The Oyo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop celebrating what it described as the maladministration represented by the immediate past government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
The party in a statement on Sunday, which was signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Mr Akeem Olatunji, said that APC in Oyo State was a party of individuals with little or no knowledge of what good governance entails, noting that in the last eight months, every right-thinking resident of Oyo State has been full of praises for the well-thought-out policies and programmes of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.
According to the PDP, Oyo State under Governor Makinde has clearly prioritised security, health, education and economic expansion through agriculture, a focus that has brought positive telling effects on the State.
The party said “Every month, starting from the well-known GSM date, Makinde’s government injects at least N8billion into the State’s economy, something that has brought hope to all and sundry. This is clearly a departure from the despair, desperation and squalor, which characterized life and living in Oyo State under the APC government.”
It added that Governor Makinde has “begun the journey towards setting Oyo State on the path to true greatness,” adding that “we are fully aware that the APC has a polluted idea of the true meaning of good governance, but never believed that such ignorance would be displayed in the public space.
“They are only seeking to pollute the public space with their corrupted view of good governance by asking Governor Makinde to learn from former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who was roundly rejected by the people of Oyo State for being a huge disappointment in governance and human relations.”
The PDP maintained that the introduction of free and qualitative education policy in public schools; focus on building infrastructure that will target the economic expansion; full and scientific approach to the Security of the state through the procurement of equipment and security gadgets; as well as the Amotekun security initiative are clear testimonies to the globally acclaimed and world class service delivery launched in the State by Governor Makinde.
“The Governor’s 100 per cent commitment to the welfare of workers and residents through prompt payment of salaries and pensions are top notch policies of the PDP administration, which have placed Oyo State on the pantheons of good governance across the country and beyond,” the PDP stated.
The statement also informed that APC’s attack on Makinde was ill-intentioned and borne out of jealousy that the new Governor had, in only eight months, started recording landmark achievements that make the people rate his government better than that of his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
“Indeed, the songs on the lips of workers and residents of Oyo State just within 96 days of Seyi Makinde’s governance was to state that his achievements in just three months have outweighed the 96 months of Senator Ajimobi whose administration has no legacy to point at.
“It is an indisputable fact that Ajimobi in eight years displayed crude cluelessness, unkind mindset and despite earning over N700 billion in federal allocations and internally generated revenues, have nothing to show to the people.
“He was happy jumping from one controversy to the other and amassing for himself, unmerited titles that attest to vain glorification. Is that the kind of person APC wants Makinde to learn from?
“Let us, however, tell them even though Governor Makinde has started with a blistering speed and has been delivering goodies all the way, the remaining months of his administration would witness further testimonials to good governance with the conclusion of arrangements for the construction of farm estates in Akufo and Eruwa and world class interchanges that would make Oyo State come to further global attention for positive mention.
“Makinde’s policy of free education and his administration’s focus on agriculture through the building of farm estates are similar to the programmes of the Pa Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Bola Ige eras, which remained the hallmark of good governance in the South-West zone today.
“In Oyo state right now, we are proud to say we have a transformational leadership rather that the transactional predecessor who left a legacy of failed contracts and abandoned road projects as a result of mere consideration for ‘what is there for me’ rather than what is there for the state.
“Today, the Saki township road is in a mess because the APC government played politics with people’s lives by embarking on the project purely for campaign purposes. The Oyo and Ogbomoso township roads constructed by the APC government were not completed and also badly done and even the few roads the government constructed in Ibadan were done at inflated costs to the state.
“The inflated Mokola Flyover has failed to control the traffic logjam challenge in that axis. So, we ask, are these the good governance ideals the APC wants Makinde to learn from Ajimobi? Or is it how Ajimobi destroyed the order, peace and beauty known with Olubadan Chieftaincy by introducing self-serving and alien review that has created a mess for the throne.”
