The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ONDO

  • Community leader docked in Ondo

    An Ondo Chief, Joseph Akinawonu has been arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court in Ondo town over alleged conspiracy and fraudulent conversion of money.

     

    According to the charge sheet ,the community leader along side one Nureni Akinola were alleged to have committed the offence for which they were arraigned on a three count in February at No. 29 Mode street, Ondo.

     

    Akinnawonu and  Akinola were said to have allegedly used trick and obtained the sum of N500,000 from one Madam Eunice Ajayi under the pretence of selling 10 plots of land for her and fraudulently converted the money to his personal use.

     

    The duo were also said to have fraudulently obtained the sum of N150,000 from the complainant under the pretence of assisting her to grade the landed property which the accused persons later sold to another person.

     

    The offence which according to the charge sheet are contrary to section 516, 419 and 249 of the criminal code cap 37 vol. 1 laws of Ondo state of Nigeria 2006.

    When the charge sheet was read to the accused person.

     

    They pleaded not guilty, subsequently the police prosecutor, Corporal Gbenga Akinsulure, said he was ready to prosecute the case by inviting three witnesses.

     

    He urged the court to give him short adjournment to assemble his witnesses.

     

    Also,the defence counsel to the accused persons, Bade Awosule, urged the court to grant bail to his clients in liberal terms and on self recognition, saying chief Akinawonu being an Ondo chief would not jump bail.

     

    Awosule pleaded with the court that his clients have concluded plans to settle the case out of court with the complainant,

     

    After listening to the applications of both parties, the presiding magistrate, Mrs. Odenusi Fadeyi, granted bail to the accused person on self recognition and ordered that the defence counsel should stand surety for the accused person and thereby adjourned the case till May 11.

  • APC sympathises with Ondo workers

    APC sympathises with Ondo workers

    The All Progressive Congress(APC) in Ondo State has emphatised with workers who have not been paid in the last five months.

    A statement by the party’s Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, said: “This development has almost paralysed the civil service as many civil servants now sit at home for lack of transport fares to their offices.

    “This has had an adverse effect on the state’s economic activities, which are now at the lowest ebb in the state’s history.

    “We have it on good authority that part of the reasons workers have not been paid is because the governor is desirously bothered on how to plant a surrogate to succeed him and cover up his maladministration.

    “The government had received several billions of Naira in loans from various financial institutions that were not properly utilised and this had consequently collapsed the state’s finances and almost rendered it insolvent.

    “It is obvious the present administration is bereft of ideas on how to manage the state’s economy. It is also sheer wickedness on the part of the government which owes workers only to be seen busy making plans for his succession without showing concern to the plight of workers.

    “Our sympathy goes to the suffering workers and the people in this trying period in our history. We can only comfort you not to lose hope, the horizon looks good as better days are just around the corner.”

  • EFCC to probe Ondo poly

    EFCC to probe Ondo poly

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to investigate the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State.

    Projects worth N263 million projects are to be looked into. This follows a petition by the Assembly of Concerned Staff of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic.

    The group, in a petition signed by its coordinator and secretary, Titus Igbayilaye and Sola Enikuomehin, listed the projects to include the N195m students’ online tuition fees payment and scratch cards.

    “A sum of N195 million, being school fees payment paid through online and scratch card payment by the students of the institution, could not be traced to the school account from 2014 till date. The money was however traced to another account that did not belong to the school management deliberately opened to defraud the institution,” the group alleged.

    The group also raised alarm on several projects alleging that that the projects were grossly-inflated.

    They want a probe of the N1750 each paid by 1600 students for an insurance scheme, the ICT building project and so on.

    When contacted, EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwjaren’s mobile telephone line was not available but a source within the commission, who craved anonymity because he was not designated to speak for the commission, said the EFFC would send a team of crack detectives to the institution.

  • Ondo Varsity shut over protest

    There was confusion in Akungba-Akoko in Ondo State at the weekend, following a protest by students of the Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA).

