth creation, encouraging commercial agriculture, attract investments, and make education impressive by giving requisite motivations to teachers.

Speaking on why he parted ways with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and defected to ADC, Oluyede explained that: “I left their ranks because they were not solving the problems they were supposed to solve. We have a serious problem in this country, and until we reason well, they will remain there.”