ONDO 2024: Agboola Ajayi Reels Out Strategic Blueprint for Ondo’s Future at Media Parley, Promises Lasting Prosperity and Development
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the upcoming Ondo State governorship election, HE. Hon. Agboola Alfred Ajayi, has unveiled his ambitious seven-point agenda aimed at rescuing and revitalizing the State. Speaking to a gathering of media executives, in Lagos on Friday, Ajayi delivered a comprehensive speech that addressed the current challenges facing Ondo State under the APC-led administration and outlined a clear path toward sustainable economic development, infrastructural renewal, and enhanced security.
Ajayi’s agenda, which includes key areas such as agriculture, education, health, infrastructure, and rural development, emphasised the need for visionary leadership to harness the State’s human and material resources. He stressed the importance of political will in transforming Ondo State into a beacon of progress, pledging to restore the Sunshine State’s lost glory.
The PDP candidate called on media practitioners to support his mission of igniting Ondo’s sun once again, promising to maintain an open line of communication with the press even after he assumes office.
Read the full speech.
SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, HON. AGBOOLA ALFRED AJAYI, THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) CANDIDATE FOR THE NOVEMBER 16, 2024 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION IN ONDO STATE AT A PARLEY WITH MEDIA EXECUTIVES, RADISSON HOTEL, G.R.A, IKEJA, LAGOS STATE ON THE 27TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2024.
PROTOCOL
The primary objective of governance is the safety and welfare of the people. Any political party that deviates from this avowed principle of governance will definitely get it wrong and become a liability on the people.
The APC-led administration in Ondo State has, over the past eight years, foisted mal-administration and poverty on the people of the state by reason of the incompetence, lack of foresight, corruption and lack of defined policy for good governance.
The National Chairman of APC, Alhaji Abdulahi Ganduje, while receiving the leadership of the Kano State Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ on Thursday, 29th of August, 2024 confirmed the fact that Ondo State was bedeviled with problems under the administration of erstwhile Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu. He said:
“For Ondo State, it’s already an APC State and when the former Governor (Rotimi Akeredolu) died, he left a number of problems…”
The problems left behind have now been exacerbated by his then deputy (now the substantive Governor, Lucky Ayedatiwa), who lacks foresight, knowledge, coordination, coherence and who is grossly incompetent in managing the affairs of the State.
Mr. Lucky Ayedatiwa has received more than N99.8 billion since he assumed the leadership of Ondo State about nine months ago, yet he is unable to coordinate the execution of a single project for which the State has received this humongous amount. This has been the trend of the APC-led administration in Ondo State. It is my candid position that Ondo State cannot afford to continue an inch further on this road to perdition.
The November 16 governorship election in the State therefore calls for serious consideration as this will determine, shapen or mar the fortune of the State in the next four years.
It is in view of the above, that I have carefully (and in company of my team) thought out seven areas where I will intervene to curb these myriads of avoidable problems foisted on the Sunshine State in the last eight years.
My vision is to transform Ondo State into a beacon of sustainable economic development, where modern infrastructure, efficient transportation, vibrant marine and blue economy, striving agriculture, robust industrialization, quality education, affordable health care, comprehensive human development, adequate security, and other components of fundamental objectives and direct principles of state policy as captured in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) will be strictly adhered to and fully implemented for the prosperity of our people.
It is therefore, my mission to harness the state human and material resources to actualise this vision and thereby rescue and redeem the people of the Sunshine State from the shackles of poverty, oppression, deprivation and insecurity and set them on the path of sustainable development so that the sun will shine again in the State.
This media parley is, therefore, aimed at acquainting the Fourth Realm of the Estate with the pragmatic and result-oriented programmes that the PDP administration (under my watch) will put in place to rescue our state from the eclipse it has undergone in the last agonizing eight years under the APC government.
Thus, the seven-point agenda of my administration, namely,
- Security
- Agriculture
- Education
- Health
- Infrastructure, Industry and Marine Economic Development
- Rural Development and Environment
- Youth, Sport, Social, Women Development and Civil Service
will be geared towards addressing the challenges in the state.
I will therefore take time to give an overview of the seven points agenda.
- SECURITY:
My administration will enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies particularly AMOTEKUN, Forest Guards, Vigilantes and Traditional Hunters through advance training and provision of appropriate equipment and required legislations.
We will incorporate and engage traditional rulers, religious leaders and other stakeholders in implementing community policing and neighborhood watch for the safety of our people.
We will invest heavily in technology by deploying modern surveillance and intelligent gathering technologies to effectively monitor hotspots and vulnerable areas such as forest reserves and farmlands with a view to preventing and responding to crime appropriately.
· The above are in addition to the regular security architecture functioning in the State.
- AGRICULTURE: This remains the main stay of the State’s economy. Our policy in this sector will be anchored on promoting self-sufficiency in food production so as to meet the United Nation Food Security mandate. We shall do this by:
a. Providing training and support for farmers to adopt modern farming techniques.
b. Provision of incentives to investors to establish agro-processing industry so as to add value to agricultural products, reduce post-harvest loses, create jobs for the youth and thereby grow the economy of the state. We shall sustain agricultural practices for long time productivity by ensuring the availability of fertilizers and agricultural input at subsidized rate.
c. Provision of tractors for farmers at subsidized rate will be encouraged.
d. We would also establish procurement agency that will provide ready market for all our agricultural produce which will in turn encourage our farmers to produce beyond their subsistence level.
e. My administration will encourage investors to participate in large scale farming, animal husbandry, poultry and aqua-culture by providing land and creating enabling environment.