    It was learnt that the students were protesting poor condition of facilities at the University Medical Centre where a student who was hit by a motorcycle died.

    Sources said the students barricaded the major road linking Akungba to Ikare-Akoko.

    Residents ran helter-skelter as guns boomed. Soldiers and policemen drafted in the community could not quell the protest because of the number of students involved.

    During the melee, many public property were destroyed.

    The Regent of Akungba-Akoko, Princess Toyin Omosowon’s pleas for calm were rebuffed.

    Many people who had ceremonies in Akungba, Ikare-Akoko and other neighbouring towns were disappointed as the protest stalled all activities.

    Travellers coming from Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and other areas could not pass through Akungba-Akoko.

    The university authority has announced the closure of the institution.

    A statement by the Acting Registrar, Sunday Ayeerun, said: “This development followed the destruction of property within and outside the university premises by some students over the death of a student after an accident involving a commercial motorcycle outside the campus on Friday”.

    “The ongoing examination is suspended and all students are to leave the campus and halls of residence immediately.”

    The statement added that students would be informed on when to resume for the completion of their examination.

    It noted that the management has set up a panel to investigate the protest.

  • Ondo: When imposition is not imposition

    Elections anywhere in Nigeria have never been routine and seamless endeavours. Nigerians have these eerie feelings of not knowing what to expect whenever elections draw near in the nation most specifically in some states such as Ekiti and Ondo. This collective unease may have had its roots in the murder and mayhem that characterized the 1982 governorship election in Ondo State that comprised the present Ekiti State. It was the state’s governorship election which resulted into a socio-political conflagration that consequently consumed the Second Republic. Nigerians’ worldview that these two states are probably the most recalcitrant in the nation as well as the most troublesome in the South-west may have been revalidated with the deployment of an unprecedented, mind-boggling rigging formula now known as Ekitigate that crystalized into Ayo Fayose’s second coming. With these states, the more things change the more they remain the same. You never know what will happen when it comes to elections. There seems to be something fundamentally disturbing in the stars of these two states that predisposes them to stunted growth when their sister states in the region are doing just fine in accordance with the time-tested progressive political agendas of the region’s progenitor. They’re light years behind their ‘siblings’ in many facets of development despite their relatively higher human capital endowment, no thanks to the “two whitlows” that presently rule the roost in the region that had applied the brakes on the developments of these states.

    The governorship election in Ondo State scheduled for November 26 has made virtually every happenstance in the state to be newsworthy. In an election that promises to be a straight fight between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), the usual claims to the governorship throne and its associated grandstanding by sub-ethnic groups within the state has never been louder. Perhaps the loudest claim to the Alagbaka Government House is supposedly from the Akure indigenes whose ancient city is ironically where the governorship seat is constitutionally situated. And this clamour for the governorship throne is being championed by none other than our paramount ruler, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, the Deji of Akure. As an Akure indigene who not only believes that how much a group gets in the distribution of political appointments must be proportional to the group’s voting strength and the deployment of same for electoral victory, but also that there has been a deliberate disenfranchisement of Akure indigenes in the state’s political scheme of things, an outcry for a governor from Akure at this particular juncture is a misguided proposition.

    There seems to be something eerily sinister about this whole clamour from The Deji when one juxtaposes his emergence to the traditional throne, which could not have been possible without the support of Governor Olusegun Mimiko, with the political IOU that must of necessity be redeemed by a Machiavellian political operative of no mean repute with evil proclivity to boot. Mimiko is a deft political operative who’s acutely aware that his party stands no chance if Akure people should give their votes en bloc to the opposition. It’s therefore not inconceivable that one of the governor’s calculations is to arouse the emotions of the Akure people in order to split their vote right down the middle. Once he’s rest assured about this split, the governor, known to be ruthless in extracting electoral victory by any means necessary, can always deploy the tested rigging template of Rivers and Bayelsa states that includes murder and mayhem into the mostly riverine areas of the South Senatorial district where elections are always challenging because of the terrain.

