Governor Dapo Abiodun came aboard with characteristics of nobility, and is revered at home and recognised abroad for his protean productivity and impeccable business foresight. He has uncanny ability to spot goldmine where many see land mines. He equally understands that politics is a route to service, since leadership is service to society. And his belief that the doctrine of altruism and love must be preached as a counteraction to the doctrine of hate and greed that has overtime become the norm in political circuits powers his conduct in office as governor.
When Prince Dapo Abiodun was sworn-in as Governor of Ogun State on May 29, 2019, he made some solemn pledges in his inauguration speech. In the seventh paragraph of that speech delivered before a crowd at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, he affirms that: “You will always find in me, the conduct of Omoluwabi expected of Omo Teacher. I will govern with character. I will serve you diligently and sincerely. I will make your interests the core of governance. I will neither personalize nor abuse the mandate. I will not betray your trust.”
The above pledge has been consistently demonstrated and fulfilled by the governor in the course of his coming to power. It is rare to see so many politicians come into office with such characteristics of nobility.
On assumption of office, he defied expectation by not sacking workers employed by the previous government, nor abandon the projects being undertaken. Normally, people expected a new governor to follow the ‘established precedent’ of a new governor overturning what his immediate predecessor did. Rather, Prince Dapo Abiodun decided to set-up committees to look into gray areas.
These included last-minute employment and award of contracts, appointments of permanent secretaries and general managers of statutory bodies, last-minute loans and incurred financial obligations, abandoned and on-going projects, crises in tertiary institutions, and many more.
A personal friend of the governor gave a comment on this. “In fact, those who were very agitated and expectant of drastic, it not vindictive actions, described the governor as ‘slow’, and his government as a ‘government of committees’. Yet, Dapo is trudging on, with the royalty in him taking the lead.
‘Omo Teacher’ decided to regularize and accommodate into the civil service, the over 1,000 workers hurriedly employed by the immediate past administration. He noted that despite flaws noted in the appointments and recruitments, his government has decided to be magnanimous, as a people-centred administration and not be vindictive. type
Despite flaws, he upheld all the appointments of the permanent secretaries made in the twilight of the last administration.
In the last one and half years, and in spite of the fallouts of the coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the world, Governor Abiodun has made a startling difference, elevating populations long treated as mere statistics in government circles into active participants in a new, project-driven and progressive era. This is why testimonies across the state continue to show the huge impact he and his stellar cabinet, a welter of distinguished intellectuals and trail blazers, have made in just a short while. Admittedly, though, only a few of the achievements can be mentioned in this piece.
From security to infrastructure, and from agriculture to business, tourism and spirts development, Abiodun has shown what it means to have a proven and time-tested wealth creator and agent of change at the helms of affairs. Governor Abiodun wasted no time in addressing security issues. He bought100 vehicles and 200 motorcycles to arrest security threats in the state after having first provided communications equipment for the security agencies. That was far from fortuitous: as a consultant, he had helped Lagos State conquer cross-border banditry in the 90s.
In the area of infrastructure, the Governor also did very well. No sooner than he was sworn in when he took the gospel of road construction to every nook and cranny of Ogun State, rejecting the window dressing of state capitals that frequently passes for “good performance” in this clime. Suddenly, he began to work in different places , including remote areas, where politicians typically only visit during campaigns. All these areas have now begun to feel government’s presence.
xxxxxx The provision of infrastructure is critical for socio-economic development in any nation. Like many states, nations and sub-regions around the world, Ogun State has had its share of infrastructure dearth such that the systems like transportation, housing, environment, education, healthcare, agriculture, power, security and social services, portable water are in dire need of maintenance and upgrade.
On assuming duties as the fifth Executive Governor of Ogun State in 2019, Prince Dapo Abiodun was unhappy with the deplorable condition of amenities within the state: the roads and bridges, school buildings, public hospitals and water plants, etc. He had to figure out ways of bridging the infrastructure gap to accelerate the socio-economic development vision, which was top priority.
With his diverse private sector experience on purposeful governance and robust developmental blueprint summarised as ‘Building our Future Together,’ Prince Abiodun was determined to open up all the nooks and crannies of the state through capital investments in infrastructure.
He facilitated massive road construction and rehabilitation within the 236 wards across the three senatorial districts, such that despite the meagre resources available to the state, over 50 roads have been completed and 19 are in progress within his first year in office.
Some of the road construction works include the Epe-Ijebu Ode and Sagamu-Abeokuta federal roads constructed by past administrations, but recently rehabilitated by the Abiodun administration through Public-Private Partnership. Others are Itoikin-Ibefun-Ijebu Ode, Iperu-Ilisan, Sango-Ojodu Abiodun, Ilaro-Owode, Abeokuta-Sango-Ota-Lagos, Osi-Ota-Awolowo-Navy-Kola and Balogun Kuku in Ijebu Ode. The ongoing works include the reconstruction of Opako Bridge in Adigbe, Abeokuta, several township roads and the abandoned 32-kilometre Akute-Ajuwon-Alagbole road.
Furthermore, the creation of Ogun State Public Works Agency (OGPWA) following the passage of the Ogun State Road Maintenance Agency (OGRMA) amendment bill into law has birthed several cost-saving opportunities through the massive construction, rehabilitation and maintenance projects. They have created streams of job opportunities, improved productivity, increased mobility and alleviated poverty within the state.
Noticeably, Abiodun’s view of road infrastructure is holistic and includes boosting agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) growth. The state government is also giving special attention to infrastructure development in the Agbara-Atan-Ota, Ewekoro-Ifo and Sagamu-Ogijo industrial hubs.
