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Tag: Ajimobi

  • Ajimobi backs Oke-Ogun for 2019 governorship race

    Ajimobi backs Oke-Ogun for 2019 governorship race

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has reaffirmed his support for the aspiration of Oke-Ogun indigenes to produce his successor in 2019.

    In 2016, the governor expressed his support for their ambition to produce the next governor while addressing guests at the burial of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Okeho.

    He reaffirmed the same position while addressing a crowd of supporters and beneficiaries of an empowerment programme organised by the senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Fatai Buhari, in Iseyin.

    Ajimobi, who extolled the virtues of Oke-Ogun indigenes, recalled that he got the highest number of votes from the area in the last election.

    The governor said Oke-Ogun indigenes are reliable and loyal to worthy causes.

    He added: “I love Oke-Ogun people because they are extremely loyal and grateful. I think we should all support Oke-Ogun governorship candidate in the 2019 election. I know you have many qualified candidates. Just make sure you pick the best among them and work with Ibadan and other zones. I will support Oke-Ogun cause but if you don’t work with Ibadan, you may not realise your ambition.”

    Underscoring the importance of Oke-Ogun to the state and Nigeria, Ajimobi said the area accounts for about 60 per cent of the land mass of the state, adding that it could serve as the food basket of the state and the South.

    He also acknowledged that the population of the area is about 20 per cent of the state, making it compulsory for the residents to work with other zones to realise its governorship ambition.

    Ajimobi said his belief in Oke-Ogun and its people was the reason his administration was directing investors in agriculture-related areas to the area.

    The governor stressed the need to ensure that his successor is also a member of the APC, saying it would help to sustain developmental efforts in the area and other parts of the state.

    To further strengthen harmonious relationship in the area, Ajimobi said he would convene a meeting of traditional rulers and to make them work together. Buhari hailed Ajimobi and party leaders in the state for holding the party together.

  • Ajimobi to APC members: I won’t impose candidates for council poll

    Ajimobi to APC members: I won’t impose candidates for council poll

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has assured members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state that he will not impose candidates in the forthcoming local government election.

    The governor gave the assurance while addressing thousands of party faithful at the empowerment programme organised by the senator representing Oyo North, Fatai Buhari, in Iseyin.

    The senator distributed 32 vehicles, 300 motorcycles, several electric transformers, grinding machines, sewing machines and scholarship cash of over N100 million.

    Election into the 33 local governments and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) is slated for May, 12.

    Scores of APC supporters had protested on Monday at the state headquarters of the party in Ibadan, the state capital, against alleged plan to impose some candidates in the election.

    But Ajimobi said he was not against a primary.

    The governor said he would support the choice of party members in every local government, whether they embrace direct or indirect primary.

    He said: “We won’t impose anyone in the local government election, but each local government should work together to produce acceptable candidates for the election. There will be a primary – direct or indirect. Just make your choice between the two. But my desire is that you work together to produce acceptable candidates. I will support your choice.”

    The assurance is expected to douse tension within the party as it prepares for the election.

    Ajimobi hailed Senator Buhari for always connecting with his constituents, besides representing them well at the Senate.

    He described the senator as the best in the history of the state.

    Buhari urged beneficiaries to use the items well.

    The senator noted that the beneficiaries were capable of transforming their economic capacity.

    He said he did not have the power to make them wealthy but that he could put smiles on their faces.

    At the programme were traditional rulers from Ogbomoso and Oke-Ogun as well as party and religious leaders.

     

     

  • Ajimobi calls for unity as new HoS takes oath

    Ajimobi calls for unity as new HoS takes oath

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday urged the residents to stop promoting division and disunity in the name of institutions, regions or socio-cultural zones.

    The governor spoke in Ibadan, the state capital, at the swearing-in of a new Head of Service (HoS), Mrs Hannah Ogunesan.

    The swearing-in was the second official function the governor performed at the same venue, having earlier inducted the first President of the state’s Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Solomon Akinteye.

    Ajimobi noted that the location of any institution or government structure should not be seen as making it to belong to the region but the entire state.

    Oyo State is politically divided into Ibadan, Oyo, Oke Ogun, Ibarapa and Ogbomosho extractions and each zone has many local government areas.

    The new HoS hails from Oke Ogun region of the state.

