Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State has congratulated the people of the state on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of its creation.
In a statement he personally signed on Monday, the governor paid glowing tributes to the founding fathers of the state, including his predecessors, for laying what he called a “solid foundation,” upon which successive administrations have continued to build on.
He enthused that the people of the state too had spoken with a loud voice to the world that they are a people of unrivalled culture, ingenuity and hard work.
“We have kept faith with the vision of our founding fathers to sustainably build Ipinle Omoluabi – State of the Virtuous,” the governor enthused.
Oyetola also noted that his administration was one of continuity.
He stressed that it was against this backdrop that it had continued the transformation of the state from the level where the last administration left it.
The governor said the administration’s policies and programmes were driven by citizens’ needs which were met during the Thank You Tour/Town Hall Meetings, where the people presented their yearnings and aspirations to the government.
He noted that the exercise was further validated by the United Kingdom Department for International Development’s (DFID) funded Citizens’ Needs Assessment exercise in the state.
Oyetola explained that every responsible government must make people’s demands the basis of its policies and implementation.
The governor said that so far, his administration had demonstrated qualities that stood it out as one that could be trusted by the people at home and in the diaspora, considering the fact that it had begun to fulfil the promises made to the people, despite the initial litigation distraction that lasted about eight months.
“We promised to pay full salary to all our workers, we have not defaulted. We promised to pay our pensioners; we have also not defaulted.
Our work as a government so far points to better days ahead,” he said.
Related News
The governor also noted that Osun, which was reputed for peace since its creation in 1991, won the nation’s Most Peaceful State award last year.
To further sustain the status of being the most peaceful state in the country, the governor said the state was partnering with other South West states to strengthen security in the region.
He disclosed that the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) would soon commence operations to fortify the region.
“We are contributing 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers and other ideas and logistics to further guarantee the security of lives and property of the citizens in our state and region,” Oyetola added.
He also said the government’s modest efforts at revamping the state’s health sector earned it a second place in the World Bank’s Save One Million Lives (SOML) initiative.
The government, he noted, had also instituted the National Insurance Scheme to deliver affordable healthcare to workers while offering free health services to the vulnerable under the scheme.
“Our infrastructure network is noticeable in other critical sectors of the state, including roads, transport, mining, agriculture and tourism.
“We are rehabilitating roads across the Federal Constituencies to improve on-road network, open up the rural areas and ease movement of our people and their produce to ensure rapid socio-economic development. We have equally commenced the lighting up of Osun, beginning with the state capital, Osogbo, and it will go round all major towns in the state.
“We are also transforming the agricultural sector by providing an enabling environment that will make Osun the food hub of the South West.
“We remain committed to the welfare of our people. We thank all our workers for displaying understanding during the period of uncertainties. We shall not relent in our efforts to make them and our people happy,” the governor said.