By all standards, the journey of the last four years has been hugely
successful for a man who came into office with a strong vision and
determination to leave his imprint in the annals of the Sunshine state.
And in ensuring an enduring legacy, Akeredolu had to lead by example.
With his background as a senior lawyer and a first-grade activist, he
knew that he could not afford to fail his people.
With a sterling accomplishment in private service, Akeredolu is known to
be richly blessed with good vision, courage, candour and determination.
These attributes have in no small measure contributed to the success of
the last four years.
Without doubt, these attributes made him well-equipped for the
challenges of governance and have resulted in four years ofunprecedented
achievements in many sectors in Ondo State.
The achievements are more pronounced in the number and quality of roads
constructed, primary and tertiary education, health care,
industrialisation and, of course, the economy.
It is no longer news that Akeredolu met a State that was comatose. Civil
servants were being owed seven months’ salaries; teachers were being
ridiculed because they could not pay their rents or feed their family
and morale among the people, particularly the civil servants, was at its
lowest.
In his bid to open up the economy to viable investors and make access to
the State easy, Akeredolu intervened in the comatose air transportation
service. Within a period of six months, the Akure airport came back to
life, with daily flights from Abuja and Lagos.
Having established hugely successful daily flights into the State from
Lagos and Abuja, operated by two viable operators, the governor was set
and indeed moved on to a journey to build a solid economic foundation
for the State.
In his first four years in the saddle, Akeredolu recorded unprecedented
success in all sectors, including education, infrastructure, health and
industrial.
The Administration inherited a decayed and derelict infrastructure. The
roads, even in the capital city, were pockmarked with craters and
gullies. For the people, especially those of the northern and southern
senatorial districts, the roads had become death traps.
His success in the number and quality of roads constructed has attracted
commendations from even his most ardent critics. Taking into
consideration the economic state, the number of roads constructed has
been nothing but phenomenal.
From Ikare-Akoko to Oka-Akoko and to other areas in Ilaje and Ese-Odo
local government areas, stories of multiple deaths caused by damaged
portions of the roads became a daily feature of our lives. At the
notorious Oke Oka and Oke Alabojuto roads in Oka and Ikare respectively,
entire families have been wiped out multiple times.
Within two years as governor, Akeredolu unraveled the mystery behind the
dangerous Oke Alabojuto road in Ikare Akoko. The mythical hilly road
that has claimed countless number of lives has given way to the
bulldozers deployed by Akeredolu, leaving the people marvelling.
Governor Akeredolu has done what many thought was impossible and there are new songs on the lips of the people.
In the central senatorial zone, Akure, is gradually wearing a true
status of a State capital. The major roads around the capital city are
wearing new looks. Residents of the State Hospital Road, State High
Court Road, Oke Ogba, Iwalewa and Abusoro now have a feel of government
in years as the new roads have transformed their socioeconomic lives.
Idanre, the beautiful town built on the hills now has alternative route.
The people are hailing the governor for a good job, while the
construction of new road networks in the Alagbaka area has continued to
wow the people who now refer to the area as their own Banana Island.
The construction of the flyover on the Benin-Ore expressway has changed
the narratives in Ore by putting a permanent end to the daily carnage on
the expressway.
In four years, 99.34km of roads have been constructed, while 140 kilometres are undergoing construction.
Industrialisation:
The industrial revolution started by Akeredolu barely six months into
his first term has yielded results that have surpassed everybody’s
imagination. The truck assembly plant at the Ondo/Linyi Industrial Hub
marks another huge leap in the governor’s effort to change the narrative
in the State’s economic fortune.
Recall that the Ondo Linyl Industrial Hub has, as its components, the
Line of Production of High Density Fibre Board, the Cassava to Ethanol
Plant which can process about 300 metric tonnes of cassava per day, and
the Win-Win Textile Factory, all located within the Ore Industrial Park.
