Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2023 election, Sen. Teslim Folarin, has taken a swipe at Governor Seyi Makinde over what he called his ‘trial and error’ in governance, six months to the end of tenure.
Speaking in Igboora, venue of the APC rally in Ibarapa, Senator Folarin said that it was obvious the people of Ibarapaland have been marginalized despite the support the zone gave the governor in the 2019 election.
Obviously reacting to Makinde’s statement in Ibarapaland that late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi siphoned money meant for Ido-Ibarapa road, Folarin said it was shameful that the governor is blaming those before him for his lackluster performance. If indeed GSM had any evidence of corruption against the government of Late Governor Ajimobi, why has he not presented the evidence to the anti-corruption Agencies for investigation? . Rather that play to the gallery and make false accusation about funds being siphoned, Oyo citizens are aware of the existence of an Advanced Bank Guarantee against all contracts awarded by the last administration. This was put in place to ensure that the bank providing the guarantee is help liable should the contractor fail to deliver the job he was paid for.
Folarin promised to return government to the people when elected adding that he would attract foreign direct investment to Ibarapa and other parts of the state.
“I am glad to be here today. It is the beginning of the journey to liberation and peace. Oyo is blessed with natural resources. In agriculture, we have advantage in cassava, mango and cashew. This is because our land is arable. Apart from encouraging farmers to grow more and support them where necessary. . The era when buyers will short-change our hardworking farmers will come to an end. Our people will not wait till their produce are about to be rotten before they make money.
“Apart from that, we are going to make sure local government functions as it should. We will return powers to you. For us, we believe that the people will enjoy very well when local government chairmen are given free hand to operate and not when governor dictate what they should do. We will only monitor and that will be within the ambit of the law.
“So be rest assured. You will witness the era when local government chairmen will construct roads and amenities within their various jurisdiction. We will create channels where you can be able to interact with us. We won’t allow capital flight. We believe we have many capable hands to handle jobs. In areas where it is lacking, we will make sure the place of local content is well secured. Our artisans will benefit. We will not allow anybody rip them. Whatever is stipulated in the contract that concerns artisans will be done by them. It is not left to them to give us best hands among them. So, carpenters, bricklayers, welders and others should brace up for the government unusual that is about coming.
“We will work at reducing out-of-school children issue. While it is unfortunate that some almajiri are littering towns, we will ensure creation of centers to cater for them to rid the society. We have to find solutions by taking care of them. Begging for alms isn’t part of our culture. At the centers to be created, we will have schools, hospitals and other forms of amenities including care givers. Within months, we will integrate them fully into the society. Those who can’t go to school again will be provided necessary skills so as to deal with challenges.
“Being a senior chief myself, we will make sure our traditional rulers participate in serving our people. We will not relegate them. Rather, we will assign functions to them. This will go a long way on addressing the challenges of security. We will not encourage our young folks to go into criminalities by indulging people with questionable characters. We will also fund technical schools. This is to prepare the ground for investment and its promotion. No serious investor will invest his money in an insecure environment.
“It isn’t about promise. We won’t promise what we can’t do. Our late leaders, Alhaji Lamidi Adesina, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi and Otunba Adébáyọ̀ Alao-Akala did well in that regards. They served the people with human face. They were not learners in power. They took the people to where they ought to be not where they wanted to be.
