The Oyo State government under Omituntun 2.0 roadmap for Sustainable Development is setting an agenda to unlock inherent potentials in two other critical sectors, Solid Minerals, and Tourism in addition to the existing ones.
According to Westernmirror reports, the State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde stated this at the 44th Annual National Convention of the Order of the Knights of St Mulumba, with delegates drawn from across the country, held at the University of Ibadan.
Governor Makinde who spoke through his Executive Assistant on Administration, Rev Idowu Ogedengbe stated that the values of the Knighthood of Saint Mulumba, Nigeria were of particular interest to the Governor.
He added that these values emphasize the need to work towards a high sense of order and discipline within society, cooperate with other Christian denominations and persons of goodwill without compromising good doctrines and principles, be sensitive to the needs of the poor, and give succor to the destitute, the underserved and the oppressed in the society.
“This has been a guiding principle for us under the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde. We share a lot of values with the Order of the Knights of St. Mulumba in terms of sensitivity to the needs of the masses and providing succor to the destitute, less privileged, underserved, and downtrodden members of society.
“We believe that these are fundamental principles of good democratic governance that are critically important for political leadership.
“Rather than emphasizing the ideal standards for political leadership, let me draw practical examples from what we have been doing as an Administration towards providing the right political leadership in Oyo State.”
He said from the onset of the administration in 2019, in recognition of the need to lessen the burden of many struggling parents who were finding it difficult to pay the school fees of their children and wards in the State’s primary and secondary schools, the state government came up with the policy of free and qualitative education which it discontinued the payment of school fees in primary and secondary schools, giving free text and notebooks in schools while govt employed five thousand secondary school teachers.
He disclosed that Plans are ongoing towards employing additional teachers under the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for the primary schools.
“Our Administration equally gives priority to the welfare of workers in the state public service by ensuring timely payment of workers’ salaries and other benefits, which continues to have multiplier effects across all sectors in the State thereby increasing our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“We have equally ensured that those who have served the state in their active years and are now retired are promptly paid their pensions and gratuities while making concerted efforts towards settling the backlog of outstanding gratuities that we met when we came into government.
Another pillar of our Administration that we remain committed to is the provision of comprehensive primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare to our people in the State.
“We believe that a strong correlation exists between health and productivity and if we must move the people from poverty to prosperity and enhance our human capital development indices, we must adequately address their healthcare needs.
“The Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) is actively ensuring affordable access to comprehensive healthcare among residents in the State while we build and fully equip at least one Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in every of the 351 wards in Oyo State.”
Ogedengbe added that policies on infrastructural development and security of lives and properties have ensured that people could live peacefully and go about their lawful endeavours in the State without fear of violent attacks by criminals, robbers, bandits or terrorists.
He further stressed that the administration is building a sustainable economy for Oyo State by leveraging on comparative advantage as a significantly agrarian society and attracting institutional investors into the agribusiness value chain.
“We are revamping the Farm Settlements and converting them to Farm Estates where people can live, work and have access to recreational facilities. Our efforts in this regard have been yielding positive results. Hopefully, in the medium to long term, our State will become a major food basket in Nigeria, thereby reducing the nation’s import bills on food importation.”