    The governor said: “The Head of Service we are choosing today is the HoS of Oyo State and not for Oke Ogun region. So, please, let that be seen and be known. Just like I tell all my brothers from Ogbomosho, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) is not for Ogbomosho; it is for Oyo State and for all of us.

    “Let us try and unite ourselves under all institutions created to unite us. Let’s stop dividing ourselves on the basis of region or zones or on structures located in the regions. All we have been doing in terms of political appointments across the regions is in the interest of the state.”

    Mrs Ogunesan is the second to be sworn in under the Ajimobi administration, following the voluntary retirement of the former HoS, Soji Eniade, who the governor had also appointed as an Executive Assistance.

     

     

  • When will Ajimobi, Shittu sheathe their swords?

    When will Ajimobi, Shittu sheathe their swords?

    The cold war between Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and the Minister of Communications has polarised the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implication of the feud on the party’s fortune ahead of 2019.

    The supremacy contest between Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, over the structure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a new twist. Shittu is seeking the APC governorship ticket to succeed Ajimobi, who will complete his eight year tenure in May next year. The minister’s ambition to rule Oyo State pre-dates the APC era. He contested the governorship election in 2011 on the platform of the Centre for Progressive Change (CPC) the same platform on which President Muhammadu Buhari contested 2011 presidential poll. The CPC was one of the political parties that coalesced into the APC.

    The feud between Ajimobi and the minister became pronounced when President Buhari announced Shittu as Oyo State nominee in the Federal Executive Council (FEC). This did not go down well with Ajimobi, who consider Shittu as a political rival. It was learnt that the governor felt slighted by the appointment because he was not consulted by the President as the leader of the APC in Oyo State. The Ajimobi group viewed Shittu’s appointment as an attempt by the presidency to prepare him for governorship office in 2019.

    The Ajimobi camp allegedly did everything possible to stall Shittu’s confirmation. Open letters and petitions were written against Shittu. Several newspaper advertorials sponsored by faceless groups were published just to stop Shittu from being confirmed by the Senate. But Shittu sailed through.

    In what many people considered as a rare gesture, Ajimobi organised a reception for Shittu at Kakanfo Inn, Ibadan. Observers were taken unaware by the governor’s action. He proved those who thought he would have nothing to do with Shittu wrong. The impression created by the reception was that the fight had ended.

    But, subsequent events have proved it was not. The two gladiators have not sheathed their swords. On many occasions, Shittu had accused the governor of trying to hijack the party and vowed to stop him. Though Ajimobi would not react personally to such allegations, his loyalists, to denounced Shittu’s allegations. The face-off degenerated to the extent that the minister alleged his inability to defend his ministry’s budget properly before the House of Representatives committee headed by a loyalist of Ajimobi. He described his experience with the committee as a proxy war.

    The minister has incurred the wrath of the Ajimobi political camp by accepting a chieftaincy title conferred on him by the Olubadan of Ibadan land Oba Salihu Adetunji. Though analysts say there was nothing wrong in Olubadan honouring Shittu but that the timing that was inauspicious. A sociologist, Dr Kunle Oyedeji said the conferment of the chieftaincy title on Shittu has political undertone. Why should the minister an arch-rival of Ajimobi be honoured at the heat of controversy between the governor and the Olubadan over the crowning of 21 chiefs? He concluded that by accepting the chieftaincy, Shittu had pitched his tent with the Olubadan, a development that has further deepened the crisis between him and the governor.

    Besides, the crisis was aggravated by the demolition of a Computer Based Test Centre being constructed by Shittu in his home town, Saki, in Oyo North by the Oyo State government. This prompted the minister to write a petition to President Buhari, the National Chairman of the APC, Chief Odigie Oyegun and the APC Natioanal Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on what he described the “unbecoming” behaviour of the governor.

    Shittu stated in the petition that as his relationship with the governor deteriorated, he arranged a meeting at the Oyo State Government House, Abuja where two of them met to resolve existing misgivings. “At the meeting, I also mentioned to the Governor the outstanding issue of a Computer Based Test Centre under construction in Saki, which has become a subject of dispute between me and the local government. I requested for his kind intervention to see to the success of the project which to all intents and purposes would not only assist examination candidates in my hometown but would also be a boost to our party. The governor promised to intervene and lay the matter to rest, for which I expressed my appreciation for his brotherly promise”.

