•City People Reveals All The Behind Scene Details
Prince Dapo Abiodun, the Governor of Ogun State is in a happy mood right now. This is because everything looks good for him. Going by the recent political developments in the state, he seems to have a bright chance of victory at the forthcoming party primaries and at the General Elections.
As it is, everything seems to count in his favour. A few weeks back he hosted the President in Ogun State and revealed all he has been able to do in the past 3 years.
“Despite the economic constraints, my administration has made significant progress within the available limited resources”, revealed Prince Abiodun.
“Some of these benefits have been well demonstrated through people-oriented projects, which include road reconstruction and rehabilitation across the 3 Senatorial Districts of our state; Healthcare Delivery; Education Sector Revitalization; Affordable Housing Projects; Agricultural Developments; Digital and Technological Revolution; Better Sports Development; and Improved Welfare for workers.”
“Our administration has also reinvigorated the security architecture and improved on our Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) to attract more private sector investments.”
“I am delighted to report that in 2 years, we have recorded giant strides that are visible across the length and breadth of our state”. “Our administration, in the last two years, has reconstructed 34 roads, spanning over 270km. Within the same period, another set of 41 roads have benefitted from rehabilitation covering over 322km.”
“Thus, we have worked on over 600km of rural, intra-state and inter-state roads across the three senatorial districts of the state, in line with our commitment to even development of the state and the completion of inherited projects that are of immense benefit to our citizens. Our Administration is committed to bringing relief to our citizens regardless of the cause or source of the discomfort”.
Beyond this is his newfound relationship with President Buhari who has shown Gov. Abiodun so much, love.
What is likely to work for him politically is the fact that he is now in full control of the party in the state. His group is in charge of Ogun APC and Dapo Abiodun is the leader of the party in the state. Because of his control of the party, he now determines what happens in the party.
Beyond that is the fact that he will also be playing a pivotal role in the presidential ambition of Vice President Osinbajo. Both of them are very close and Osinbajo was one of those who helped, Abiodun win the elections in 2015. Although Osinbajo has not declared his intention to run for Presidency in 2023, there are strong indications that he will soon come out to announce his plans.
When he does, Gov. Abiodun is one of those who will enjoy that he delivers the VP’s home state to Osinbajo. Both are not only from Ogun State, they are from the same senatorial district, Ogun East. Gov. Abiodun is from Iperu-Remo, which is about 15 minutes drive away from Ikenne-Remo, the VP’s home town. Gov Abiodun is also working with Senator Yayi who stepped down for Gov. Abiodun to clinch the governorship ticket in 2015.
Many don’t know Yayi stepped down for Prince Dapo Abiodun to clinch the gubernatorial tickets of APC. It was a bold step which he was commended for then. According to him, it was the right thing to do. And it gave him joy, knowing that Prince Dapo Abiodun was getting the ticket. After the election, Yayi also expressed his feelings while congratulating the new governor and also afirmimg that Dapo Abiodun will be the Governor of Ogun State for another 8 years.
Recall that in 2015 Senator Adeola Yayi who was representing the largest senatorial district in Nigeria, Lagos West Senatorial District, made his intention known that he was coming home to contest for the Governor of Ogun State. Being a Yewa-born, the song on everyone’s lips in Ogun State then was that it was the turn of Yewa Awori people to rule Ogun State for the first time since the creation of Ogun State. Yayi is from the Ilaro area of Yewa, although it was argued at some point that the Lagos Senator was not from Yewa. But after many investigations and evidence, reports found out that he was a true son of Yewa. Yayi faced a lot of challenges and bad media from the opposition. But each day, his structure was becoming bigger and stronger. He is loved by not only the people of Yewa but all over Ogun State. The support he got from Teachers alone was enough for him to win the election. But before the election, he withdrew his intention and went back to Lagos to re-contest for the same senatorial post. But Yayi never left his people in Ogun State. He was still very relevant and recognised in Ogun State politically, believing that he was going to stage a huge comeback in 2019 and win the election to Oke Mosun.
By 2017 the heat was up again and Yayi started his campaign. At that time, his structure and supporters was massive and it became a major headache for Governor Ibikunle Amosun who had the intention of installing a successor. Although Yayi was in the same party with Governor Amosun, he was not someone Amosun could boss around, he had a different vision and mission from Amosun which caused major chaos between them and their followers. The people of Ogun State wanted a fresh breath and they see Yayi as someone who could take the state forward. Gradually he became the number one aspirant who has the upper hand in winning the election. From Yewa, there was Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka GNI who has contested for the Ogun Governor twice and also contesting again. There was Abiodun Abdul Kadri Akinlade, who was Governor Amosun’s choice of candidate, and many more.
