Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, yesterday, called on his co-contestants in the March 18 governorship election to join hands with him to move the state to greater heights.
Makinde described the outcome of the process as a victory for the people of the state, saying he was open to working with the ideas of his co-contestants wherever they are found to be superior to his.
According to him, everyone must now come together in the interest of Oyo State.
The governor stated this at the Fresh 105.9 FM, promising to reach more people with development and to continue to deliver quality projects that will touch all sectors of the state.
He added that he would also go ahead to put the sticky points learnt during the campaign period into practice, just as he would continue the task of vigorously developing the state as he has done since he took office in May 2019.
Makinde used the opportunity of the broadcast to appreciate all residents of the state including some elder statesmen and women, businessmen, labour unions, market associations and religious bodies for standing by him before, during and after the election.
He said: “We have said that we would look at the infrastructure that targets our economy and since I became the governor, I have been to the Ikere Gorge Dam twice. It is one of the potentials we have but we have to fix the road first.
“The road from Iseyin to Ikere is bad but before we get to Ikere, we have to prioritise. The road from Oyo to Iseyin, which is a federal road, is of more economic importance than that of Ikere, and that was why we had to fix that first.
“So, apart from the power generation and fishery potentials in the Dam, it is also a place of tourist attraction. I can assure you that Ikere Gorge Dam will be a priority under Omituntun 2.0.
“I promised that LAUTECH is so central to the economy of Ogbomoso and that was why I said I would do everything possible to own LAUTECH and allow the economy of Ogbomoso to be integrated into the wider economy of the state.
“That was why we felt we needed to link Ogbomoso to the food basket of the state by coming up with the Ogbomoso-Fapote-Iseyin road. So, there will be continuity in this second term.”
Makinde equally said his administration will reach more areas with development by touching a wider population of Oyo State residents in his second term in office, adding that the recruitment of teachers and other non-teaching staff, building of more education infrastructure will receive major priority under Omituntun 2.0.
“We will employ more teachers in the primary schools and pay attention to the infrastructure in the schools through the local government areas. If you observe Omituntun 1.0, we started working from the first day.
“There is an improvement in our Internally Generated Revenue because we have successfully boosted it from N1.9b to about N3.5b now, which means we can do a project worth N18bn in a year.
“We will begin to deploy the available resources to the areas that have not been touched and keep engaging with the people. We also appreciate the fact that we have improved our budget performance, which means that anything we put in the budget, we will do it.”
He added that the administration would continue to engage on the issue of unjustly sacked workers, noting that it would reabsorb as many of such workers who are not linked to fraud.
According to him, the Agbowo Shopping Complex project will be revisited in the next few weeks and re-awarded to a contractor with the right capacity, who he said, will address the complaints about the facility, as according to him, the re-award paper is ready.
The governor promised to continue to build on the solid foundation already laid in the last four years, saying the victory “is our victory and a victory for the people of Oyo State.
“First, I have to thank my leaders and elders that we both campaigned together and there was never a dull moment.
“During the tour, they stood firmly behind me. So, I am using this opportunity to thank them. Towards the end of the campaign, the war began to get tough as the issue of religion was brought to the fore.”
