Governor Seyi Makinde’s Presentation Exploring the Implementation of the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027

Being the Presentation by His Excellency Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, at the Oyo State Government Executive Leadership Retreat, titled “Exploring the Implementation of the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027” on Wednesday, 4 October, 2023.

I remember the day I decided to run with the slogan Omituntun 2.0. My campaign team had presented various slogans for our reelection bid, but Omituntun 2.0 stood out. It captured the essence of everything we wanted to accomplish in our second term, given the opportunity. It was going to be an upgrade. So, if people thought Omituntun was good, then Omituntun 2.0 would be great.

And Omituntun 1.0 was good.

On the strength of our accomplishments, our people trooped out, voted, and we won by a landslide. 63% of the people of Oyo State said “Yes” to Omituntun 2.0. I want everyone here to always remember that. We didn’t have to rig the elections; we didn’t have to intimidate anyone. Our people turned up because they saw what we had done with the first four years, and they believed that given another four years, we would do more.

It is now time to do more.

We are five months into Omituntun 2.0. Yes, we can say that we have accomplished some things. But you would have noticed that just as we are running with the 2.0 slogan, our people are also demanding double the work. They are having double the expectations. So, whereas they were content with the flagging off of projects under 1.0, now they want the commissioning of projects.

 We cannot afford to let them down.

So, in the next 40 minutes or so, we will be brainstorming, strategising and discussing how to ensure that we do not let the good people of Oyo State down. I will lead this conversation with a presentation of my vision of the implementation process for the Omituntun 2.0 Agenda. Then, I will share a simplified template, which I will call the Omituntun 2.0 Implementation Template. I expect everyone here to use this template to create a strategic plan for their ministry, department or agency.

Of course, at the end of my presentation, we will have seven of you show us a sample of your implementation plan.

So, let’s start now.

The next slide I will be sharing is about my expectations.

For now, there are just two expectations. But at the end of this presentation, we will add a third.

Expectation:

• Everyone has read the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027 and has identified what role they have to play in ensuring the delivery of the promises.

• Everyone can tell where there is an expected interagency collaboration and know what role they should play in ensuring the delivery of the promises.

Let’s talk briefly about what these two expectations entail.

Is there anyone here who does not have a copy of the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development, 2023-2027? Even if you do not have the hard copy, we have the soft copy. So, if you don’t have it, you can visit seyimakinde.com to download it now.

The key to identifying what role you will play in the timely delivery of the promises made in this document is that you must first read the document. There is no ministry, department or agency here present that does not have a role outlined in this document.

On the second expectation, there will be plenty of interagency collaboration in delivering these promises, just as we had under Omituntun 1.0. For example, when we talk about beautifying open spaces on page 22 of the roadmap, it says, “We will actively beautify and landscape open spaces in Oyo State by planting trees and flowers and maintaining the greenery.”

You can identify at least two agencies collaborating to make this happen. Maybe, even three.

We have the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Culture and Tourism and maybe the Ministry of Lands and Housing. So, how will the interagency collaboration happen, who will lead?

For interagency collaboration, there is a LEAD AGENCY, which is the agency under which the promise is domiciled, and a SUPPORTING AGENCY(IES)

In this case, who is the lead agency? Since the promise is under Tourism, the Lead Agency for this promise is the Ministry of Culture of Tourism. The Ministry identifies the open spaces, but in implementing this, they liaise with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to plant the greenery and flowers. At the same time, the Ministry of Lands and Housing will verify if this is a good spot for locating the park or garden. Does it fit with the overall plan?

This project involves a budget. So, the Ministry of Finance also becomes a collaborating agency.

So, you have four agencies ensuring that this works.

Why is this necessary?

It saves time and resources. It also ensures that everyone is carried along as we complete various projects within the State.

This is just one example.  There are several examples within this Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027, which is why the second expectation should be taken seriously.

One other important point to take note of as you go through the roadmap is the timelines.

In keeping with my vision of accountability, we have provided timelines for implementing the promises. I expect that as you go through the roadmap, you will note the timelines and give yourself a revised timeline six months ahead of the scheduled date. So, for example, on page 18, under Infrastructure, we have the promise, “We will complete the over 300 km of road projects from Omituntun 1.0 within two years of being re-elected.” What should the timeline for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport be? It should be 18 months. The Commissioner may have to liaise with the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and the Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency (OYSROMA) to outline deliverables. This will make it easier to get approvals faster.

Speaking of timelines, part of our vision for sustainable development is to ensure that every activity we embark on has a long-term effect. You will recall that recently, while everyone was talking about palliatives, I consistently used the acronym SAfER, which stands for Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery, when describing actions we will be taking to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.  