    He said few days after he called the governor on phone to thank him for the reception and understanding on the issues discussed. During the telephone conversation, the governor reassured that he would provide official documents to revalidate his ownership of the land on which the CBT Centre was being constructed. The following day, the minister said he received a shocking news that agents of the state government invaded the site with a bulldozer that levelled the centre under construction and destroyed over 2,000 blocks on site.

    But, a Town Planning official said the building was demolished because there was dispute over the ownership of the land on which the CBT was being constructed. The official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the demolition was not instigated by the governor. We don’t wait for the governor’s instruction in enforcing the town planning rules and regulations.

    Although the governor had not responded to Shittu’s petition, an indication that both of them are not in good terms played out when the governor stayed away from the commissioning of the Southwest Zonal Office of the Muhammadu Buhari Osinbajo (MBO) Dynamic Support  Group initiated by Shittu. Instead Ajimobi organised a sensitisation rally on local government election at the APC Secretariat in Ibadan. While all the Chairmanship and councillorship aspirants were at the rally, Shittu waited endlessly for the governor and other party officials for the commissioning of the office.

    The absence of Ajimobi and party officials embarrassed former Abia State Govenor Orji Uzor Kalu and former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, who were among special guests invited by Shittu for the inauguration of the office. Kalu could not hide his displeasure over the development when he said: “If anybody in this house today would say it is good for these two elephants to continue quarrelling, I and my senior brother (Senator Nnamani) would disagree that they should be quarrelling. The minister and the governor should be the best of friends, and we are going to make that happen.

    “I cannot understand. The minister is very close to me and the governor is very close to me. They are also close to Ken Nnamani. We came here to honour both of them. I am not very happy with what I have seen here, that the governor is not here, the party officials are not here, the Commissioners are not here.

    “The minister and the governor should be the best of friends and we are going to make that happen. If both of them should be quarrelling, there will be no peace and progress in this state. We don’t want to lose any vote in Oyo State. We have already agreed that we are going to take it upon ourselves to the highest of our party so that the leadership should wade into the internal crisis in  Oyo State between Governor Ajimobi and the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu in order not to jeopardise the chances of the APC  in the 2019 elections.

    With the growing animosity, can the minister win the APC governorship ticket without Ajimobi’s support?

    The governor had expressed support for the Oke-Ogun zone to produce the next governor in 2019. Analysts say it was this undertaken that excited Shittu to believe he has the governor’s support. He had declared himself as the most qualified and experienced among the governorship aspirants from Oke-Ogun because of his experience in governance, having served as commissioner and now a minister.

    But Ajimobi support for Oke-Ogun stemmed from the massive support he got from the area in 2015 governorship election Ajimobi said: “I can recall vividly that during the 2015 governorship election, I won nine out of the ten local governments in Oke-Ogun, and this aided my emergence as the first governor to secure second term in office in Oyo State. Without prejudice to the competence and legitimacy of other aspirants from other zones nursing the ambition of succeeding me, I can say the people of Oke-Ogun deserve my support.”

    The support is with a caveat. Ajimobi advised the Oke-Ogun people to seek support from other zones. You must win them over to win a governorship election. For instance, Ibadan people alone constitute about 52 per cent of the population and Ajimobi is an Ibadan man.

    Analysts blamed Shittu for allowing his relationship with the governor to degenerate at this crucial time when he needs his support. Public affairs commentator Ayo Ololade said the minister goofed in confronting the governor, who could have helped him in winning the party’s governorship ticket. According to him, you can’t rule out the governor’s influence on who wins the party primary.

    He said: “The governor controls the party machinery; most of the delegates that would vote at the shadow election are loyal to the governor. The governor appoints party chairmen and executive members at the local government level; members of the state executive council, chairmen and board members of state parastatals and agencies. These political appointees will form the bulk of delegates that will vote at the primary.

    “The number of delegates from Oke-Ogun zone where Shittu comes from will not be enough for him to win the ticket even if all delegated from the zone decide to cast their votes for him. Oke-Ogun controls 21 per cent of the total voting strength compared to Ibadan’s 52 per cent. It seems Shittu is banking on President Buhari to influence his emergence as the APC candidate. This will not work because the APC members in Oyo State will choose the delegates. Shittu should learn from his immediate mistake on the inauguration of the Southwest Buhari/Osinbajo re-election office which was poorly attended due to the obvious crisis between him and the governor. You can’t handle such a programme successfully in isolation of the Oyo State APC and South West APC stalwarts.

