A New Beginning In Ogun, Oyo

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With the inauguration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun as governor of Ogun State and his counterpart, Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, the expectations are that there will be a new lease of life in these two states that have had the ill-luck of being run by some of the worst governors in recent times.

The legacies of the immediate past governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel and his Oyo State counterpart, Adebayo Alao-Akala leave much to be desired. While Daniel in particular left N49 billion debt for Amosun, Alao-Akala kept Ajimobi totally in the dark about the finances of Oyo State when he left office.

While Daniel left Ogun State in ruins after being in the saddle for eight years, Alao-Akala did not fare better throughout the four years he called the shots in Oyo State. And so Amosun and Ajimobi have a herculean task on their hands as they begin the process of rebuilding the states.

Now that Ogun and Oyo states have slipped from the grip of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, back to the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, there is hope that things can only get better. In Ogun State, we want a re-enactment of the golden era of Bisi Onabanjo, who as governor between 1979 and 1983, turned around the fortunes of the state. Within the four years he was governor, he built the Gateway Hotels in Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta and Ota. He also established Ogun State Television and constructed solid roads. His legacies are still there in Ogun State for all to see almost three decades after he left the saddle. Can Amosun match and even surpass these achievements?

We believe that if there is a synergy between the five states now controlled by ACN in the Southwest, the region would once again bounce back to reckoning and witness the kind of transformation taking place in Lagos at the moment.

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Amosun inherited N49 billion debt from Daniel who is now holidaying in London, while Ajimobi bemoaned the empty treasury Alao-Akala left for him in Oyo. Besides, Akala also implemented the N18,000 minimum wage less than a month to the end of his tenure. The education and health sectors are in shambles in Ogun State. All these defects must be tackled by these governors as quickly as possible if they must accomplish anything meaningful while in the saddle.

We expect that the days of lawlessness and crass incompetence are over in these two states. A situation where the House of Assembly in Ogun State was shut down for close to three years, which led to a total paralysis of the machinery of governance, should not occur again.

People of these states don’t only want a break from this sordid past but also want a massive transformation of infrastructure that are in very terrible decay. To achieve this, the governors should pick teams that can assist them. And with collaboration between them and other ACN governors in the region, Amosun and Ajimobi cannot afford to fail.

 

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