Governor Seyi Makinde’s Three Years in Office Broadcast

Being the Three Years in Office Broadcast by His Excellency Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022

My Dear Good People of Oyo State,

When you gave us the mandate to serve, we made a promise to you, that we would engineer a modern Oyo State by building on four pillars: Education, Economy, Health and Security. As we mark our third year in office, we have another opportunity to share our scorecard with you so that you can judge how well we have kept that promise.

As we review the past year, we are thankful that our administration’s economic policies in the past three years are yielding the desired results. We have always said we believe in data, science and logic.

The data we had showed that our resources as a nation was dwindling. Oil prices had dropped and there was a need to focus on raising our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Back then, Oyo State was generating less than 1.7 billion naira a month. Our plan based on this data, was to focus on projects that would yield the revenue needed to reduce our infrastructure deficit.

At that time, the system was in decay. Our public schools had multiple cases of dilapidated buildings unfit for our children to learn. Our healthcare system was in shambles with primary and secondary healthcare facilities becoming mere consulting rooms.

Security was a big campaign issue. We promised reforms.

Little did we know that about 8 months later, the world would be dealing with a pandemic that would further exacerbate the economic downturn and throw off our timetable for economic stability. Yet, we were determined to keep all our promises, expectations were delayed but never denied.  

Looking back now to all we have been able to accomplish despite the huge challenges we faced, I can only say thank you to you, the good people of Oyo State for your patience and understanding all through this time. Thank you for trusting us to deliver on our promises.

We do know there is a lot more to be done. Worldwide, economies are struggling. Inflation rates in Nigeria remain on the rise and the spending power of Nigerians continues to fall. As a government, our role is to keep executing policies that will reduce the burden on our people.

This is why in the past year, we have remained focused on building an efficient road network, ensuring an interlinking of all zones to further enhance trade and commerce.

Where roads go, development follows.

We are already seeing the results. A recent mini survey on agribusiness in Oyo State since 2019 shows that by creating an enabling environment for the private sector to do business, we have attracted over 23 billion naira in agribusiness investments. Additionally, we have secured 125 million dollars in development partners blended finance for rural roads, agro logistics, market and industrial hubs. All of these contribute to providing direct and indirect jobs for our teeming population.

We are proud of projects such as the Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub which is about 80 percent complete and will be ready for commissioning by the end of the year. Investors in production, processing and livestock sub-sectors are already operating from the hub.

In the past year, we completed the first phase of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba and put it into use. Our darling Shooting Stars, who in the past year also got promoted to the Nigeria Professional Football League, now have a befitting facility to play in. Also, the income generated by this facility has already doubled, with a projected revenue increase of 300% when the entire complex is completed.

More recently, we commissioned the Ojoo and Challenge Bus Terminals in Ibadan. Off peak, these terminals handle up to 10,000 passengers daily.

Of course, as promised, we have not increased taxes, rather, we have expanded our tax net to include persons who hitherto did not pay taxes.

The result of all these revenue generating activities is that we have been able to continue funding projects that the good people of Oyo State can benefit from. In the past year, we completed the construction of 8 model schools bringing the total number of model schools completed by our administration to 56 since we assumed office 3 years ago.

We have expanded the Start Them Early Program (STEP) to now include an additional 6 schools. We are seeing the results of 1,276 students being exposed to modern agricultural practices and choosing agribusiness right from secondary school.

We have gone a long way in fulfilling our promise of ensuring at least one standard Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in each of the 351 wards of our state. Presently, we have upgraded nearly 200 PHCs and will now begin to equip them. We continued with our free health mission to the indigent and underserved. In the past year, we reached over half a million residents with medical and surgical interventions. In total, over one million, two hundred thousand residents of Oyo State have benefitted from the free health missions since it commenced in 2020.

We have provided over 280 kilometres of public lighting through the ‘Light up Oyo’ project. This has not only enhanced economic activities as markets remain open for longer, but it has also improved the security in the state. Not only that, we have provided lighting in off-grid areas. Communities such as Otefon in Atiba Local Government Area had electricity supply for the first time since their existence over 100 years ago. While work is ongoing to provide off grid electricity at Agbararu Community in Iwajowa Local Government Area, Ajia Community in Ona Ara Local Government Area and Arowomole Community in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area.

Crime rates are on the decline as we continue to equip all security agencies in Oyo State. Just last month, we handed over 100 operational vehicles to Oyo Amotekun. These vehicles have been deployed to all 33 local government areas of our state. We are also recruiting an additional 500 personnel into Oyo Amotekun. Yes, a crime-free society is not humanly possible, but we are working assiduously to ensure that the relative security we have in Oyo State is maintained. Today, our farmers in Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun Zones who had abandoned their farms due to security concerns are returning to the farms.

Our plan is to consolidate on the gains of the last three years in the one year we have left in our tenure.

In the past three years, we have been executing road projects that improve access and connectivity between the zones in the state through construction and reconstruction of roads such as the 65km Moniya-Ijaiye-Iseyin Road, the 76.7km Ogbomoso-Fapote-Iseyin Road, the 34.85km Oyo-Iseyin Road and the proposed reconstruction of the 48km Ido-Eruwa Road. It is now time to start moving inwards.

In the next year, we will be concentrating on the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of our feeder roads. This will make inner-city travel even more stress free.

We will also continue to work with the private sector, especially those involved in agribusiness to expand our economy. With the flag-off of the Eruwa Agribusiness Industrial Hub next month, there will be even more opportunities to do agribusiness in Oyo State.

We have trained 4,050 youths in agribusiness under various programmes including the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP). 98 of these youths have started their businesses and others along with them will be supported in diverse agribusiness enterprises in the coming weeks.

We will also be supporting our smallholder farmers. The rollout of another phase of the Oyo-CARES project will provide our farmers with inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides and seeds, and assets such as water pumps and sprayers.

We promised you omi tuntun. We will continue to provide omi tuntun.

God bless Oyo State.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.