As a means of exploring the state’s proximity to the country’s commercial hub, the visionary governor is also partnering with the Lagos State Government on key joint ventures. This will help to fast track development and spill over of commercial opportunities.
Noteworthy is the fact that the people of Abeokuta North Local Government in particular, are excited by Governor Abiodun’s infrastructural achievements across the length and breadth of the state.
A recent visit to different communities within the local government showed that there has been enormous investment in infrastructure. These include the reconstructed Iberekodo General Hospital internal road, mobilisation of contractors to resume work on the Lafenwa roundabout road and Mokola flyover along Ajitadun-Adatan road, inherited from the previous administration.
To ensure all round security for people, Governor Abiodun established an agency to conduct, audit and provide a roadmap to actualising the “Light Up Ogun” project, with a view to ensuring that most cities in the state have uninterrupted power supply. The objective is to regenerate the state’s old cities, places like Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu and Ilaro, in a sustainable fashion and without compromising the future.
Another significant project was the revival of operations in the Arakanga water treatment plant which is responsible for supplying portable water to Abeokuta metropolis and its environs. Earlier this year, the governor had visited the comatose water plant and by March, households had started enjoying good water supply.
The governor’s bias for healthcare was evident in the reconstruction the public Primary Health Centre, in Adeun, Abeokuta North Local Government. The facility upgrade included the installation of solar power equipment and fencing.
Since the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration has set up a COVID-19 isolation and treatment centre at Iberekodo, carried out an aggressive distribution of palliatives to the youths and vulnerable, and fumigated Lafenwa, Olomore and Iberekodo major markets.
Prince Abiodun’s efforts in providing funds through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme, supply of weed killer, fertilizers and agriculture fields to 3,500 farmers drawn from Abeokuta North Local Government and other LGAs are some of his giant strides in agriculture.
Similarly, the mass recruitment of youths into the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) and vocational trainings for artisans in plumbing, electrical and building works are under the direct labour initiative of the state ministry of housing. Also, several sons and daughters of Abeokuta North Local Government Area have been offered political appointments to the credit of the governor.
The establishment of Oko Owo Dapo and Care for Widows’ schemes have been great sources of empowerment and increased productivity for the beneficiaries. These welfare initiatives have positively impacted and improved the socio-economic activities in the beneficiary communities.
In like manner, the donation and installation of two new distribution transformers to Kemta/Ilugun in Abeokuta North Local government have resuscitated life and commercial activities.
And, fully apprised of the linkage between education and development, he also enacted the novel project of rehabilitating a school per ward in the state. There are 236 wards in Ogun and if every ward had a standard school with state-of-the-art facilities, the governor reasoned, the educational revival of the state would have begun on a sound footing.
The renovation of public classrooms in primary and junior secondary schools in Abeokuta North Local Government by Governor Abiodun’s administration has also been remarkable. The beneficiary schools include ANLG Primary School, Federal Housing, Elega, ANGL Primary School, Ilugun Asalu, Holy Prophet School, Isale-Ogun, OUS Primary School, Ikereku, Owu Methodist Primary School, Oke-Sokori and Moshood Abiola Model School, Adatan.
In addition, textbooks and teaching materials donated to public schools in the all local government areas, as well as the installation of Education Management Information System (EMIS) equipment in the Abeokuta North Local Government Education Authority to aid data collection and analysis. This has also been replicated in other Local Government Education Authorities within the state.
Over this feat, the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS) commended him for what it called his administration’s remarkable achievements in the education sector within the last one year in office. The students’ body described governor as the most student friendly governor in the history of the state.
According to NAOSS, Governor Abiodun’s sincerity of purpose and sheer determination have changed the fortunes of the education sector for good.The Association attributed the unprecedented development in primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education to the commitment of the governor to restore the lost glory of education in the State.
The body lamented what it regarded as the negligence of education sector by the immediate past administrations in the state, claiming that “but for timely intervention of Governor Abiodun in the crises that bedeviled all the three levels of education in the State, the sector would have completely collapsed.
“We commend the courage, resilience and doggedness of Governor Dapo Abiodun in reviving the education sector of the State.” Says the students leader, Comrade Ogunrounmbi.
He added that, “One of the most remarkable achievements of Governor Abiodun is the rehabilitation of 236 primary schools across all the wards in the state.
“Besides these numerous achievements in the education sector, all other sectors of the State have also witnessed unprecedented development.”
NAOSS congratulated the Governor for achieving all the feats within a short period of one year and urged him not to relent in his effort to take the state to an enviable height.
He set up visitation panels to troubled higher institutions in the state and addressed the contending issues with dispatch. Since assuming office, Governor Abiodun has attended convocation ceremonies in all tertiary institutions in the state, interfacing with their management both formally and informally and seeking ways to make them deliver on their core mandates in research and innovation. He has given the best students in those institutions get automatic employment, to reward academic excellence and gradually build a civil service boasting the best materials. In any case, one of the first things he did upon being sworn-in as governor was to abolish the N3,700 educational levy imposed by his predecessor. The result? School enrollment exploded as parents heaved a sigh of relief.
In all that he has done in the past one year, Governor Abiodun has made the people’s comfort his mission. He has served and protected Ogun people, including from the ravaging impact of the coronavirus pandemic, about which the Federal Government recently gave a great testimony. He had set up five isolation centres, increased contact tracing, and set up testing labs. It was through his efforts that Nigeria’s index case was traced and quarantined. Returnees from Cote d’ Ivoire who could have transmitted the virus in Ogun were intercepted and the Osun State government alerted. For Abiodun, it’s been hard work all through, but the results have justified the labours.
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