    Granted that Akure indigenes have largely been deliberately shut out of the state’s main power equation for so long, our seeming insistence that our son/daughter must become the governor in the next political dispensation or nothing is counter-intuitive, if not counter-productive. For Akure to allow itself to be deceptively cajoled by the governor through his Akure surrogates should PDP lose would be the equivalent of committing a collective political hara-kiri that may take a long time to bring us back from the ‘dead’. Akure people cannot afford to seriously split their votes at this defining moment to allow the Peoples Democratic Party that has proved beyond measure that its only interest in power is to steal – to win. It is bad enough that Ekiti State may have to live down another four years of arrested development being presided over by Ayo Fayose.

    Nigeria is presently at a critical juncture in her socio-economic and political adventures where she must clearly break with the past for the attainment of her destiny with the progressive political agendas that are carefully and meticulously being laid by President Muhammadu Buhari of which the South-west is particularly at the epicentre. It’s therefore counter-intuitive for any state in the South-west from this point to revert to the past that has not only stunted its growth for decades but a past that is glaringly in disrepute. More importantly, the South-west regional economic integration is a unique developmental paradigm that only the political cohesion of the region can bring to fruition in a relatively short time.

    The recent announcement by the Ondo State Chairman of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) Isaac Kekemeke that “there is no room for the imposition of an anointed candidate in the party” is a double-edged sword that may have negative unintended consequences depending on how the ‘sword’ is handled. As much as this statement cannot be faulted in a representative democracy, it’s inconceivable not to expect that a party trying to position itself as a serious political platform with an identifiable political ideology as its core, more so when evidence abound that it had been badly, and still being bruised and trampled upon by many of its own members because they were left to their own devices in attaining power, should not be interested in who emerges to carry the party to lofty heights in accordance with its ideology and manifesto. While this position should not be misconstrued as supporting the type of imposition that was prevalent in the past, the fact remains that piloting the process for a candidate to emerge out of its preferred aspirants by the South-west leadership of the All Progressives Congress is, and should be inevitable.

    In a primitive political environment that must of necessity give birth to a weak political architecture such as we have in the country –and the Southwest is no exception –in which both the political class and the electorate, for the most part, have mercantilist predisposition in how electoral decisions are made regardless of the negative consequences for them in the near future, it is necessary to begin the evolvement of a new political culture.

    For instance, how can the party and the electorate be better served with an APC governor who has not only ‘slept’ with every political parties that ever existed and had demonstrated that party supremacy and cohesion makes no sense to him, but had also bought his way into victory through monetization of the delegates when there’re others such as Segun Abraham, Rotimi Akeredolu, Jumoke Anifowoshe, Ajayi Boroffice, Comrade Shola Iji, among others, who has been consistent in the progressive movement and had sacrificed their material and moral resources for the enhancement of party? Loyalty should have its privileges. While the imposition of an “anointed candidate” by a single individual must be jettisoned forthwith, the leadership of a party that has brought into fruition an alliance that some of its detractors became cocksure would not work –based on historical antecedents – that they had asked to be called bastards, vowed to change their names or go into voluntary exiles if it did, not to talk of the high achievers it had thrown up as governors in the geo-political region, should reserve the right to decide the right candidate to fly its flag within the framework of a free, fair and credible election primary that may not necessarily be for all aspirants. Those aspirants whose original mission is to cause disaffection in the party, thereby reducing its positive standing before the electorates will still shout imposition regardless. It’s a typical case of damn if you do and damn if you don’t.

