Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has congratulated the people of the state on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of its creation.
In a statement personally signed by him, the governor noted that even though the government has every reason to roll out the drums in celebration, it has decided to make it a low key, owing to the prevailing economic situation in the country.
While paying glowing tributes to the founding fathers of the state, including his predecessors in office, for laying what he called a “solid foundation,” upon which successive administrations have continued to build on, Oyetola said the people of the state too have spoken with a loud voice to the world that they are a people of unrivalled culture, ingenuity and hard work.
He added: “we have kept faith with the vision of our founding fathers to sustainably build Ipinle Omoluabi – state of the virtuous.”
The governor also noted that the current administration is one of continuity, saying that’s why it has continued the transformation of Osun from where the last administration left off.
Oyetola added that the administration’s policies and programmes are driven by citizens’ needs, which were harvested during the Thank You Tour/Town Hall Meetings, where the people presented their yearnings and aspirations to the government. He noted that the exercise was further validated by the United Kingdom Department for International Development’s (DFID)-funded Citizens’ Needs Assessment exercise in the state.
He explained that every responsible government must make people’s demands the basis of its policies and implementation.
The governor noted that, so far, the administration has demonstrated that it’s one that could be trusted by the people at home and in the diaspora, considering that it has begun fulfilling the promises made to the people, despite the initial legal distractions that lasted about eight months.
Oyetola said: “We promised to pay full salary to all our workers, we have not defaulted. We promised to pay our pensioners, we have also not defaulted. We promised to rebuild, remodel and, in some cases, carry out total rehabilitation of existing school buildings in series four classrooms, five classrooms, six classrooms, eight classrooms, 10, 15 and 20 classrooms at a maximum of 50 pupils/students per class, to cater for communities at 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 750 pupils per school.
“We have commissioned completed projects in that regard in Telemu and Morinu in Olaoluwa and Iwo Local Government Areas respectively. Our work as a government so far points to one fact: better days ahead.
“We have also reconstructed and equipped 11 fire service stations, with 14 fire fighting vehicles to give confidence to the fire fighters in the discharge of their life and property saving duties. We did that because security is meaningless without safety,” Oyetola said.
The governor also noted that Osun, which has been known for peace since its creation in 1991, only last year, won the nation’s Most Peaceful State Award.
To further sustain the status of being the most peaceful state in the country, the governor said the state is partnering with other South-west states to strengthen security in the region and that soon the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) would commence operation to fortify the area.
“We are contributing 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers and other ideas and logistics to further guarantee the security of lives and property of the citizens in our state and region,” Oyetola added.
He also said the government’s modest efforts at revamping the state’s health sector earned it a second place in the World Bank’s Save One Million Lives (SOML) initiative.