    “I am not saying Shittu should turn into Ajimobi’s stooge because he wants to be governor but he should be less controversial in his quest to succeed the governor. I don’t expect him to allege the governor of trying to hijack the party. The governor is the leader of the party in the state; he controls the party structure. To say he has hijacked the party structure is stating the obvious. It is not too late for Shittu to normalise his relationship with the governor if he is convinced that Ajimobi will beneficial to his course.”

    However, an APC stalwart, who spoke in confidence noted that the feud didn’t start today; both the governor and Shittu have been political arch rivals. He recalled that Shittu was the CPC governorship candidate in 2011 while Ajimobi contested on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and won. Shittu was able to garner about 2,000 votes because CPC was not popular in the South West. He said the rivalry became pronounced when President Buhari announced Shittu as Oyo State nominee in the Federal Executive Council without Ajimobi’s consent. Ajimobi supporters did everything possible to rubbish Shittu but they didn’t succeed. What is happening now is a continuation of the battle of supremacy in Oyo APC, he said.

    “One thing is certain Shittu will contest for the APC governorship ticket with or without Ajimobi’s support. What I don’t know is whether Shittu will emerge or whether Ajimobi can thwart Shittu’s governorship ambition.”

  • Ajimobi okays workers’ promotion

    Ajimobi okays workers’ promotion

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has approved the release of the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 promotions in the civil/public service.

    In a statement yesterday in Ibadan, the capital, outgoing Head of Service (HOS) Soji Eniade said the governor was committed to workers’ welfare.

    The HOS said workers would reciprocate the gesture with hard work.

    He urged workers to be diligent, dedicated, devoted, and committed.

    According to him, the restructuring is meant to cleanse and sanitise the system.

    Eniade solicited the support of workers to enable government uplift the system.

    The HOS said the restructuring was not meant to witch-hunt anybody.

    He added that it’s a standard periodic self-check practice everywhere, where quality service is expected.

  • Ajimobi, Akeredolu, Fayemi, others celebrate Ayo Afolabi at 70

    Ajimobi, Akeredolu, Fayemi, others celebrate Ayo Afolabi at 70

    Governors, senators, political leaders, friends and associates yesterday poured encomiums on a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ayo Afolabi, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as he celebrated his 70th birthday.

    The event, which was organised by his friends, was held at the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan (UI).

    Two governors – Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State – took turns to shower encomiums on the celebrator, who is APC’s Director of Publicity in Southwest.

    Their Ogun and Osun states’ counterparts were represented by Deputy Governor Yetunde Onanuga and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Moshood Adeoti.

    Ajimobi described Afolabi as a lucky man, who epitomises political progressivism and social seamlessness.

    The governor said Afolabi is accommodating and humble, adding that he is an exemplary man.

    He noted that as a strong member of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Afolabi, like his other colleagues in the group, is a committed, godly progressive.

    Akeredolu expressed gratitude to the celebrator for his consistence in progressive politics.

    The governor said Afolabi never left the fold of the progressives.

    He hailed the celebrator for contributing immensely to progressive politics and activism in Nigeria.

    According to him, Afolabi needs to slow down now that he is 70 years old.

    The Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals Development Dr Kayode Fayemi said Afolabi is dear to many people in progressive politics in many ways.

    He said the only way to summarise his personality is to describe him as a good person.

    The minister noted that anyone who ever worked with the celebrator would have benefitted from his goodness.

    Fayemi also described Afolabi as a life-long leader of the party, a mentor, teacher and friend.

    Delivering Amosun’s goodwill message for the celebrator, Mrs Onanuga said Afolabi had always been a man to emulate.

    The deputy governor said he had contributed a lot to the political development in Nigeria, especially the Southwest.

    In a personal letter read on behalf of Aregbesola to the celebrator, the governor affirmed that Afolabi remained a national figure to emulate.

    The Osun governor described the celebrator as humble, enterprising and selfless.

    He said Afolabi “lives an exemplary life and is steadfast in his commitment”.

