A World Bank Project Coordinator and retired Permanent Secretary in Osun State, Adelere Oriolowo, has said he will use his experience from donor agencies, such as the World Bank, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), the French Development Agency and the civil service, to build on Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s legacy, if elected Osun State governor.
Oriolowo, who was the Coordinator of Rural Access and Mobility Project (Osun RAMP), addressed reporters in Osogbo, the state capital.
The engineer blamed the country’s stunted growth on lack of continuity of laudable programmes and projects by previous government at all levels.
He promised to up the ante of the performance of the incumbent, if elected.
Oriolowo said: “Ours is a mission to run with the vision of the incumbent governor of our state. One of the major problems of development in this clime is lack of continuity of laudable programmes by new governments. My team has made a pledge to take the performance index of Aregbesola to a higher pedestal.”
He lauded the completion of projects left behind by the previous administration by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and the governor.
According to him, running a vindictive government is antithetical to natural development.
The Iwo-born technocrat-turned politician, who is running on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), added that the youth, women and the elderly would be the centre-piece of his administration.
He said: “The economy that rules the world now is knowledge-based economy. We hope to follow up the investment of the current government in education, which continues to pay unquantifiable dividends as seen in five of our medical students topping the chart in Russia, on graduation.
“It is no coincidence, but a product of meticulous investment in education for youths. Our next move will be to strengthen sporting development, train women in the vocations and make life more meaningful to the senior citizens.”
Answering a question on how to empower the people, he hinged on the compulsion to invest in modern agricultural technology.
He recalled how the late Premier of defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, used the sector to nudge the region ahead in the 1960s.
Osun West, where the aspirant hails from, has been demanding that the governorship slot be zoned to the area, as the seat has been rotating between other senatorial districts since 1999.