Governor Seyi Makinde’s Remarks at the Swearing-in Ceremony of the Commissioners for Health and Youth and Sports

Remarks by His Excellency Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State at the Swearing-in Ceremony of the Commissioner for Health and the Commissioner for Youth and Sports on Thursday, 14 September, 2023.

Let me start by saying that although this swearing-in is a ceremony, your work is not ceremonious. As you will be aware, Health is one of the pillars of this administration. Under Omituntun 1.0, we worked towards resolving the issue of the infrastructure deficit in our healthcare system. Well, I can say, we solved that problem about 50-60%. That is not bad, but there is more to be done. So, I expect that our new Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Adewumi Ajetunmobi will take the bull by the horns. As I said during the budget stakeholders meeting last Monday, we have the money to build Category 3 Primary Healthcare Centres in all our 351 wards. This is a reality we want to see accomplished in the shortest possible time.

Also, if you look at our Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027, you will see the promises we have made there. And by the way, I expect all members of the cabinet to read that document and assimilate the promises there as the minimum we will be doing for our people. I expect that you will create a strategic document for seeing to the fulfilment of the promises in the Healthcare section. We are driving an increase in revenue through the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) scheme. So that’s something you need to sit with the Executive Secretary of OYSHIA to figure out how to get more of our people to adopt.

We know that once we complete renovating, staffing and equipping these Primary Healthcare Centres, more of our people will be inclined to visit them. So, that’s something you really need to drive. Of course, we are also looking to upgrade our tertiary healthcare infrastructure and make them more sustainable. So, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

For the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Miss Wasilat Adegoke Adefemi, you have your work cut out for you already. As the youngest member of the cabinet, we hope to see you bring the vibrancy and drive our young people are known for to the table. By your appointment, we have fulfilled our promise of having four women commissioners in the Oyo State Executive Council, up from two under Omituntun 1.0.

There are other promises to be kept under that ministry. As I said earlier, it is important that all members of cabinet read our roadmap. We have a very young population in our dear State, and harnessing their potential is key to our socio-economic development. I watched 19-year-old Coco Gauff make history last weekend at the US Open. What stops Oyo State from producing her own Coco Gauff?

We have the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba. We have completed the remodelling of phase 1 which is the stadium. Maintaining that facility should be a priority. We also want to complete the second phase of that project which will provide facilities for other sports such as tennis, badminton, swimming and so on. It is your job to push for its completion. I hope you make that a top priority.

One thing that I also want you to make a top priority is to ensure that the monetary gifts which we promised to Oyo State athletes that did well at the last National Sports Festival to motivate them is disbursed to them before our next Executive Council meeting.

Also, do not focus all your energy on sports. There is the youth development aspect of your ministry as well. Under youth empowerment, you should go through the roadmap, find the points of intersection between your ministry and other ministries and approach them for collaboration.

Our promises here are mostly focused on tech and education. I want to see more collaborations like we had this weekend, where we supported the Ibadan Tech Expo. And I also look forward to seeing your strategy for getting a tuition-free university education for youths who have excelled in sports. Of course, we are here to offer you all the help you need. We know it is a lot of work that has to be done.

So let me formally welcome you, our new Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Adewumi Ajetunmobi and Commissioner for Youth and Sports Miss Wasilat Adegoke Adefemi, to the Oyo State Executive Council. I look forward to working with you to the glory of God and for the benefit of the good people of Oyo State.

Thank you and God bless you.

Seyi Makinde

14 September 2023