    A lecture, titled: Aging and the Future of Yoruba Race, was delivered by Prof. Isaac Albert of UI.

    At the event were: senators Monsurat Sunmonu and Babafemi Ojudu, as well as the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolurin; a former deputy governor of Oyo State, who was the chairman of Afolabi’s Committee of Friends, Chief Iyiola Oladokun and the chairmen of the APC in Southwest.

    Afolabi expressed gratitude to God for joining the septuagenarian “club”.

    The celebrator said he was overwhelmed with the love his friends, family and co-politicians within the progressive fold showed him.

  • Ajimobi tasks lawmakers on local language

    Ajimobi tasks lawmakers on local language

    Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, has called on all houses of assembly in Nigeria to set a day aside every week to conduct legislative business in their local language while also wearing traditional attires.

    Ajimobi made the call at the just concluded two-day national conference on culture and national security in Ibadan, the state capital.

    The conference, which was organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), was themed: “Culture, Peace and National Security: the Role of Traditional Rulers.”

    The governor argued that deliberate effort to use local languages to conduct government business and encouraging civil servants to wear traditional attires once a week will help greatly in promoting local culture.

    Emphasising the importance of traditional rulers in national security, Ajimobi, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Gbade Ojo, recalled that security was highly effective in communities in the pre-colonial era. He pointed out that traditional rulers were the chief security officers in their domains.

    According to him, traditional rulers enjoyed the full cooperation of lower community leaders and the structure enabled them to know most residents in their domains. This, he said, helped them sustain the values which promoted peaceful cohabitation and prevented crime.

    He added that traditional rulers do well in peaceful resolution of disputes which, if integrated in the system, will reduce the number of cases in court and reduce the bitterness and rancour that usually follow court cases.

    He, therefore, called for a rethink of the national security structure to integrate traditional rulers.

    Earlier, the Acting Executive Secretary, NICO, Mr Louis Eriomala, explained that NICO and UNESCO were convinced that remarkable achievements would be recorded if cultural dimension is adopted in peace building and tackling of security challenges.

     

  • Oyo CJ to reassign Olubadan’s case against Ajimobi

    Oyo CJ to reassign Olubadan’s case against Ajimobi

    The Chief Judge (CJ) of Oyo State will reassign the case filed by the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, against Governor Abiola Ajimobi on the review of the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration Law.

    Justice Olajumoke Aiki of an Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, the state capital, yesterday returned the case file to the CJ for reassignment, following an application filed by the governor through his lawyer Mr. Nurudeen Adegboye.

    The application requested for a reassignment to another judge in the interest of fair hearing.

    Oba Adetunji joined 23 others as respondents in the suit.

    They are: the Attorney General/Commissioner for Justice and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, eight out of the 11 members of the Olubadan-in-Council installed as beaded-crown wearing monarchs by the state government and the 13 baales (village heads) also installed as coronet-wearing kings on the same day.

    The 21 new kings were enthroned in Ibadan on August 27, last year.

    The case was listed for ruling on the preliminary objections raised by Ajimobi and other defendants that Olubadan did not have locus standi to file the matter.

    Justice Aiki averred that the CJ would exercise his discretionary powers on the case file because he is the judicial, administrative head and the assigning authority of the court.

    The case file was sent back to the CJ after the arguments for and against the application by the parties in the matter.

    Counsel to Ajimobi and the two commissioners in the case, Nurudeen Adegboye, told reporters that the letter was written “because our client believes that the case on which judgment has been delivered arose from the same subject matter with the Olubadan’s”.

    Having delivered a judgment on the other case, he said it was clear that the judge made his position known on the issues pending before the court.

    Counsel to the fourth to 11th defendants, Abdul-Azeez Mohammed, and counsel to the 12th to the 24th defendants, Kunle Sobaloju, aligned with the application.

    They urged the court to await the CJ’s decision before taking further steps on the matter.

    But the Olubadan’s lawyer Niyi Ajewole said the application was an attempt to arrest the court’s ruling.

    The lawyer said Oba Adetunji would eventually get justice in the matter.

    A fortnight ago, Justice Aiki delivered a judgment in the case filed by the Osi Olubadan, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, on the same subject, declaring the enthronement a nullity.