     

    • Odere is a media practitioner. He can be reached at femiodere@gmail.com
  • Wike, Mimiko, others bid late mother of Gov Umahi farewell

    Wike, Mimiko, others bid late mother of Gov Umahi farewell

    The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike was among eminent personalities that attended the wake-keep of late Mother-General Margaret Umahi, mother of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi at Agu-Ugwu, Umunaga Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

    Other dignitaries at the programme which took place on Thursday 31 March, 2016 include the Governors of Bayelsa, Henry Seriake Dickson, Enugu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Gombe, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Delta, Ifeanyi Okowa, Ondo, Olusegun Mimiko and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

    Speaking at the programme, The Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi noted that his mother lived a good life while, describing her as a mediator between God and man.

    He lauded his fellow governors and political associates for their sacrifices, love and honor shown him, his family and the people of Ebonyi State by attending the burial programme of his mother to commiserate with them.

    He expressed happiness over the love that exists between the present crop of governors which he noted is beyond party affiliation.

    Governor Umahi particularly thanked the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike for accommodating good number of Ebonyi indigenes who lived and do business in the state.

    Speaking on behalf of the Governors at the occasion, Governor Henry Sariake Dickson of Bayelsa State said they were in the state to solidarize with their colleague and the people of Ebonyi state on the death of their mother as well as honor her for a life well lived.

    He noted that the worthy legacies of late Margaret Umahi will always be remembered and assured members of the Umahi’s family of their support.

    Governor Sariake Dickson prayed God to grant members of the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and for the soul of the deceased to rest in peace.

  • I ‘ll lead Ondo to prosperity, says Adeogun

    I ‘ll lead Ondo to prosperity, says Adeogun

    Ade Adeogun, a native of Oba-Akoko, Ondo State, is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The technocrat and businessman spoke with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE on the political situation in the state, his ambition and the chances of his party during the election. 

    What informed your decision to join the governorship race?

    My decision is predicated on a desire to serve, to offer leadership and direction, to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ondo man and cause the youths to see and enjoy prosperity. To set the foundation and pillars to elevate Ondo State from its rusty rural outlook to one where the diverse human and natural resources yield limitless wealth for the benefit of the citizens.

    I harbored a romantic dream of Ondo State dating back to my childhood when I travelled in bolekaja vehicles from Ikare to New Bussa and Jebba in present day Niger and Kwara states respectively. I still remember meandering uphill and descending onto valleys in manners reminiscent of a roller coaster ride. The sight of cocoa farms lining the roads on both sides was a marvel. I still reminisce on that dream any time I had to make the now bumpy ride from Lagos to my village in the dusty hills of Akokoland.

    My recent journeys to Ondo State evoke a different feeling. A feeling of loss, of paradise lost. I am still shocked by the current image of communities as one sojourned from Igbara Oke, through the outskirts of Ilara Mokin, Akure, Owo and the erstwhile prosperous farming communities that welcome one to the hilly terrains of Akoko land, or through Ore, Ondo, Idanre inwards. Save for Akure and some cosmetic parts of Ondo town, all the communities share one thing in common. They all look like communities in some parts of Nigeria that have endured the ravages of the Boko Haram insurgency. The smell of poverty is so pervading that it almost chokes as one commutes through these villages.

    So, counting on God being on my side, I am presenting myself to the service of my state as the man that will rebuild our dear Ondo State and provide the opportunity for the fulfillment of the aspiration of all Ondo people yearning for a new day under the sun.

    What do you hope to do differently, if elected as governor?

    I am bringing to the race a new thinking, vision, strategy and delivery. Improving the living standard of the people of our state shall be our focus. We will give every citizen and resident of Ondo State an opportunity to pursue legitimate businesses and prosper. We will run government as a business, with service delivery to our people as our core priority.

    Our agenda is to aggressively create a thriving economy in the state. We are looking at creating cocoa and cassava revolution. These crops have become part of the culture of our people and we will collaborate with and support our farmers to bring back prosperity into cocoa farming. We will turn the sunshine state into the cocoa and cassava capital of the world. We will strengthen the ministry of agriculture and its extension services and liaise with the Cocoa Research Institute and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan to introduce improved seedlings and train our farmers and youths on new planting methodologies. We will encourage the formation of farmers’ cooperative associations so that risk and resources can be shared among farmers to lower the cost of production.

