Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde has said that plans are underway by his administration alongside Ogun and Lagos State governments to light-up the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Featuring on State Affairs, a political programme on Splash FM 105.5, Ibadan on Saturday, Makinde said that he had initiated a discussion with his colleague in Lagos State and that the three states would work on the possibility of lighting up the entire stretch of the expressway, if elected for second tenure.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa quoted the governor as saying: “The proposed project will benefit all the three states. Under Omituntun 2.0, we are exploring and I am talking to my colleagues in Ogun and Lagos states. We have a 120km stretch from Lagos to Ibadan. What we have done under the Light-Up Oyo project is to put infrastructure on 250km of our road. So, we can do it. There is nothing that says if you are coming from Lagos, there cannot be light every night between Lagos and Ibadan. I can give you that assurance that it will happen.
“As for Lagos, they have up to the bridge head at Berger, and Ogun State has up to Onigaari. They have the longest stretch. And if we say each state should bear the burden accordingly, they will bear the lion share. But I told my colleague in Lagos that this is something that should benefit all of us. Even if we have to share the burden in such a way that Ogun State is encouraged to come in, we will do it. But this is something that will happen under Omituntun 2.0″.
Makinde, who gave a scorecard across the four pillars of his administration, called on residents of the state to re-elect him next Saturday and also vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates for the House of Assembly seats.
He said: “The fact that the state has been stable socially, economically and politically under my watch meant that Saturday’s election is a no-contest”, adding that the “people have vowed never to return to politics of desperation (jagba politics)”.
Makinde said that although the election is a one-day event, its effect and ramification would stay with residents for another four years.
He said he was certain that the people have absolute trust in him to continue the socio-political stability being enjoyed in the state.
“So, I want to urge our people to come out and not be afraid. Come out and make your choice. Vote for me again. What we have enjoyed for over three years in the state was the result of the step you took by voting for me on 9 March 2019. Now, on the 11 March 2023, go out and do the same thing and we will have an Oyo State of your dreams.
“Now, we are talking about civil servants and pensioners being paid for 45 months unbroken out of 48 months of this tenure. That is about 94 percent really gone. So, if we want to extend it and not stop at 48 but go to 49, 50 and even to 96, then, come out to vote for PDP and all the PDP House of Assembly candidates. I will work with the House of Assembly members who will approve budgets and bills that we want to turn into law.
“So, please vote en masse for the PDP next Saturday”.
On what residents of the state should expect under Omituntun 2.0, Makinde said that they have not seen anything yet in terms of infrastructure development and economic expansion, adding that the government would, upon his re-election, activate a lot of projects including the Ilutuntun Business District in Akinyele, which he said would have a digital technology hub for the youths.
On how his administration has fared in the education sector, the governor pointed out that the administration has put in place a massive infrastructure reform in the sector, while also successfully moving about 60,000 students back to the classrooms through its various efforts on provision of free and qualitative education.
He boasted that the administration’s success story in the tertiary education sector included the consistent ranking of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso as the best state university in the country in the last three years.
