Akeredolu Reaffirms Administration’s Commitment to Rural Transformation

Fidelis David in Akure

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has stated that his administration is committed to rural transformation.

Akeredolu stated this at the National Association of Social Workers (NASOW) at its 37th Annual General Meeting/Conference, where he was honoured with the ‘Advocate of the Year Award’.

Akeredolu, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Rural and Community Development, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde, said: “Our administration commitment to rural and social development was very clear from the beginning of our administration, and this is seen in the creation of a full-fledged Directorate for Rural and Community Development in addition to the existing Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

“Our development agenda and plans gave prominence to rural and social development. Hence from the outset, we knew that we were not going to pay lip service to the issue of the development of our rural communities and social development.

“What we set out to do as a government, which is the transformation of our communities, is visible to all relevant stakeholders, particularly a reputable organisation like the National Association of Social Workers (NASOW).”

Akeredolu noted that the impact of his government had been significant in the health, educational and agricultural sectors, stressing that 1,200 teachers were recruited about six months ago and posted to rural schools to fill the acute shortage of teachers in rural schools.

The governor added that in the area of Agricultural Development and Extension Services, particular attention has been paid to the needs of our rural communities, pointing out that there is an average of three basic health centres in each political ward in the state, and the facilitates easy access to qualitative health care for the people, while over 200 projects have been executed by the Community and Social development Programme (CSDP) during the life span of his administration.

He also expressed delight about the effort of the government led by him in ensuring that Ondo is one of the 13 participating states in the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) initiative meant to transform rural communities through the construction of 700km of community roads, which would also aid accessibility to farms and markets.

According to him, “In order to counteract the disruptive effect of criminals on our farming and business activities in our communities, our government established the Amotekun Corps, the Western Nigeria Security Network. I am happy to inform you that the Amotekun Corps has recorded outstanding results, and the activities of these criminals have been nipped in the bud.

“In the same vein, our government has signed into law the Anti-open Grazing Bill to prevent criminal herdsmen from using their cattle to destroy our farm produce.

“Our state government being conscious of the fundamental objective of the state, which is the provision of sustainable livelihood for her citizenry, have been very deliberate in the crafting and design of impactful programmes for our people since 2017. The fact that your association (NASOW) has noted some of the things we have been able to do in this respect is quite gratifying and heart-warming.”