    We will also support the farmers with farming input and other support services so as to increase the success ratio of new farms and cocoa related businesses so that our dream of turning the abandoned forests of Ondo into green gardens of Cocoa and increasing our cocoa throughput capacity to two million tons annually can be achieved by 2025. We will pay similar attention to cassava production and turn the sunshine state to the garri hub of West Africa.

    We will develop the cocoa and cassava value chain to ensure local processing of these products so that our people can tap into the different stages on the value chain such as cocoa and cassava merchandizing, cocoa and garri processing, starch production, cocoa juice production, establishment of cocoa beverage industries and involvement of our tertiary institutions in Cocoa and cassava research.

    We will develop the infrastructure of the state in a manner that links our development goals to economic activities. Our desire is to lay the foundation towards turning all communities into modern urban centers with paved roads and good amenities that will reduce the Rural/Urban drift that has turned most communities in our state into a retirement destinations.

    The state has produced some of the best brains in the education sector. What is your plan for the sector?

    That was in the past. Are we still producing the best brains? What is the WAEC pass rate now? How qualitative is the education offered by our institutions? What skills set do our institutions impart in their graduates? Addressing these questions will be the focus of our educational policy. We will address the problem of poor quality of education in our state that has resulted in a low WAEC/NECO pass rate and encouraged exam malpractices amongst our young students. We will adequately address the quality of teaching in our schools through retraining of teachers, provision of decent environment for teachers and students, provision of teaching tools and equipping of science laboratories in all schools, provision of research grants and funding of research in our tertiary institutions, re-invigoration of the inspectorate department of the ministry of education, provision of bursary for students in tertiary institution, award of Scholarships to indigent students, involvement of all stakeholders in educational development, rehabilitation and equipping of technical colleges to provide first grade artisanal training and encouraging private sector investment in education. We will commission experts to review the curriculum of secondary and tertiary institutions to ensure that the education offered in the state is tailored towards creating an entrepreneurial mindset, meeting business needs and reducing the skills gap in the state.

    How will you tackle unemployment?

    We have to move away from an expectation of government providing jobs to one in which government provides opportunities for our people to become job creators and employers of labour. In essence, the government of Ondo State under my watch would nurture the talents of our people and provide an enabling environment for them to become job creators rather than job seekers. Employment generation shall be private sector driven. We expect that the cocoa and cassava revolution would engage a large number of our jobless youths in productive and wealth creating activities. We believe that the introduction of modern agricultural methodology as well as planned re-orientation of youths towards export oriented farming to earn foreign currency would translate to new jobs for non-farm owning individuals. Equally, the growth and prosperity of artisanal and other businesses, entertainment businesses and the agriculture value chain will create quantum of jobs. We have a plan to turn the coastal areas of the state to a logistics base for activities in the oil and gas sector as well as development of the bitumen and other natural resources in the state. this will unequivocally create thousands of jobs.

  • ‘Ondo ‘ll regain lost glory’

    ‘Ondo ‘ll regain lost glory’

    A lawyer, Chief Bukola Adetula, has joined the governorship race in Ondo State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Unfolding his programmes, he said his priority is to turn around the fortunes of the Sunshine state and restore its lost glory.

    Adetula stormed the state secretariat of the party with supporters from 18 local governments to express his interest in the governorship. He was received by party leaders, who urged the aspirants to exhibit political tolerance and decorum during the campaigns.

    Adetula, whose father was a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, chided the Mimiko administration for incompetence and slow development of the state.

    The Owo-born businessman-turned politician described the last seven years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration as wasted years.

    He said, if the PDP’s influence is not halted, the economy of the state will collapse.

