Tag: Ajimobi

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has urged residents to be wary of “enemies of progress”, who are bent on returning the state to its inglorious violent past.

He urged them to support his administration and security agencies in sustaining the peace in the state.

In a statement yesterday by his media aide, Dr. Festus Adedayo, Ajimobi described the security of life and property as a collective responsibility and a requirement for progress.

He said: “Peace is the greatest achievement of our administration and it has served as the foundation upon which the various successes recorded by the government are built.

“We should not lose sight of what Oyo State used to be before the advent of our administration. Oyo State, then, was like a state of nature, where life was brutish, nasty and short. Our people could not sleep with their two eyes closed and those walking on the street could not boast of getting home without skirmish.

“Hoodlums were on the prowl, daily inflicting violence on the innocent public. However, now that such development has been successfully nipped in the bud, we should all take the issue of security as our collective responsibility.

“We should say no to agents of darkness and enemies of the people, who are bent on taking Oyo back to those dark days when our state was synonymous with violence, brigandage and thuggery.”

Ajimobi urged politicians to stop heating up the polity, but to engage in the politics of development.

Family members, friends, associates and members of the Ajumose political family will today gather to celebrate the wife of the Oyo State Governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi who attains the age of 55 years. Chief Mrs. Ajimobi, a woman who cuts the image of honour, candour and elegance, brought new glamour to the office of the First Lady since May 29, 2011 when her husband was sworn in. Mrs. Ajimobi, whose husband fondly calls his ‘masterpiece of nature,’ makes a perfect blend with her husband as both are urbane in orientation, alluring in outlook, visionary and display huge will power to pursue their vision. Unlike some first ladies, Mrs. Ajimobi, like her husband, is not given to frivolities. She is serious-minded in everything she does, at least, in all her public appearances and official engagements. For instance, her pet projects are not the poorly thought-out types or mere activities aimed at just keeping the First Lady busy. A careful look at three of the projects attest to this. Her healthcare service project dubbed ‘Access to Basic Care (ABC)’ is a uniquely outstanding project that delivers better healthcare to the poor masses. The project attracts drugs, equipment and medical personnel from within and outside the country to deliver quality health services to the masses who cannot afford normal medical care in both public and private hospitals. Through her ‘Educate A Rural Child’ project, Mrs. Ajimobi is reaching out to a large number of children in rural areas who are struggling with basic amenities such as school uniform and books. She moves round the 33 local governments in the state to mix with this class of people, feel their pains and offers them opportunity to have decent education. It is not a one-off thing but a project being undertaken with passion and commitment. Rather than stay within the comfortable State Secretariat and receives beneficiaries, Mrs. Ajimobi visits the rural communities to sit with the children. It is impactful! The ‘Ajumose Food Basket’ is Mrs. Ajimobi’s project designed to meet the need of citizens struggling with three square meals both in the cities and rural communities. The project must have been developed from the belief that food is the basic wealth and the foundation for good health. She moves round the state regularly distributing food to the poorest people in the society and mixes with them to the level that gives them a sense of belonging. For three years, these last two projects have been sustained to the surprise of many. The two-year old ABC is the latest of her projects which started a mobile clinic. Mrs. Ajimobi is not the one that abandons projects, even in the face of huge challenges. Her promotion of culture, support for young, talented girls and women and integrity in all dealings is laudable. Mrs. Ajimobi is not only thorough, she abhors mediocrity and indiscipline. With love for beauty and orderliness, the Oyo State First Lady’s office radiates the ambience of an international agency or a multinational organisation, going by its touch of urbanity and sophistication. Though impeccable sources disclosed that Mrs. Ajimobi is determined to have a very low-key birthday celebration, it will be difficult for her to restrain wellwishers from stopping by to felicitate with a strongwilled leader and mentor of many. Kind, gentle, loving but firm, green-loving, Mrs. Ajimobi will clearly celebrate God’s faithfulness and the opportunity to have made such a great impact in the lives of so many people as well as the glamour and honour she brought to governance.

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Itesiwaju Local Government of Oyo State, Mr Niyi Adeagbo has expressed his confidence in the ability of Governor Abiola Ajimobi to defeat the opposition in the forthcoming elections.

Adeagbo, spoke yesterday in Itesiwaju while urging members to support Ajimobi.

The APC chieftain highlighted the governor’s unprecedented performance as one of the major factors that would defeat the opposition.

He said that the Governors innovative, focused and purposeful people oriented programs and projects were evident for all unprejudiced eyes to see.

“The great people of Oyo State are not blind neither are they untouched by this administrations activities and are intelligent enough to make the right decisions when the time comes.

“it will be very usual to see a human being that can record a 100 per cent success in a behavioural or performance assessment test.” He said

Adeagbo stated that Governor Abiola Ajimobi had performed above average and that he would score him excellent in performance.

According to him, what is most important is good management and understanding among all stakeholders and the leadership.

yo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has said youths must be allowed to participate actively in politics.

Speaking yesterday on “Youths and the Future of Nigerian Politics” at the 50th Anniversary Lecture of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall of the University of Ibadan, Ajimobi said: “Enough is enough of the system that makes our youths political thugs and bouncers. They must be effectively included in decision-making and the leadership structure of political parties.