To ensure that our actions are sustainable, some of the promises made in the roadmap do not have one-off implementations. You will see a promise like the one we find on page 35, “We will continuously maintain a reasonable fee system and ensure occasional reviews that will keep tertiary education accessible.” This involves continuous action. I would expect the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology to develop a timeline for fee review – six monthly or yearly so that we can keep track of expectations.

I mentioned that there will be a third expectation, and I will share that now.

I expect to receive a Strategic Implementation Plan based on the simplified implementation plan template, which I will discuss now.

Implementation Plan Template

These are the main components of this simplified template:

Goal(s)

Identified Challenges

Outlined Deliverables

Assigned Responsibilities and Roles

Timelines

Budget

So now, let’s talk about each component of the plan. Remember that your plan will be judged based on how well you are able to interpret these elements relative to your ministry, department or agency.

1. Goal(s): This can be described in terms of outcomes. Having a goal for your implementation plan helps you align your plans. Here are some sample goals: To ensure that the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources achieves 70% of all promises made in the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027 in three years. Or to achieve effective interagency collaboration by responding to all enquiries regarding any project we are handling within 24 hours of receiving them.

Of course, you can have more than one goal. And you don’t have to write your goals until you have made a list of your deliverables. So, if you have any general goals, write them down and then be more specific as you work down the template.

2. Identified Challenges: These refer to any mitigating circumstances or risks that might hinder your meeting your goal. So, for each goal, you can think of a challenge that can work against it. For example, one challenge with interagency collaboration could be delayed feedback from the agency you are collaborating with. Writing down the challenge helps you identify the factors that will affect the timeline for your deliverables. You can then give yourself enough time to start dealing with them.

3. Outlined Deliverables: The question you want to answer here is: What are the individual tasks that need to be carried out to meet the set goals? Most of your outlined deliverables will be directly imported from the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027. Each chapter has an “Our Promises” section. You may choose to add any other deliverables, which will be subject to approval. But everything in the roadmap is already pre-approved.

4. Assigned Responsibilities and Roles: We are down to the “who does what section”.  This is where you will outline any interagency collaborations you may require. It is also a good place to make a case for any external consultants you may need to work with and why. Of course, you will also need intra-agency collaboration, so who does what within your agency? You have Permanent Secretaries, Directors, and other civil servants to work with. What will be their roles?   

5. Timelines: At this point, you are looking at your deliverables. When will each of you achieve what you hope to achieve? As I said before, give yourself an earlier timeline than what is indicated in the roadmap. This will ensure that even if you miss the target you set for yourself, you will still achieve the deliverable before it becomes obvious to the public.

Some promises would require more than one line in your deliverables document. For example, on page 52 of the roadmap, we have a promise, “We will provide public water for the whole of Ibadan within one year of being re-elected.” What are the deliverables within this one promise? I expect that we have all the mitigating factors to getting public water with a timeline of what must be done month by month to achieve this feat. You know we are already running behind in that promise as we speak.

6. Budget: This is the final component. I am sure those directly involved in the budgeting process have already been contacted to present your budgets. You can now see how best to streamline your budget. Look at the roadmap. See what should be accomplished in the next 1-2 years and prioritise them in your budget submission. Then, it will be easier for you to defend your budget. Also, if you have an expected timeline for releasing funds, you should state it.

A quick note here on the release of funds. It has been brought to my notice that when I sign off on the release of funds, the fund is often trapped in the system and does not get released. This is a failure we must address as soon as possible. I have heard that sometimes I sign off when there is no funding available, and then when the funding arrives, other things are prioritised. So, how can this be addressed?

I want to hear your contributions. And I want someone to write down all the suggestions made. Prof Babatunde is here, please be our secretary.

So, what have we discussed?

I have shared three expectations that I have of the executives here present:

• Everyone has read the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027 and has identified what role they have to play in ensuring the delivery of the promises.

• Everyone can tell where there is an expected interagency collaboration and know what role they should play in ensuring the delivery of the promises.

• I expect to receive a Strategic Implementation Plan based on the simplified implementation plan template which I have just presented from every ministry, department and agency here present. And I am giving you a timeline of one month to submit these plans directly to me.

Let me also mention, that once your plan is approved, I expect to receive your monthly report, which should indicate whether you are meeting the deadlines/timelines for the implementation of whatever projects you are handling. So, if for any reason you are not meeting up with timelines, I want to know why.

I believe that by meeting these expectations, we will be well on our way to achieving 80-85% of the promises made in the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development, 2023-2027.

Thank you and God bless you.

Seyi Makinde

4 October, 2023