- EDUCATION:
a. We will ensure quality education for economic development, social equity, technological advancement and cultural preservation for sustainable development.
b. To achieve desirable workforce suitable for a knowledge-driven economy, the inputs from the primary and secondary schools must be well prepared. The quality of input from the tertiary institution will determine the quantity of their input. We will ensure that quality primary and secondary schools are built and well renovated with the provision for Information Technology.
c. The recruitment of quality teachers and purchase of educational materials will be our priority.
d. The tertiary education will be well funded through increase in budgetary allocation.
e. We will encourage increase in IGR through sellable Research Entrepreneurship etc.
f. Affordable tuition fees in the institutions will be negotiated with the stakeholders.
- HEALTH
Health is Wealth
a. The situation in Ondo State in the last eight years is indeed worrisome as there is geometrical decline in the health sector of the state. We shall address this ugly trend by providing, at least, one primary health centre in each of the 203 wards in the state which will be staffed with trained and dedicated medical personnel.
b. The provision of essential drugs, hospital consumables and laboratory services to patients at affordable cost in all public medical facilities across the state will be our priority.
c. The Mother and Child hospitals will be established in Ondo South and Ondo North Senatorial districts within the three years of our administration to complement the existing one at the Central Senatorial District.
d. We will partner with investors to establish pharmaceutical manufacturing industries in the state to produce drug for sale to government institutions and the general public.
e. The welfare of our medical officers and staff in the health sector will be our priority for effective service delivery.
- INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY AND MARINE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The huge infrastructural deficit and poor industrial output in the state is a call for concern. We will pay attention to rehabilitation of roads, construction of waterways, provision of rural and urban electrification, enhancement and improvement in clean and pipe borne water delivery for the benefit of our people.
We will ensure that the roads that need dualization in the three senatorial districts are vigorously pursued.
We will ensure that the moribund companies in Ondo State are resuscitated and where this is impossible, we will encourage the establishment of new ones. All these will be pursued with the singular purpose of creating massive employment opportunities for the people of the state.
The Ondo South Senatorial District is the bedrock of the marine blue economy for the State. My administration will activate and actualise the potentials therein.
Ondo State has the longest coastline of about 80 kilometers in Nigeria. My administration will utilise the enormity of the potentials available in this sector. Our nearness to Lagos State will be an added advantage in this respect.
- RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT
The tendency on the part of government in developing countries which pushes development solely in the urban area at the detriment of the rural areas will be adequately addressed by my administration. We shall apply the following to curtail this.
a. There will be improvement of rural road network.
b. We will also embark on Rural Housing Scheme.
c. My government will improve tourism development in the state.
d. OSOPADEC-
i. The Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) shall be restored to its core mandate to meet the expectations of Oil Producing Communities in the state.
ii. Government will ensure that of the 13% derivation funds accruable to Ondo State, 40% of the fund is paid to OSOPADEC to perform its core mandate in line with the enabling law.
iii. The Head Office of OSOPADEC will be relocated to the Headquarters (Igbokoda), in Ilaje Local Government Area.
e. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
i. My administration will grant full autonomy to local government areas both in finance and governance.
ii. Government will address the grievances of communities arising from the creation of LCDAs.
iii. The process of election into the local government areas will commence within three months of my administration.
- YOUTH, SPORT, SOCIAL, WOMEN DEVELOPMENT AND CIVIL SERVICE
a. The role of youths in the development of a state or nation can never be over-emphasized, hence the axiom “build the youth, build the nation”
In the same vein, women, who are home managers, mothers and great pillars of society, cannot be pushed aside or ignored by any progress-minded administration.
b. In that regard, the new PDP administration in the state will prioritise programmes that will ensure the accelerated development of youths and women.
c. Our administration will pursue sports development, not just for entertainment, physical fitness and a unifying factor, but also as a veritable source of empowerment for youths and young adults within the state and offshore.
d. Under our watch, great attention will be accorded to social development initiatives to the advantage of youths, women, the aged and vulnerable people in the state, just as government will ensure that civil servants and retirees in the state are honoured with the best of treatment in line with standard of global practices.
Distinguished leaders of our great party, publishers, editors and gentlemen of the press, beyond the over-view that I have done in respect of the seven points agenda of our party’s programmes, what is sacrosanct in developing a state like Ondo is the political will of the sitting governor. On my own part, the required political will to develop Ondo State is inherent in me and it is already activated.
By the support of the media (of which you are the arrow heads), I believe I will win this election very convincingly. After I would have been sworn in as Governor, I will still require your support to propagate the ideals and the programmes highlighted in this short address.
I look forward to working with all of you as we ignite the sun to shine in Ondo State.
Thank you all and God bless.
H. E. Agboola Alfred Ajayi
September 27, 2024.