“If the youths of this country must become leaders tomorrow, we must stop recycling grey-haired leaders. There is no gainsaying that the same set of people who had been ruling the country in the last 30-40 years are still the recurrent factors in rulership today.

“The present situation where youths are jobless makes it difficult to articulate a concise tomorrow for them. Efforts must thus be made to ensure that the youths are leaders of their stomachs today before we can consider them for the nation’s leadership tomorrow.”

The governor stressed the need to address youth restiveness, adding: “In a country with over 10 million unemployed graduates, their involvement in social vices, taking up arms and general restiveness, is a given. This has made entrusting them with political power difficult, as they are seen as politically immature.”

He urged the nation’s leaders to improve the quality of education, saying: “The education that is given to youths today cannot be compared to the one given to great nationalists. Substandard education hampers the youth’s intellect and ability to master the political terrain.

“If we do all these, our youths would be on their way to occupying positions that rightly belong to them and the political future of our great country would be assured.”

Chairman of the occasion and former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) described the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who the hall was named after, as the most out-spoken and internationally-recognised Nigerian nationalist.

He said: “Zik was a true Nigerian, a nationalist and an internationalist, whose vision extended beyond Nigeria or West Africa.”

The Guest Lecturer, Dr. Shettima Mustafa, said Nigerians need a proactive approach to governance, which would accommodate the interests of the majority, and not a nation whose politics and governance are based on suspicions and ethno-religious crisis.

Mustafa, a former Minister of Agriculture, called for the bridging of the gap between the older and younger generations of politicians.

Traders, under the aegis of the Rubber Footwear Sellers Association, have endorsed Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi for a second term.

At a forum yesterday in Idi-Ikan, Ibadan, organised by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ibadan North West Local Government, the traders said Ajmobi did well in his two-and-a-half years in office.

The association’s Chairman, Alhaji Wasiu Babalola, said: “We thank the APC administration for tarring the road that passes through our market. The drain that the government constructed is strong and the environment is cleaner, thereby enhancing our business environment. It has never happened in the history of this state.”

Babalola thanked the governor for the N300 million interest-free loans given to traders.

The council Chairman, Wasiu Olatunbosun, listed some of the governor’s achievements as the restoration of peace and security; improved health care delivery; provision of pipe-borne water and the construction of 280 roads.

Olatunbosun said Ajimobi’s last two predecessors built only 250 roads in eight years.

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has said there is no misunderstanding between him and former Governor Rashidi Ladoja.

Ajimobi said: “Ladoja, who is the Accord leader in the state, is not only my cousin, but a complete gentle man.”

The governor explained this during a media chat held at the Government House in Agodi, Ibadan, on Monday night, which was aired live on the state broadcasting television station (BCOS).

To buttress his claim that he had nothing against the former governor, he said he attended the wedding of Ladoja’s daughter in Lagos recently and sat beside the Accord leader at the event.

Ajimobi blamed “political jobbers” and “sycophants” for the “seeming crisis” between them.

He said: “All the things people said Ladoja did or say are not true. The people who have lost out are behind this. Thank God you have a job. They do not have jobs. What they do is to go to Ladoja begging to be this or that. They are political jobbers, but they will soon realise that what we are doing here is politics of development, not bitterness. The more they play all these pedestrian politics and we do not play it with them, the more they will move away from it.

“The truth of the matter is that Ladoja is interested in contesting the seat I occupy and I want to run for a second term, so but we shall meet at the election. In politics, even brothers disagree, especially when they are eyeing the same office.”

The governor listed the achievements of his administration in the last 1,000 days in office and what he has in stock for the remaining 440 days.

He said the Ibadan circular road was still in the pipeline, but the N55 billion bill presented by the contractor was unavailable for now, adding: “A good leader must prioritise. The circular road requires a lot of money and we do not have it now, so, we put it aside. But we are still looking for financiers to execute the project.”

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has ordered the payment of compensation to the original owners of the 285 hectares of land acquired by the government on the new Ibadan-Oyo Expressway.

This was contained in a statement by the Supervising Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Survey, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin.

The land, which is situated at Akinyele Local Government Area, was acquired by the government for the purpose of building a housing estate.

Addressing the landowners yesterday during the verification of titles at his ministry, Gbadegesin thanked them for their understanding and cooperation with the government.

He said: “The governor has directed that compensation be paid immediately to the affected land owners.”

The commissioner said the landowners would be invited to pick up their cheques after the verification.

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has urged the police to ensure that killers of the Deputy Editor of Saturday Newswatch, Mr Toyin Obadina, are fished out.

The governor, in a statement issued in Ibadan yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr Festus Adedayo, said the killing of the journalist should not be allowed to go the way of previous similar cases.

According to him, the only way the police can convince Nigerians that they are truly on top of the situation is to deplore all the resources at their disposal, both human and material, to ensure that Obadina’s killers are tracked down and made to face the law.

He said Obadina’s killing was shocking, painful and unfortunate, and expressed regrets that he was cut down in his prime when his professional dexterity as a journalist was much needed for the development of the country.

While describing Obadina as prolific and highly professional in the discharge of his duties as a journalist and editorial member of the Newswatch, he commiserated with his family, friends, associates as well as the management and staff of the organisation.

The governor also condoled with members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) over the loss of their colleague, urging them to take the incident as an act of God.