Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Oyo State, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, has said that the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration has recorded several achievements since assumption of office, in fulfilment of promises made despite the rots met on ground.
Addressing members of the Southwest Group of Online Publishers (SWEGOP) in his office on Friday, January 7, 2021, Olatunbosun described himself as an evidence of promise kept by the governor, with the indication that he was determined to “market and sell” Makinde to the electorate for second term in office in 2023.
Olatunbosun, who emphasised the ongoing massive development of infrastructure to fast-track the socio-economic growth of the entire state, noted that before Governor Makinde came on board, the state never witnessed massive construction of road network, tied directly to the agricultural development of the state.
According to the Commissioner, the state governor, Engr. Makinde meant well for the people of the state, which had been reflected in the ongoing transformation.
“An instance is the construction of the N9.9billion 65-kilometre Ibadan-Iseyin Road within the first two years in office, which linked the people of the Oke-Ogun area, the food basket of the state, to Ibadan and other states.
“Another one is the ongoing 76.7-kilometre Iseyin-Ogbomoso road, which the governor approved to ease the movement of goods and services among the people of the state,” Dr Olatunbosun said.
On security, Information Commissioner hinted that Governor Makinde was committed to securing lives and property of the people of the state through the provision of logistics to security agencies in the state.
“Oyo has 1,500 Amotekun personnel, which is more than what other southwest states have altogether. The governor gave 100 Hilux vans. Logistics in various forms were also given to them. State of the art communication gadgets were also given to the various regular security agencies in the state, while Light-Up Oyo, an initiative to light up the streets, is to also improve the security in the state,” Olatunbosun noted.
The Commissioner pointed out that security was under exclusive list, “hence the state of security in the states in the country is the reflection of the way the president handles security at the national.
“The lackadaisical attitude of the Presidency snowballed into the gamut of problems of insecurity across the country today. This can be seen in the unending cases of banditry, terrorism and kidnapping,” Olatunbosun lamented.
He further opined, “If the presidency has allowed the state governors in the South-West to equip the Amotekun, you can imagine how far the Oyo State government could have gone in curtailing the problems of insecurity.”
On the timely and regular payment of workers’ salaries, Dr Olatunbosun recalled that before the advent of Makinde’s government, pensioners and workers were owed several months, but in the current administration, workers and pensioners receive their pay on every 25th day of the month.
“I must tell you this that many traders and artisans smile home every month because without the workers getting their salaries on time, purchases will not be made, and this will aggressively t traders. The economy of the entire state rests on government workers. Remember, Oyo State is a civil servant state. Prompt payment of salary is an avenue to expand the economy. Pensioners collect their pensions as at when due. So, as I said, the governor is committed to changing the lives of the people of the state for the better,” Olatunbosun said.
Earlier, the Chairman, SWEGOP, Olayinka Agboola, while thanking the Commissioner for Information and Culture for hosting members of the group, charged him to concretise the existing relationship between the governor and members of the group.
