Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, has finally revealed why he has been paying workers’ salary on the 25th of every month since he assumed office.
Speaking when members of the Ibadan Progressives Union, IPU, converged on the government house to honour him, Makinde explained that the need to ensure that the economy of Oyo State, every month, is reflated by, at least, 8billion Naira made him embark on move.
According to him: “When we got into office six months ago, we outlined a few things we needed to do. One of them is to ensure that the economy of Oyo State, every month, is reflated by, at least, 8billion Naira. We thought of how to achieve this even when we need to pay salaries of workers every 25th. When we started, some were saying we can’t sustain that policy action but this is the sixth month we have fulfilled the obligation without borrowing a dime.
“The civil servants are here and I make bold to tell you all that we have not accessed one Kobo of borrowed money on the things we have done in Oyo State up till this moment. Now, on the issue of sustainability, I am an Engineer and if you see an Engineer digging a hole in front of your house, he already knows how the structure he will build on it looks like. So, we will sustain the tempo.
“People will always say that power gets into the head of politicians when they get into office. For example, if you want a 10 power-horse engine to tow a car, you can move from 0-100 km/hour withing 3-4 seconds but if you get to a point where you are supposed to apply the brake and you are unable to, you will lose control. So, power without control is nothing. In fact, it is a dysfunction. So, the people of Oyo State have given me the power but I will apply all the control. Here, we are just starting, you have not seen anything yet.”
Saying that his late father was a member of IPU, he said that “So, let me properly address the issue of environmental sanitation in Oyo State. You can all recall that a few weeks back, I personally led my team to clean up Ibadan and there has been an improvement because the emergency is still being enforced. While that is going on, a holistic solution is being worked out and, very soon, new refuse disposal architecture will take place in Oyo State.
“Another issue we have raised here is about the pillars that this administration is resting on. It was a deliberate action when we earmarked almost 25 per cent of the estimate of the budget that we took to the House of Assembly on education.
“We are also focusing on security and expansion of our economy through agriculture and Agric value chain. We know that it is through agribusiness that our teeming youths can get jobs and I am pleased to announce that African Development Bank AfDB has agreed to include Oyo State in the Agro-processing zone that will get needed support.
“The issue is, we don’t have any other place of origin and, as far as that is the situation, we will continue to do our best for Ibadan and Oyo State.
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