Politics
With legal battle over, stakeholders task Gov. Adeleke on promises
Olusesan Laoye
With the legal battle concerning the governorship election in Osun State now over and Senator Ademola Adeleke now affirmed as the bonafide occupant of the Abere governor’s office and Okefia Government House by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the task ahead of the new governor is how to make the state better than he met it.
As those, who had congratulated him, including President Muhammadu Buhari, the President-elect Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and even the defeated immediate past governor, Gboyega Oyetola pointed out, what the State needs now is how to move forward, get out of the woods and ensure that the State is transformed industrially, economically and to be among the states that would be financially buoyant in Nigeria.
Although the previous administrations of governors, Bisi Akade, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Rauf Aregbesola and that of Adegboyega Oyetola, tried to do what they could to ensure the growth of the state in terms of Revenue generation, the facts still remain that the state is yet to meet the set goals of its founding fathers, based on the industrial, mineral sources and agricultural potentials of the state.
It will be recalled that the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola tried to make the state an agro based raw material hub of Nigeria, with various innovations on agriculture but the intention was not fully achieved.
Despite the fact that the arrangement made to transport food to Lagos by train to improve the internally generated revenue of the State, unfortunately the dream was not fully realised, due to logistic problem. That is why the present government of Ademola Adeleke is expected to be more forward looking and examine, where his predecessors failed and use that as an advantage, to boost the growth and the potentials of Osun State in all ramifications.
What the people are saying is that governor Ademola Adeleke should look at the road map of N50 billion internally generated revenue per month, which was set by Aregbesola but unable to meet.
Going by the data and records, the IGR of the state rose to N19 billion In 2020 with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as presented by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which showed that Osun State has a total GDP of $7.3 billion. This placed the state then, amongst the 14 states in Nigeria with the highest GDP and second lowest in the South West region and only ahead of Ekiti State.
Records also showed that in first half of 2021 based on NBS data, IGR of Osun stood at N13.67 billion placing it among the top 16 states with the highest IGR in the first six months of 2020.
Though it was argued that the State in the past years enjoyed growth in IGR judging from what happened in 2016 to 2020, data from NBS clearly indicated that Osun still relies heavily on the statutory allocations from the the Federal government to meet its expectations and obligations, when the whole thing is analyzed on per capital basis, compared to other states in Nigeria.
From records available to the Business Hallmark (BH), and according to Budgegit in 2021, Osun State’s IGR per capital fell below the National average of N4.616 and which puts it the second-lowest IGR per capital in the South west and the 19th in Nigeria.
It was also stated that in 2020 Osun had a total debt of 192.82 billion an increase of 89.02 from N102.1 billion in 2016 and ranked the 31st out of the 36 states for its fiscal performance in 2020.
Going further under the immediate past Governor Oyetola, the state’s debt increased by 11.41% between 2019 to 2020, making Osun State 7th most indebted in Nigeria.
From the analysts positions, though the debts are redeemable, it will require very strict, more understanding of the financial positions of the state and prudent management of resources by the government of Adeleke, who will now settle down to face the affairs of the State more seriously, to achieve results and not a cow boy approach.
Osun is an enlightened State with people, who are less dependent on government, as such, the expectations of the people is that he should create an enabling environment to create wealth.
It was argued that with wealth creation, and industrialization of the state, the revenue base would increase, using Lagos state as an example. Though It was also said that the revenue base of Osun may not be as robust as that of Lagos, it would lift the state up from the level it is now.
Industrialisation of the state at this stage, it was further argued, would lead to the reduction of unemployment figures and reduce poverty rate. It is presently known that the Nigerian nation is currently experiencing high level of poverty rate, the submission was that if Adeleke failed to do anything in this direction, by keeping the poverty rate low, the poverty rate in the state would double.
It was also said that the new government in Osun should give education very strong priority and introduce incentive programmes to encourage students at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. As well as ensure quality education all over.
Other area to be touched is the health sector, which needs improvement and as well modifications in the health Insurance scheme, left behind by the former governor Oyetola.
One of the issues bothering the people of the State is the issue of Local government autonomy, so that they would be able to execute projects on their own, especially in the area of road construction and improvement of infrastructures in their various local governments.
The issue of civil servants in Osun State is paramount and the fear is that Adeleke may listen to selfish advisers, who may want to turn his government against the civil servants with obnoxious policy.
Governor Adeleke, who said he was aware of enormous task ahead of him, promised to provide adequate security machineries in the state and assured workers of better days ahead, as he would not relent in the regular payment of their salaries and emoluments, as well as clearing their backlog of salaries and pension, which he has already started implementing.
He also promised the industrialization and creation of wealth with an enabling environment to help those, who are self employed.
However, the people have continued to congratulate governor Adeleke, who is also being advised on what should be done, to help him run a smooth government.
In his congratulatory message, President Muhammadu Buhari called on him to to unite the state and asked the elites to rally round his government to focus on the development of the State. Also the president-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, advised Adeleke to settle down and should continue where the former governor left it, to unite the people of the state.
Adeleke’s opponent, ex governor Oyetola, said he wished him well despite the fact that the Supreme Court judgement did not favour him, that of his supporters and the entire members of the APC.
He further prayed for the incumbent governor, Adeleke, wishing that his tenure be prosperous for the people and the state. The former governor said, “I remain committed to the growth and development of Osun. I will, therefore, continue to work with well-meaning citizens of Osun, associations and institutions to facilitate the development of our dear State. Similarly, I urge all citizens of Osun to continue to exhibit the Omoluabi ethos and uphold the dreams of our forebears for the State, irrespective of party affiliations.
“To the Osun governor, Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke, I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your victory at the Supreme Court. While I pray for your tenure to be prosperous for our people and the state, I urge you to focus on the delivery of good governance.
“Politics aside, the time has come to let you know that the interest of the masses must be most paramount without any restriction or discrimination whether based on political persuasion, creed or religion. Whatever personal differences we have must give way to the advancement of our great State. The security of the Osun people must be guaranteed regardless of their religious and political affiliations. I pray for peace and progress in your tenure.”
Both the NLC chairman in the state Comrade Modupe Oyedele and his TUC counterpart Comrade Kola Adebowale, along with the Joint Negotiating Council, Comrade Lasun Oyedele, called on Adeleke not to forget all the promises he made to the people of the state and the workers.
Meanwhile, the people of the state, who are still in frenzy mood with jubilation across the state, are now waiting anxiously, for Adeleke to take off full blast and awaiting better days ahead, as he promised them.