    The politician lamented the state’s deteriorating financial health, stressing that the N38 billion left behind by the Agagu administration has given way to a debt of  N120 billion.

    Adetula alleged that Governor Olusegun Mimiko has been reeling out cosmetic achievements, based on the execution of imaginary projects.

    He said it is worrisome that the government is owing four months’ salary arrears to workers, adding that the lack of salaries have affected their morale.

    Urging the people to gird their loins, he said the next election will provide another opportunity for political salvation.

    Adetula stressed: “With the situation of things on ground in Ondo State, the next governor must be somebody who can think outside the box and give governance a non-conventional approach. My experience, expertise, exposure and leadership qualities would be needed by the State to take it out of the doldrums. My mission is the radical transformation of the State from a political entity to a business entity. We will run Ondo State as a business organisation with the sole aim of making profit and thereafter distribute the wealth to the people who own the state as a Commonwealth.”

    The aspirant described Ondo State as a state blessed with potentials in agriculture, natural and mineral resources. He promised to establish agro-based industries to boost its fortune, if elected as governor.

    Adetula also promised to establish fertiliser and ceramic Industries, adding that other moribund industries, including the Oluwa Glass, will be revived.

    He added: “If given the opportunity to serve as the governor of this state, we shall bring our moribund industries like Oluwa glass and Ifon Ceramics back to life, though with modern technology. We have gas and water, which are needed for fertiliser. We will build a fertiliser industry. We will build a ceramic industry that can meet the tiles demand. A cement factory in Okeluse is possible, if only to meet our local demand in the state. It is possible for every local government in Ondo State to have a major industry. I will drive Ondo State like a business organisation. We shall make profit and improve lives. Every home and every one will feel the impact of our government. I see hope for Ondo State I see a new dawn. Ondo will rise again”.

  • ‘Ondo ‘ll regain lost glory’

    ‘Ondo ‘ll regain lost glory’

    A lawyer, Chief Bukola Adetula, has joined the governorship race in Ondo State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Unfolding his programmes, he said his priority is to turn around the fortunes of the Sunshine state and restore its lost glory.

    Adetula stormed the state secretariat of the party with supporters from 18 local governments to express his interest in the governorship. He was received by party leaders, who urged the aspirants to exhibit political tolerance and decorum during the campaigns.

    Adetula, whose father was a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, chided the Mimiko administration for incompetence and slow development of the state.

    The Owo-born businessman-turned politician described the last seven years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration as wasted years.

    He said, if the PDP’s influence is not halted, the economy of the state will collapse.

    The politician lamented the state’s deteriorating financial health, stressing that the N38 billion left behind by the Agagu administration has given way to a debt of  N120 billion.

    Adetula alleged that Governor Olusegun Mimiko has been reeling out cosmetic achievements, based on the execution of imaginary projects.

    He said it is worrisome that the government is owing four months’ salary arrears to workers, adding that the lack of salaries have affected their morale.

    Urging the people to gird their loins, he said the next election will provide another opportunity for political salvation.

    Adetula stressed: “With the situation of things on ground in Ondo State, the next governor must be somebody who can think outside the box and give governance a non-conventional approach. My experience, expertise, exposure and leadership qualities would be needed by the State to take it out of the doldrums. My mission is the radical transformation of the State from a political entity to a business entity. We will run Ondo State as a business organisation with the sole aim of making profit and thereafter distribute the wealth to the people who own the state as a Commonwealth.”

    The aspirant described Ondo State as a state blessed with potentials in agriculture, natural and mineral resources. He promised to establish agro-based industries to boost its fortune, if elected as governor.

    Adetula also promised to establish fertiliser and ceramic Industries, adding that other moribund industries, including the Oluwa Glass, will be revived.