This truck assembly plant is the first truck assemblage plant in the
country. This is obviously in fulfilment of Akeredolu’s determination to
make Ondo State an industrial hub of the country. The celebrated
project which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on February
25, 2020 during the third anniversary of the governor.
The truck assembly plant, operated by one of China’s leading truck
brands, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Company Limited, has its products
range covering heavy and medium-duty trucks. With strong determination
by the Akeredolu administration, the exploration of the huge deposits of
bitumen has commenced after decades of much talk and less action by
successive administrations.
Workers’ welfare:
The great philosopher, Aristotle, said: “Excellence is never an
accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and
intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many
alternatives – choice, not chance, determines destiny”.
This quote aptly describes the personae of Governor Akeredolu. The love
extended to him by the State workforce is not by accident. It is a love
he earned by his display of unparalleled maturity and leadership style.
In the first three years of the Akeredolu administration, workers’
salaries were being paid as and when due until the Covid-19 pandemic and
the nation’s economic downturn threw spanner in the works. Six out of
the seven months’ salaries owed by the previous administration have also
been paid to date.
We shall ensure that we meet up with our regular salary payment regime very soon.
In January 2020, the State Government and organized Labour signed an
Agreement on the implementation of the N30, 000.00 New Minimum Wage and
consequential adjustments.
In his four years in the saddle, the Akeredolu administration has
appointed more than 40 Permanent Secretaries, all done on the basis of
merit. In the same vein, as a way of encouraging and rewarding
hard-working public servants, the governor approved the regular
promotion of deserving workers.
The welfare of the workers has continued to be prioritised by the
administration with training and retraining programmes embarked upon for
different categories of workers. Specifically, Governor Akeredolu’s
Administration has embarked on different kinds of capacity building
programmes for public servants in the State and about 1, 400 workers
have benefited from them. This has engendered higher productivity and
better service delivery to the people of the State.
In 2017, 4,411 workers were promoted, 4,821 workers were promoted in
2018, 6,702 workers in 2019 and 3,650 workers were considered for
promotion in 2020, with all the financial benefits paid to date. All
these are happening at a time when several states in the country are
struggling to meet their obligations to the workforce. This is by no
means a mean feat.
Education:
Four years ago, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu made a vow to promote quality and
sustainable education that will ensure a technological growth never
experienced in the State before. Today, a solid and sure-footed
foundation has been laid from primary to tertiary education to ensure
that the future of the State is better structured for modern-day
challenges through quality and sustainable education.
Between 2017 and 2020, 662 public primary schools spread across the
State have either been totally reconstructed or renovated and fitted
with computer and leisure facilities that have combined to make learning
easy for the children.
Of course, this has brought about dramatic increase in the number of
pupils registered in public primary schools in the State. Today, the
children are happy and eager to go to school every day.
Any moment from now, the State Universal Basic Education will roll out
employment letters to one thousand teachers of primary schools across
the State, a first feat in more than ten years.
A recent survey carried out across the State revealed that parents now
withdraw their wards from private schools and register them in public
primary schools.
The unprecedented innovations in the education sector achieved this turning of the tide.
Security:
This is one issue that has generated so much emotion. For years, the
entire southwest region of the country was put on edge by criminal
elements who operated day and night with reckless abandon. But,
Akeredolu, who is also the Chairman of Southwest Governors’ Forum,
rallied his colleagues in the region and came up with the Western
Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun.
Aside from checkmating criminals in the entire region, Amotekun has
largely restored the honour and respect of the Yoruba race among other
ethnic nationalities in the country.
Though much still needs to be done, peace is gradually returning to the
region. For his efforts, Governor Akeredolu is generally described as
the Amotekun Commander-in-Chief by the people.
The last four years have laid a solid foundation for a sustainable
economic transformation never witnessed in the State since creation.
I invite us all to join the train and have a smooth ride as we begin the journey of consolidation in the next four years.
Citizen Olabode NG
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