Osun@28: Oyetola Hopeful State Would Reach Greater Height

Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola has expressed optimism of better days for the state on the occasion of its 28th anniversary of creation.

Oyetola in a statement signed by him on Tuesday said though the anniversary is supposed to be celebrated in grand style, they have decided to make it low key in view of the prevailing economic reality in the country.

He commended the people of the state for their display of unrivalled display of culture, ingenuity and hard work and also paid tributes to the founding fathers of the state including his predecessor for laying the foundation upon which successive administrations have continued to build upon.

While noting that the current administration is one of continuity, the governor said that is why it has continued the transformation of the state from where the last administration left it.

He further 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 funded Citizens’ Needs Assessment exercise in Osun State.

Enumerating some of his achievements since coming to power about ten months ago, 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 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 firefighters in the discharge of their life- and property-saving duties. We did that because security is meaningless without safety.”

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 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.

Osun State was created in August 27, 1991 from part of the old Oyo State.