Kunle Akintobi
18 July 2008
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Lagos — For Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, the determination and zeal to transform the state are uppermost in his heart of hearts. While some might think activities at the governorship election petition tribunal may be a distraction, Agagu is not in any way loosing sleep, as he has promised to conclude his plans to make the sunshine state better than he met it five years ago.
For obvious reasons, ranging from the fact that the people voted for him as a mark of acknowledgement of his good works and the need for continuation to the evidence of the governor and the ruling PDP before the fact coupled with the fact that the opposition Labour Party failed abysmally to substantiate its claims of electoral irregularities in the April 14, 2007 elections, the governor is cock sure of victory at the tribunal, hence he has continued unperturbed with the task of taking the state to higher heights.
Agagu is not alone in this dream to make Ondo State the El Dorado . Akinlose Adeyemi, an Akure -- based businessman, could not hide his feelings about the efficient service delivery machinery of Ondo State Governor Olusegun Agagu. For him, if what the administration has done in the last five years in the state could not give a business -- minded person an inkling of what to expect in the next two or three years, then, "that person should examine himself".
This, he said, is because from the body language of the governor, his promises and attitude of matching words with action, coupled with his giant strides in the development of the state and its people in the last five years, one is not left in the dark about the large scale transformation that the state will witness between now and the next three years.
In addition to this are the over 1000 kilometres of roads that the administration had completed construction or reconstruction works on. These include rural areas and difficult terrains which erstwhile administrations in the state had neglected since creation. Under the Agagu administration, roads are springing up everywhere, even in places like the remote and riverine areas where they never dreamt of the infrastructure in many years to come.
This is simply because the governor feels that people of the state should be able to move from one place to the other with ease, agricultural products should be able to leave the farms to their various destinations at stipulated times in addition to the economic development that good roads facilitate in any society.
To demonstrate his commitment to provision of good roads, the Agagu administration had in the last five years expended over N31 billion to the sector. In 2008 alone, the government is committing over N13billion to roads which contractors have actually started working round the clock over.
But in spite of all that has been done which have given the state a new lease of life, the governor said what the people have seen as far as roads development is concerned remains a child"s play compared to what is in the making for the next three years.
The multi -- billion naira Olokola Free Trade Zone and Liquefied Natural Gas projects and the Oluwa Industrial Park hold great potentials for a massive industrial growth in the state. These are part of the administration"s investment in the future of the state and areas where the state will benefit immensely from in the next three years. According to the governor: "Industrialization received a boost with more than N1.5billion invested in five years. Through our efforts, more than N2 trillion investments have been attracted to the state."
The industrial dream will only be fully realizable if a conducive environment is put in place. That is the reason the Agagu administration emphasises the provision and development of other necessary socio-physical infrastructures in addition to good roads in the last five years with assurances that all the efforts would be redoubled in the next three years.
The governor, who restated his administration"s commitment to completion of all projects embarked upon, said that among others, "the focus of the government will be on completion and commissioning of on-going projects; enhancement of the overall food security in the state cum improvement in human capital development that will expand wealth creation and reduce unemployment; consolidation of our aggressive road construction and rehabilitation for urban and rural areas; and sustenance and improvement of our healthcare delivery system".
Others include consolidation of the free and qualitative education policy of the state through the provision of conducive learning environment, instructional materials and improved ICT, science, technical and vocational skills cum bursary and scholarship schemes; maintenance of well informed, educated, conscious, disciplined and governable citizenry; making aggressive efforts on electricity and renewable energy (solar) supply to urban and rural areas; shoring up the level of potable water supply; and ensuring security of lives and properties through the provision of support services to the security agencies for crime prevention and control.
For Agagu, the years ahead are yet another opportunity for him to demonstrate his passion for the sustainable growth of a state that is so much endowed with human and natural resources, yet so denied by years of deliberate neglect by successive administrations which turned a blind eye to needs of the people. So, it is harvest time.
He had, during the 2007 electioneering campaign, assured the people that his second term in office would witness the results of the solid foundation for the rapid industrial development of the state that his administration had laid during the first term. He also promised that he would redouble efforts in all other sectors such as education, infrastructures development, health, agriculture, public service development, wealth creation and job opportunities, among others.
He promised even more! "We shall continue to pursue with vigour our activities in the social sector. We shall build 500 model school buildings and employ more teachers. Our rural electrification scheme and rural water supply programmes will continue. Our health facilities improvements shall continue and our farmers will continue to receive support from government and everyone will receive government support as well," the governor added.
All these have started manifesting. For instance, the present government in the state has taken deep interest in ensuring improved power supply to all parts of the state. Principal among efforts is assisting to ensure that the N80billion Omotosho Power Project billed to buoy up power situation in the state sees the light of the day.
Apart from that, the government has distributed hundreds of transformers to parts of the state to ensure improved power situation, just as the riverine communities close to Olokola as well as some other rural communities have been connected to the national grid courtesy of the state government. This is to bolster economic activities in the areas.
And also, to facilitate development, rural communities far away from the national grid will benefit in the solar powered electricity project of the state government in the next three years. Already, the pilot project of the solar electricity scheme, executed in Olokuta village near Akure, is a huge success.
The Agagu administration is not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring potable water is made available to all homes in the state in the next three years. Today, through huge investments in the water sector via rehabilitation of waterworks, laying new pipelines and construction of over 400 solar powered boreholes, the administration has rewritten the water supply story in the state.
In May 2003 when Agagu assumed office, only 4.4 per cent of the state population had access to potable water. But with concerted efforts in the sector, at the end of the governors first tenure, water supply situation in the state rose to 46 per cent. And in the last one year, with additional works, contracts and upgrading, water supply has risen to over 65 per cent. But the governor said his target is every household. As such, the Ministry of Public Utilities is working round the clock to achieve the target.
Education is another vital sector where the populace will reap bumper harvests in the next three years. Just as primary and secondary education will continue to wear new looks through rehabilitation and construction of modern blocks of classrooms, necessary teaching materials will continue to find their ways to the schools as part of the government's commitment to investing in the future of Ondo State children.
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