    He added: “If given the opportunity to serve as the governor of this state, we shall bring our moribund industries like Oluwa glass and Ifon Ceramics back to life, though with modern technology. We have gas and water, which are needed for fertiliser. We will build a fertiliser industry. We will build a ceramic industry that can meet the tiles demand. A cement factory in Okeluse is possible, if only to meet our local demand in the state. It is possible for every local government in Ondo State to have a major industry. I will drive Ondo State like a business organisation. We shall make profit and improve lives. Every home and every one will feel the impact of our government. I see hope for Ondo State I see a new dawn. Ondo will rise again”.

  • I ‘ll lead Ondo to prosperity, says Adeogun

    I ‘ll lead Ondo to prosperity, says Adeogun

    Ade Adeogun, a native of Oba-Akoko, Ondo State, is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The technocrat and businessman spoke with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE on the political situation in the state, his ambition and the chances of his party during the election.

    What informed your decision to join the governorship race?

    My decision is predicated on a desire to serve, to offer leadership and direction, to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ondo man and cause the youths to see and enjoy prosperity. To set the foundation and pillars to elevate Ondo State from its rusty rural outlook to one where the diverse human and natural resources yield limitless wealth for the benefit of the citizens.

    I harbored a romantic dream of Ondo State dating back to my childhood when I travelled in bolekaja vehicles from Ikare to New Bussa and Jebba in present day Niger and Kwara states respectively. I still remember meandering uphill and descending onto valleys in manners reminiscent of a roller coaster ride. The sight of cocoa farms lining the roads on both sides was a marvel. I still reminisce on that dream any time I had to make the now bumpy ride from Lagos to my village in the dusty hills of Akokoland.

    My recent journeys to Ondo State evoke a different feeling. A feeling of loss, of paradise lost. I am still shocked by the current image of communities as one sojourned from Igbara Oke, through the outskirts of Ilara Mokin, Akure, Owo and the erstwhile prosperous farming communities that welcome one to the hilly terrains of Akoko land, or through Ore, Ondo, Idanre inwards. Save for Akure and some cosmetic parts of Ondo town, all the communities share one thing in common. They all look like communities in some parts of Nigeria that have endured the ravages of the Boko Haram insurgency. The smell of poverty is so pervading that it almost chokes as one commutes through these villages.

    So, counting on God being on my side, I am presenting myself to the service of my state as the man that will rebuild our dear Ondo State and provide the opportunity for the fulfillment of the aspiration of all Ondo people yearning for a new day under the sun.

    What do you hope to do differently, if elected as governor?

    I am bringing to the race a new thinking, vision, strategy and delivery. Improving the living standard of the people of our state shall be our focus. We will give every citizen and resident of Ondo State an opportunity to pursue legitimate businesses and prosper. We will run government as a business, with service delivery to our people as our core priority.

    Our agenda is to aggressively create a thriving economy in the state. We are looking at creating cocoa and cassava revolution. These crops have become part of the culture of our people and we will collaborate with and support our farmers to bring back prosperity into cocoa farming. We will turn the sunshine state into the cocoa and cassava capital of the world. We will strengthen the ministry of agriculture and its extension services and liaise with the Cocoa Research Institute and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan to introduce improved seedlings and train our farmers and youths on new planting methodologies. We will encourage the formation of farmers’ cooperative associations so that risk and resources can be shared among farmers to lower the cost of production.

    We will also support the farmers with farming input and other support services so as to increase the success ratio of new farms and cocoa related businesses so that our dream of turning the abandoned forests of Ondo into green gardens of Cocoa and increasing our cocoa throughput capacity to two million tons annually can be achieved by 2025. We will pay similar attention to cassava production and turn the sunshine state to the garri hub of West Africa.

    We will develop the cocoa and cassava value chain to ensure local processing of these products so that our people can tap into the different stages on the value chain such as cocoa and cassava merchandizing, cocoa and garri processing, starch production, cocoa juice production, establishment of cocoa beverage industries and involvement of our tertiary institutions in Cocoa and cassava research.

