–Says It’s An Encouragement To Do More

The Osun State Governor , Mr Gboyega Oyetola, has bagged the most People friendly Governor of the year award.

The award was in recognition of his exemplary leadership qualities and his people’s oriented programmes aimed at transforming the state.

The award was bestowed on him by the Rotary Club, Ilesa, was a result of his productive and inclusive system of governance which has brought a turnaround as well as the interests of the people in the state.

The event took place on Saturday during the official investiture ceremony of Rotarian Sadiku Philomena Nkechi as the 6th president of the club.

In his acceptance speech, Governor Gboyega Oyetola thanked the Rotary Club of Ilesa Metropolitan for counting him worthy of the Award of The Most-People-Friendly Governor in Nigeria.

Represented by Commissioner for Political Affairs and Inter-governmental Relations, Honourable Taiwo Akeju, Gov Oyetola said the award speaks volume to the recognition of his fidelity to his purpose and mission in government.

He said: “It is amazing and humbling that the modest efforts we are making at putting smiles on the faces of our people and putting the economy of our dear State on a sustainable footing would be appreciated and recognised by Rotary Club, a humanitarian and people-oriented organisation.

“Coming from Rotary Club, a club noted for its exclusive heart for the people, especially the weak and the vulnerable, we are convinced that our resolve to hinge our service on the people is a noble one. Permit me to also note that the string of service that joins Rotary and our government together is at the heart of democracy whose tenets are moving the world and our State to the path of inclusivity and good governance.

“I thank the Rotary Club of Ilesa Metropolitan for counting me worthy of the Award of The Most-People-Friendly Governor in Nigeria. I appreciate this honour and it is an encouragement to do more.

“I would like to congratulate Rotarian Sadiku Philomena Nkechi on her official investiture ceremony as the 6th President of the Rotary Club of Ilesa Metropolitan.

“The brilliance and deep passion of Rotarian Sadiku leaves no one in doubt that this noble club is in for an interesting time in the service of the people.

“I must also recognise the ingenuity of this Club in throwing up great members to lead the Club and for its seamless power transition since it came into being six years ago.

“The title of this award, The Most-People-Friendly Governor in Nigeria, is instructive. It speaks to the recognition of our fidelity to our purpose and mission in government.

“The people are the reason we are in government and they are at the centre of all we do as an Administration. Our services relate to them in content and strategy.

“We deliver adequate, equitable and quality service to the people across the sectors through our Development Agenda, which is our pact with the people. We employ inclusive governance to enable them to dictate their needs while we implement as faithful servants.

“Shortly after assuming office, we engaged in ‘Thank You Tour’ and held Town Hall Meetings with them to elicit their needs. Those needs informed the modest development efforts we have undertaken in close to three years we have been in government.

“Conscious of the fact that excuses are not sufficient reasons for failure even in the face of excruciating financial and economic downturn, we employed creative and contemporary strategies to execute projects and programmes without borrowing a dime. These strategies include Alternative Funding Mechanism to fund projects, collaborating with development partners, encouraging and developing our personnel, the probity leg includes prudent management of our resources, plugging wastages and cutting excesses.

“During our first year in office, we organised Osun Economic Summt and signed the instrument for establishing the Osun Investment Promotion Agency to stimulate and transform the economy. Over 1, 000 partners and investors across the world attended the summit and more than 20 of them signed Memoranda of Understanding to partner with us.

“Despite the lockdown orchestrated by the Coronavirus pandemic less than six months after the Summit, we harvested dividends of the vision, including the Polythene Pipe and Tractor Assemblage Factory located at Free Trade Zone; the International Trade Centre/Industrial Hub and Inland Port at Dagbolu; the Topsell Nigeria Limited, makers of perm kernel oil, located at Aisu, Ede; and the ultra-modern aluminium factory at Ede. We have also entered into MoU with numerous partners and the flag-off of the projects will be executed very soon.

“We prioritised the health of the people, knowing that health is wealth. Less than six months of coming into office, we flagged off the revitalisation of nine General Hospitals and 332 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), one per ward, to deliver adequate, quality, equitable and affordable healthcare to our people.

“We also instituted the Osun Health Insurance Scheme with affordable premium for our workers and free premium for the aged and the vulnerable in the State.

“Our Administration offers business and entrepreneurial opportunities for our people by making credit facilities and agricultural implements and seedlings available for our people, including the youth and women.

“We are greatly involved in the transformation of the socioeconomic status through engagement in infrastructural development.

“We have constructed/rehabilitated several roads in villages, towns and cities across the State.

“Part of our efforts at delivering sustainable development is the exploitation of our enormous resources and potential. We are working hard to exploit our critical sectors such as Agriculture, Tourism and Mining to rescue our economy from overdependence on rent and turn our State into the economic hub of the South-West.

“Our Administration is deliberately offering quality, adequate, equitable, affordable and functional education to our children and cultivating our youths as our sustainable development strategy.

“We deliberately made education the face our of sustainable development efforts by renovating our schools, providing them with equipment and facilities, training and re-training our teachers and raising the budget for education to 18 per cent this year.

“Besides allocating 18 per cent to youths in this year’s budget, we signed the Youth Empowerment Document into law. The Document has 4Es – Youth Empowerment, Youth Education, Youth Entrepreneurship and Youth Engagement – and it is intended to make youths critical partners and contributors to governance.

“Our programmes and initiatives take care of the vulnerable and people living with disabilities.

“Ours is a holistic and people-oriented, people-grown, people-targeted and people driven programme in line with the tenets of democracy.

“Our target is to make people to own governance and make Osun a model in Representative Democracy. We are resolved to make governance a chain without a weak or broken link.

“This award is made possible by the people who gave us the mandate and our workers whose ingenuity and uncommon diligence and loyalty fetched us the galaxy of awards and recognition all the way. To them I dedicate this award.

“Once again, I thank the Rotary Club of Ilesa Metropolitan for conferment of the Award of The Most-People-Friendly Governor in Nigeria on me.”

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