Osun State governor-elect, Gboyega Oyetola, yesterday hinted at the nature of his administration, saying it would be consultative and community-based.
He also pledged to engage more women in governance and focus more on the welfare of the people.
Oyetola dropped the hints in an interview with TV Continental (TVC) monitored in Osogbo yesterday.
Oyetola, who defeated his topmost contender and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Senator Ademola Adeleke by 482 votes, said that rather than foist projects on communities, he would consult with them and allow them to come up with what project is best for them.
Oyetola, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), promised to bring together all the stakeholders in the state who share his vision in his effort to take the state to the next level of development.
“I am not the governor of APC alone but the governor of the entire state,” he said while responding to a question on how he would address the complaints of the people as well as how to be magnanimous in victory.
On how he plans to rejuvenate the state’s economy, Oyetola promised to introduce creative ideas in generating more revenue without necessarily burdening the masses with tax.
He said, for instance, that his administration would bring more people who should pay tax into the tax net and also explore mineral resources and tourism through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
He said that while doing that, he would also sustain the infrastructural renewal started by the Rauf Aregbesola administration because, according to him, infrastructural decay in the state is massive.
He noted that no meaningful economic development could be achieved without infrastructural renewal.
He said: “We will look more closely into agriculture and its value chain to create jobs and empower our people.
“We will also develop our tourist attraction sites which are many all over the state. We can make a lot of money by developing tourists’ sites. We will go into PPP (public/private partnership) on them.
“We also have abundant mineral resources all over the state. But we are yet to convert them. We will embrace PPP arrangement to tap all of these. We will create an industrial park. We are even likely to hold an economic summit.”
On payment of salaries and pensions, Oyetola said there would be a marked improvement this time because there would be more money once the government looks inward to increase the internally generated revenue (IGR).
He added that two major loans -capital market bond and SUKUK loan- will end in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
“Once that happens, we will have some relief in terms of cash flow. We will also grow our IGR without necessarily increasing tax.
“We will bring people that should pay tax into the tax net. That will help us pay salaries and pensions more easily,” he said.
On the perception that there is concentration of infrastructure building in Osogbo alone, Oyetola said it is understandable why the state capital has earned more than any other town in the state. But he said his administration would focus more on rural development.
“The Osogbo development is understandable, being the state capital. Yet our rural areas should be well developed.
“I will be paying attention to rural development to additionally stem rural-urban migration,” he said.
The governor-elect also promised to empower the masses in various ways.
He said any programme that is not aimed at empowering the people would not be embraced by his administration.
He said: “Our programmes will be tailored towards those that need help and the masses generally. My administration will be people-focused.”
On the coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Oyetola said the coalition will only focus on what is best for the state.
Thanking the people of the state for giving him the mandate, the governor-elect promised to allow women play a key role in his administration.
”I thank the people of the state for giving me their mandate to serve them. I assure them that I will do everything to justify the confidence reposed in me through accountability, prudent management of resources, consultation, etc,” he said.
“I’m here to serve. I expect them to involve themselves in governance.
“I want to see communities decide what they want. It is going to be community-based governance.
“We will work for the best of Osun State. We will be more consultative.”
APC congratulates governor-elect
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday sent different congratulatory messages to the governor-elect.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, the party also commended the APC Campaign Council headed by Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for doing a selfless job for the party.
The statement also hailed the Osun electorate for bravely defending their votes despite the spirited attempts by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig and disrupt the election.
“Our immense appreciation also goes out to the Kano State Governor, H.E. Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who headed the party’s dedicated and selfless 63-member campaign committee for the Osun governorship election.
“The Osun governorship victory is another morale-boosting victory in the lead-up to the 2019 general elections and solid attestation of the people’s support for the change agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration.
“We assure the Osun electorate that the party will continue to work in their interest through responsive and people-centered governance,” the statement added.
‘Victory divinely ordained’
A statement issued by the Director of Publicity, Research & Strategy of the Osun State chapter of APC, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, described Oyetola’s victory as a product of divine intervention.
The statement said without divine intervention, the good people of the state would have been left to mourn the victory of “the forces of evil.”
It reads in part: “We rejoice with the people of Osun for the narrow escape from tragedy which God made miraculously possible on Thursday, September 27, 2018,” the statement said.
“Without divine intervention on Saturday 22nd when the forces of evil almost fraudulently snatched victory, the good people of this emerging state would have been in mourning by now.
“Both the governorship election on Saturday on the 22nd of September and the partial re-run of Thursday 27th were classic examples of how ‘God intervenes in the affairs of men.’
“We firmly believe that PDP did not deserve a second place in that election, and because they did not earn it, they lost it.”
The statement said the PDP had never and would never become a substitute for the APC in Osun State, adding that “if ill-fate had helped them all the way through last Saturday, Osun would have stalled and regressed.
“But because the people did not merit that kind of fate, God allowed the PDP to collapse under the burden of its own evil machinations.
“God knew best and we are aware that if APC government did not continue, the PDP would have not only halted everything Governor Rauf Aregbesola had done, they would have replaced it with the PDP signature of ‘blood and tears’.
“Rather than that tragedy befalling Osun and her people, the Almighty Allah stepped in just in time to freeze a glaring tragedy and replace it with a joyful ending.
“We assure the good people of this state that the in-coming government of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola will not only continue to build on the good work and foundation that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has built, he will do even more for the people.
“May the Almighty Father of us all continue to protect and guide Osun and bless its leadership with creativity, wisdom and courage to carry through the enormous task of development, going forward.”
Buhari congratulates Oyetola, Aregbesola, campaign team
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari extended warm felicitations to the state and national campaign teams that worked assiduously to guarantee Oyetola’s victory at the polls.
He also commended the outgoing governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for eight years of steadfastness and service to his people.
“Thank you Osun State for supporting our good governance agenda by re-electing the APC. I assure you that we will continue to work for the progress and prosperity of the state and the nation,” he said.
The President urged the governor-elect to always remember that the electorate expects unreserved commitment to delivering results that directly impact their lives and families.
President Buhari affirmed that the successful election in the state further strengthens the democratic culture in the country, extolling INEC for, once again, making the country proud.
He commended the maturity, loyalty and courage of all contestants in putting in their best to be elected to serve the state, urging them to seek redress in court where they disagree with the outcome.