Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Sunday, enjoined all Nigerians to cast their votes in defence of good governance during the forthcoming general elections in 2023.
Makinde made the call while speaking at the special thanksgiving church service to commemorate Nigeria’s 62nd Independence anniversary, held at the Cathedral of St. Peters, Aremo, Ibadan.
The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun, stated that Nigerians need to keep hope alive and be steadfast in their prayers for the nation, as according to him, there is light at the end of the current dark alley in the country.
He said despite the country facing challenges in the area of security, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes, the government in the state had decided to rise above the national malaise by faithfully implementing its poverty to prosperity agenda, thereby recording series of life-changing achievements.
Makinde noted: “Aside the rise in crimes and criminality, the country is also burdened by economic difficulties, which appears to defy social-scientific prognosis. A peep at the front cover of any of the national dailies published in Nigeria easily portrays a country in dire straits. But our message today is that of hope.
“That there is light at the end of the dark alley and like Moses confidently declared to the children of Israel in Exodus 14: 13, the Egyptians whom we see today, we shall see no more forever, Amen,” he prayed.
The governor said Oyo State had been able to stay afloat despite taking its share of the national crisis through the faithful implementation of the Poverty to Posterity mantra of his administration, which launched the Roadmap for Accelerated Development of Oyo State, 2019 to 2023 immediately it assumed office on May 29, 2019.
He affirmed: “With the religious implementation of the four-point service delivery agenda encapsulated by the roadmap, we isolated the four key existential realities of human beings including security, health, education, and economic expansion, using the agribusiness value chain. Without security, life is hellish; without good health, life is gloomy; without education, life is in despair and without a good economic prospect, life is melancholic.”
Makinde disclosed that Ibadan, the state capital had been ranked as the second fastest growing city in Africa, according to a rating by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), as a result of the carefully welded service delivery programme, encapsulated in the four-point service agenda of his administration.
“Cities and zones of the state are being linked with brand new roads, a Light-Up Oyo Project covering over 200 kilometres of roads across the state is up and running, while we have equally turned around the skyline of the state with projects such as the bus terminals, remodeled stadia, and others. As our people go to the polls in February and March 2023, I can only urge you to cast your votes in defence of good governance and service delivery,” he concluded.
In his sermon, Bishop of Ibadan North Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Rt. Rev. Williams Aladekugbe, urged Nigerians to always be their brothers keepers, while calling on those in the position of power and authority to use their positions to uplift the less privileged people in the society.
Aladekugbe decried the worsening insecurity and economic challenges in the country, adding that the lack of development is due to the lack of capacity on the part of those at the helms of affairs.
He also urged the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve their issues and end the ongoing strike without further delay, saying the strike was seriously affecting the entire teaching and learning system among students and their lecturers across the country.
The Clergyman commended the Governor Makinde- led administration for the regular payment of workers’ salaries as and when due, adding that the series of infrastructural projects being undertaken by the current administration in Oyo State are visible across the nooks and crannies of the state and prayed for the success of the administration in its bid to develop the state further.
The event had in attendance top government functionaries including, the Head of Service, Alhaja Ololade Agboola, commissioners, special advisers, special assistants, permanent secretaries and other political appointees.
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