    We will develop the infrastructure of the state in a manner that links our development goals to economic activities. Our desire is to lay the foundation towards turning all communities into modern urban centers with paved roads and good amenities that will reduce the Rural/Urban drift that has turned most communities in our state into a retirement destinations.

    The state has produced some of the best brains in the education sector. What is your plan for the sector?

    That was in the past. Are we still producing the best brains? What is the WAEC pass rate now? How qualitative is the education offered by our institutions? What skills set do our institutions impart in their graduates? Addressing these questions will be the focus of our educational policy. We will address the problem of poor quality of education in our state that has resulted in a low WAEC/NECO pass rate and encouraged exam malpractices amongst our young students. We will adequately address the quality of teaching in our schools through retraining of teachers, provision of decent environment for teachers and students, provision of teaching tools and equipping of science laboratories in all schools, provision of research grants and funding of research in our tertiary institutions, re-invigoration of the inspectorate department of the ministry of education, provision of bursary for students in tertiary institution, award of Scholarships to indigent students, involvement of all stakeholders in educational development, rehabilitation and equipping of technical colleges to provide first grade artisanal training and encouraging private sector investment in education. We will commission experts to review the curriculum of secondary and tertiary institutions to ensure that the education offered in the state is tailored towards creating an entrepreneurial mindset, meeting business needs and reducing the skills gap in the state.

    How will you tackle unemployment?

    We have to move away from an expectation of government providing jobs to one in which government provides opportunities for our people to become job creators and employers of labour. In essence, the government of Ondo State under my watch would nurture the talents of our people and provide an enabling environment for them to become job creators rather than job seekers. Employment generation shall be private sector driven. We expect that the cocoa and cassava revolution would engage a large number of our jobless youths in productive and wealth creating activities. We believe that the introduction of modern agricultural methodology as well as planned re-orientation of youths towards export oriented farming to earn foreign currency would translate to new jobs for non-farm owning individuals. Equally, the growth and prosperity of artisanal and other businesses, entertainment businesses and the agriculture value chain will create quantum of jobs. We have a plan to turn the coastal areas of the state to a logistics base for activities in the oil and gas sector as well as development of the bitumen and other natural resources in the state. this will unequivocally create thousands of jobs.

     

     

     

     

    How will you attract investment to the state?

    We shall address the hindrances to doing business and strive within twelve months to move Ondo State towards the top tier of the Ease of Doing Business ranking in Nigeria. Ondo State will be positioned to benefit from its location between the Niger Delta and the markets of the South West. Our target is to encourage investors to invest in a seaport and logistics base in the coastal part of the State so that we can enjoy the benefit of being a peaceful State within the Niger Delta and being the middle point between the markets of Lagos and the gas producing States of the South-South.

    We will provide incentives to encourage wealthy Ondo indigenes doing business in other parts of Nigeria and the Diaspora to invest in the homeland because foreign investors will not invest in our State if our sons and daughters fail to take the lead. We will also encourage all shades of investors to join us to exploit the rich natural resources in the State so that we can create new jobs, impart skills in our people and enable them benefit from the wealth bequeathed on them by God.

     

     

     

     

    On a final note, healthcare delivery remains a challenge in many states and the present government seems to have done something in this direction. Do you have a different approach to this?

     

    The purpose of government is to improve the living standard of the people. We aspire to lead a government that sees this as its core goal. In particular we are setting for ourselves a target of raising the average life expectancy in people living in Ondo state from the national average of 47 years to 65 years by the year 2025. We hope to achieve this target through a revolutionary approach to health care improvement starting from improved sanitary practices, provision of clean water to providing well-equipped medical centers manned by highly skilled medical professionals within five kilometers radius of all communities. We shall invest in a health insurance scheme to capture those operating in the informal sector, the elderly, the young and other vulnerable persons such that no resident of our state shall lack medical care on account of financial lack.