The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, has announced the
conferment of a traditional title of Aare Jagunmolu of Ibadanland on
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
Oba Adetunji made the announcement while speaking at the investiture
of Governor Makinde as a Distinguished Member of the Ibadan
Progressives Union (IPU) during a reception held at the Government
House, Ibadan.
The monarch, however, announced that the formal installation of the
Governor will take place at a later date.
Makinde while reacting said his administration has so far executed
some landmark projects without accessing any borrowed funds as he
declared the readiness of his administration to sustain the high tempo
of developments he instituted in the state since his assumption of
office in May.
He said, “We are also focusing on security and expansion of our
economy through agriculture and Agric value chain. We know that it is
through agribusiness that our teeming youths can get jobs and I am
pleased to announce that African Development Bank (AfDB) has agreed to
include Oyo State in the Agro-processing zone and that will get the
needed support.
Speaking on the unprecedented level of development his government has
brought to bear on Oyo State in six months, Governor Makinde declared
that he was not about to lift his legs off the pedal, adding that his
administration would sustain the tempo of development in the state.
He said, “The civil servants are here and I make bold to tell you all
that we have not accessed one Kobo of borrowed money on the things we
have done in Oyo State up till this moment.
“Now, on the issue of sustainability, I am an Engineer and if you see
an Engineer digging a hole in front of your house, he already knows
how the structure he will build on it would look like. So, we will
sustain the tempo.
“When we got into office six months ago, we outlined a few things we
needed to do. One of them is to ensure that the economy of Oyo State,
is increased with, at least, N8 billion. We thought of how to achieve
this even when we need to pay salaries of workers every 25th. When we
started, some were saying we can’t sustain that policy action but this
is the sixth month we have fulfilled the obligation without borrowing
a dime.
“People will always say that power gets into the head of politicians
when they get into office. For example, if you want a 10 power-horse
engine to tow a car, you can move from 0-100 km/hour within three to
four seconds, but if you get to a point where you are supposed to
apply brake and you are unable to, you will lose control.
“So, power without control is nothing. In fact, it is dysfunctional.
The people of Oyo State have given me the power but I will apply all
the control. Here, we are just starting; you have not seen anything
yet”.