  • Ajimobi, Alaafin reject cattle colony

    Ajimobi, Alaafin reject cattle colony

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has urged the Federal Government not to establish a cattle colony across the country.

    He described the move as tantamount to modern slavery.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Ibadan, the capital.

    He expressed concern about the controversy surrounding the proposed cattle colony during a visit by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III.

    The eminent monarch led prominent traditional rulers to see the governor at the Government House.

    Oba Adeyemi, who shared similar sentiments, also said the idea was ill-advised and unacceptable to the people.

    Ajimobi said: “Cattle colony is tantamount to modern slavery because colony is synonymous with colonisation. We cannot have that in Oyo State. It is a pointer to the fact that federalism is not working in Nigeria.

    “If poultry farmers or owners of piggeries, among others, are not being offered colonies for their livestock, why should herdsmen be a survival category?

    “Our position is to support controlled ranching, under which we will provide land and other basic modern facilities for good cattle business as well as breeding. Those wishing to rear cattle will use the facilities at moderate cost. No more, no less.

    “You will say the governor is the Chief Security Officer of his state, but he has no control over the police. That is another problem we have with our type of federalism. Another example is about those digging for treasures in our communities but collect licences from the Federal Government.

    “This is wrong. Nigeria needs true federalism. We will keep talking about it until it materialises.”

    Oba Adeyemi, who said he was speaking the minds of other rulers with him, applauded the government for its stand on land acquisition for farming and livestock.

    At a broad level, he said, the committee of obas backed the government on the proposed cattle colony.

    The frontline monarch insisted that all land belongs to the government.

    He said: “We appreciate the governor for his forthrightness on this issue and for standing for the rights of the downtrodden, especially the people of his state. The Federal Government does not own land; it belongs to the state.

    “So, if truly we are practising federalism, the Federal Government should not be collecting value added tax (VAT) on businesses in Ibadan while the state struggles to provide facilities for the same businesses.

    “Our people are not cattle rustlers. Therefore, we can vehemently say now that we stand against cattle colony. We support our governor on his stand on ranching and against colony.”

  • Shakeup as Ajimobi redeploys 144 workers

    Shakeup as Ajimobi redeploys 144 workers

    The Oyo State government yesterday announced the redeployment of 144 of the 513 workers of the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) to other arms of government’s work force with immediate effect.

    The government said the move became imperative due to what it called a bloated workforce of the media outfit and the need to ensure optimum performance and maximum return on investment.

    The deployment was announced by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Olalekan Alli, at a media briefing in Ibadan, the state capital.

    The SSG was accompanied by the Commissioner for of Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun; Head of Service (HOS), Soji Eniade; Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka; Senior Special Assistants (Media), Akin Oyedele and Wale Sadeeq as well as the Project Director (BCOS), Yanju Adegbite.

    The government recalled that in June 2011, it appointed a five-man steering committee to assess the extant operations of the BCOS and recommend immediate remedial interventions.

    It added that upon its re-election in 2015, the Abiola Ajimobi administration engaged the services of the internationally renowned consulting firm, KPMG Advisory Services, to carry out a comprehensive audit as well as propose appropriate structures and strategies form the media outfit.

    Alli recalled that as “of the 209 junior workers assessed, 197 passed while 12 failed. Of the 149 senior workers assessed, 35 passed and 114 failed, while of the 58 management workers assessed, only 16 passed and 42 of them failed”.

    He added: “The overall intent of transformation of BCOS into a media and entertainment hub is hereby announced. The detailed set of activities and implementation time lines will be announced soon.

    “In the meantime, let me briefly share the government’s vision for a transformed BCOS. The vision is to be the leading media and entertainment hub that propels the unique cultural heritage of the Yoruba to the global market while the vision is to create pleasurable experiences for our target markets through the provision of exceptional products sand service.

    “The business segments will include: TV and radio broadcasting, production studio services, theme parks and resorts, hospitality and leisure services, live events and a media academy.

    “Some of the imperatives the government intends to implement to deepen and sustain the legacy and new vision of BCOS include the granting of operational and financial autonomy to the corporation; strengthening governance and management; commercial sustainability, encouraging partnership and alliances as well as legal restructuring to enable the corporation to take full advantages of public-private-partnership with the global organised private sector towards the creation of the leading entertainment and cultural hub in the Southwest of Nigeria.”