Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu will not leave behind uncompleted projects when his tenure expires, Commissioner for Information and Orientation Bamidele Ademola-Olateju said yesterday.
She said the administration would prioritise security in a bid to prevent a repeat of Owo church massacre and other acts of banditry and terror.
She clarified government’s position on the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in churches, markets and other public places, saying the measure was meant to ensure surveillance and boost security.
“The price of safety is high in Ondo State. We need the CCTV for surveillance since churches, markets and other public places have become soft targets,” she told reporters in Lagos.
She added: “Churches are not being taxed. They are enjoined to beef up security on their premises.”
Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Toying Onisile and Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Richard Olabode, the commissioner said there will be no abandoned projects when Akeredolu completes his second term.
Ademola-Olateju highlighted key infrastructural projects already completed by the administration, including Akure township roads, dualised Ikare-Arigidi Road, flyover at Ore Junction, Okitipupa-Igbokoda virgin road and Isarun-Igbara Oke, Orita Obele Road.
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She said efforts were being made to complete the Owo and Oda road projects, while the government was repositioning the health sector.
The commissioner described Akeredolu as a leader bubbling with moral courage, stressing that he had offered an effective leadership across the sectors.
Ademola-Olateju reflected on the terror attacks that shook Owo, lamenting that the terrorists wreaked a monumental havoc.
She said the memory of the killings, which occurred at St. Mary Catholic Church, near Olowo of Owo’s palace in the heart of the ancient town, would linger.
The commissioner noted that the assailants, who unleashed terror, had studied the geography of the place before they struck.
Ademola-Olateju said the perpetrators, who had links with ISWAP, lodged in the house of an Ebira tailor in the vicinity.
She said members of the ethnic group were associated with kidnappings in the area.
The commissioner said the Ebira monarch had apologised to the state government.
She said the gory scene and plight of victims in a pool of blood were worrisome, recalling that people could not bear the sight of 22 coffins brought to the funeral service.
Ademola-Olateju said 40 people died on the spot, while one victim later died in hospital.
She added: “Some young Ebira people no longer see farming as the route to prosperity when they feel they can get N10 million from one kidnapping.”
