Osun at 28: Oyetola greets citizens, says better days ahead

Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of The State of Osun has congratulated the people of the state on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of its creation.

In a statement personally signed by him on Monday, 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 noted that 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, adding that “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 is why it has continued the transformation of Osun from where the last administration left off.
The governor said 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 Osun. 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 is one that can 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 litigation distraction that lasted about eight months.

 Oyetola further 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 4 classrooms, 5 classrooms, 6 classrooms, 8 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,” the governor 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) will 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.

To this end, the governor noted, 120-bed ward and 30 doctors’ quarters at the state specialist hospital, Asubiaro, Osogbo, is under construction, including massive rehabilitation work going on in the place.
Also, work has reached advanced stages on the massive revitalisation of hospital facilities in Ejigbo and Ifetedo in Osun West and Osun East senatorial districts respectively.

He added that the administration had on assumption of office commenced work on the revitalisation of nine General Hospitals and 332 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) – one per ward – across the state. At the last count, he noted, about 100 PHCs have been completed, but awaiting commissioning.
The government, he noted has also instituted the National Insurance Scheme to deliver affordable healthcare to workers while offering free health services to the vulnerable under the scheme.

“Our infrastructure network is noticeable in other critical sectors of the state, including roads, transport, mining, agriculture and tourism.
“We are rehabilitating roads across the Federal Constituencies to improve on road network, open up the rural areas and ease movement of our people and their produce to ensure rapid socio-economic development. We have equally commenced the lighting up of Osun, beginning with the state capital, Osogbo, and it will go round all major towns in the state.
 “We are also transforming the agricultural sector by providing an enabling environment that will make Osun the food hub of the South West. We are opening up more farm to market roads through the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP).

 The administration through the Agric Land continues to allocate land to small holder and large scale farmers while bringing new land into the Land Bank.

“We are providing agricultural seedlings and inputs at subsidised prices to farmers across the state. We are expanding on the success of our Anchor Borrowers’ Programme with a continued focus on the Osun Broiler Outgrowers Production Scheme (O-BOPS) with impact on chicken production.

“On mining, there is a large deposit of gold in the eastern part of our state, and as a government, we will improve on our revenue generation by regulating mining activities in the state.

“We remain committed to the welfare of our people. We thank all our workers for displaying understanding during the period of uncertainties. We shall not relent in our efforts to make them and our people happy.

“Fellow citizens, the task of building The State of Osun is a collective one and a continuous process. The totality of our efforts in the last nine months is built on our manifesto which was carefully crafted to take our State to the Next Level. It shall continue to define our relationship with you. I congratulate you all, distinguished compatriots, on this eventful 28 years’ journey to Statehood. May God continue to bless The State of Osun,” the governor added.