Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has said that his administration will continue to prioritise infrastructure development to enhance growth and productivity in the state.
The governor stated this on Friday, June 14, at the funeral and thanksgiving service in honour of the mother of Bishop Francis Wale Oke, late Mama Elizabeth Areola Abeo Oke (Mama Alaadun), held at the James Oke Memorial Anglican Church, Kasumu Village, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde promised to extend the ongoing road construction in Kasumu Village to Egbeda Road through Owobaale-Erunmu, where the state government plans to convert the moribund Erunmu Dry Port to a Container Terminal, all the way to Lalupon.
According to the governor, residents of Kasumu and other areas in the area must be wary of land grabbers and also avoid selling their lands, as the corridor would soon experience massive economic transformation as a result of the road project and the ongoing Ibadan Circular Road Project being developed around the axis.
He said: “Let me say it again that those who have landed properties here should not sell them. Not only those around Kasumu side but also Owobaalé axis.
“Also, the location before we get to the Infectious Disease Centre at Olodo, that is the location we were planning to site the Dry Port before we thought of converting it to a container terminal.
“It would still be on the old narrow gauge and if you go further up, we have the Circular Road, which is also hitting this place. This road would hit the other one and the other one by Bishop Wale Oke, I am standing on the altar of God to say that I will finish that road before the end of my tenure.
“They are clearing it and all I can say is, please, beware of land grabbers. They will swoop in on this area very soon. We are opening this place up, don’t sell your land but hold it. People will come with even forex to get the land from you later.”
Describing the event as the celebration of life for Mama Oke, the governor noted that Mama’s good character can be seen in her children, adding that she lived a fruitful life and impacted the community and people around her meaningfully.
Makinde charged the family to take solace in the fact that Mama Oke lived for 97 years, which he said called for celebration.
“God blessed Mama with long life and fruitfulness. Mama had an impact on our environment here. I know a little bit about this place and Mama’s impact.
“So, I am happy to be here today to be part of those celebrating the life of Mama.
“Mama’s age before she died was God’s blessing and Mama used herself very well and I appreciate the fact that she went back to the area she was brought up before she died,” the governor added.
In his sermon, the Diocesan Bishop of Ibadan North Diocese, Rt. Reverend Williams Aladekugbe, charged people not to see death as a bad thing but a transition of believers to a place of peaceful rest and everlasting life.
Speaking on behalf of the family, National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, (PFN), who is also the founder of Christlife Church and Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, Bishop Wale Oke, thanked Governor Makinde for his exceptional life and giant strides in transforming the state into an enviable one.
He added that Oyo State is blessed to have a God-fearing man like Makinde at the helms of affairs of the state.
