Oyo yet to get Paris Club funds

• Kicks off dualization of Saki township road

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has disclosed that its government was yet to assess its share of the Paris Club over deduction funds recently given back to some states by the Federal Government.

He spoke as he flagged off the dualisation of the 9.7km Saki Township Road along Oke Ogun Poly-Ilesha Ibaruba Road.Ajimobi said the state was excluded in the initial disbursement of the funds to some states, saying that the state is currently reconciling accounts with the Federal Government in order to get its own share of the Paris Club debts over deduction fund.

The governor, who also addressed the people at a town hall meeting held at Harmony Garden, Saki town after the flag off of the dualisation project said government would make use of the arable land in Oke Ogun Zone for agriculture with assurances that his administration would make the zone as the centre of agricultural revolution in the South West.

He pledged that the State Government was not relenting in its efforts at securing food security in the State through its Agric-Oyo programme, adding “Agriculture is the foundation of the development of Oke Ogun and I urge our people to fully utilise the land in the zone for agricultural produce. We want our traditional leaders to point to their cassava farms, maize farms, yam farms, rice farms amongst others.

Ajimobi said the importance of road transportation in any developed or developing country cannot be over-emphasized, stressing that the free flow of traffic on our roads is very important for the efficient delivery of goods and services.

According to him, “one of the cardinal programmes of my administration is to dualise the major entry points to towns within the state to give them an unprecedented facelift. We have started in Ibadan, Oyo, Ogbomoso and Iseyin. We assure our people of good governance through basic infrastructure and people oriented programmes. We are ready to restore Oke Ogun zone as the food basket of the state and to also contribute significantly to the improvement of the socio-economic activities in the zone.”

The governor said the road, which is awarded to Adolf Engineering Development Company at a contract sum of N8.24 billion and expected to be completed within 18months, would be funded from the Federal Government Infrastructure Intervention Fund.

He consequently charged the contractor to deliver an excellent job by working round the work and ensure good traffic management to reduce the hardship that the project might cause the populace.

Ajimobi assured that the government would continue to give updates on its programmes and policies to the people, promising that it would be transparent and accountable to the entire populace in order to ensure that the dividends of democracy are delivered equitably to the citizens of the state.

He further explained that one of the fastest ways to develop a state is through agriculture and this is why the state has started its pilot agriculture programme through the 10 communities in Oke Ogun area of the state.

He said the programme is modeled after Malaysia, where the government invited investors to come and develop the town, saying that the government is luring investors to the state with free land in order to develop the state.

The governor, who assured the Oke Ogun communities of an end to Bororo farmers’ crises, expressed his optimism on the tripartite committee set up by the state to foster regular dialogue between farmers and Bororo cattle rearers.

The governor restated that his administration would not relent in turning around education in the state, adding that it would ensure that the new Schools Governing Board (SGB) model is fully implemented.

Responding, some of the stakeholders at the Town Hall meeting commended the governor for the creation of Local Council Development Authority (LCDAs), the provision of adequate security and the government’s efforts to develop new water works in the state.

In his own address, the representative of Saki Parapo, the umbrella body for all indigenous groups, unions and associations in Saki, Chief S. A. Onifade appreciated the state government for the road dualization and prayed for the speedy completion.

He urged the governor to improve the coverage of Oke Ogun FM and consequently urged the state government to complete the technical college situated in Saki in due course.