There was crises in Ogun APC even before the primaries and there were different speculations that Yayi might go back to Lagos to re-contest again on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s order, as time goes on it was clear that Prince Dapo Abiodun will be supported and given the ticket of the party to contest, Yayi was the sacrificial lamp to pave way for Dapo Abiodun to contest. The political analysis also revealed then that it will be a great opportunity for Yayi to hand over his structure and followers to Dapo Abiodun, and this enhanced his chances to win the election. Before the primaries, there was a press briefing from Yayi’s camp that he was going to back to Lagos to re-contest again. He was happy to take that decision and promise to stand by the right candidate of the party.
Although truly Yayi went back to Lagos, he collapsed all his structure, followers and machinery for Dapo Abiodun and they all worked effortlessly to ensure the mandate was actualised, this explains why most of the powerful people in Yayi’s camp were seen with Dapo Abiodun during the campaign and they are all playing big roles in Dapo Abiodun’s government. It was obvious during the election as Dapo Abiodun clichéd the highest vote from Yewa Area. When Dapo Abiodun was naming his first Senior Special Assistants and Advisers 3 of them were from Yayi’s camp and also from Yewa.
According to Gov. Dapo Abiodun, “all the projects and programmes of his Administration in Ogun State are deliberate and guided by the administration’s visions, which is to give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and create an enabling environment for a Public-Private Sector Partnership to thrive.
“We believe this is fundamental to the socio-economic development of the state and individual prosperity of our people.
The choice of the 5 projects that we are commissioning today from our many landmark projects was a daunting task. These are just a few of our achievements. We have so much more to showcase. These selected few that Your Excellency will commission are however symbolic of the various types of projects across all sectors of our dear state’s economy. And, they are spread all through the 3 Senatorial Districts.
Mr President, I have the honour to report that our administration in Ogun State has continued to fulfil all its promises to the people within the available means.
It is noteworthy that all our projects have the inputs and are informed by the needs of the people as expressed by them at different engagement fora that we provide. This is because we anchor our “Building our Future Together” Agenda on inclusiveness, equity, fairness, transparency, accountability, justice, and obedience to the rule of law. Under our 5 Development Pillars with the acronym I.S.E.Y.A; that is I – for Infrastructure, S – for Social Welfare and Wellbeing, E – for Education, Y – for Youth Empowerment, A for Agriculture and Food Security, we based our choices on what the people say they want and we get their buy-in for implementation.
He went on to give a panoramic view of the 5 projects that were scheduled for commissioning the day Buhari came to Ogun State.
“The Gateway City Gate where we are now, for instance, is an iconic monument that not only beautifies the environment but a reflection of the new approach to governance in the State. It symbolizes the convergence, harmony, and unity amongst all the groups and sections of the State. It is not just a physical Intersection of the 3 Senatorial Districts; it is a symbol of the togetherness of our people and the legendary warmth and hospitality to our visitors and guests.”
“The Ijebu-Ode-Epe Road, a Federal Road which Your Excellency commissioned earlier, is another strategic arterial road that links the Lekki/Epe corridor of Lagos State to the eastern corridor of Ogun State at Ijebu-Ode. With this road, socio-economic activities in the South East and South-South zones of our country will receive a boost through the linkage of the road to Sagamu-Benin Expressway for easier access by motorists to Lagos, Nigeria’s largest economy.”
“In the same vein, the Sagamu Interchange-Abeokuta Road is 42km in length and is the main arterial road that leads to our Capital City. It is a dual carriageway with streetlights, median and other road furniture. This road, though a federal road, was redesigned and reconstructed to address the daily challenges being experienced by commuters and to make commuting between the State Capital and other parts of the State and, indeed, the rest of the country a safe, secure and pleasant experience. The two roads are very significant and critical to the socio-economic development of not only Ogun State but the Nation at large.”
“Mr President, 2 of our many housing projects have been completed and ready for you to commission. Our affordable Housing Estate at Kobape in Abeokuta comprises 526 units of 2 and 3-bedroom bungalows. The King’s Court at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta is a middle/high income Housing Estate and has 31 of its 85 units in the first phase fully completed. The remaining 54 units are at various stages of completion.”
“Furthermore, several similar housing projects are under construction in different parts of the state. Our aggressive housing programme is aimed at delivering 2,500 units of houses by the end of our first term. So far, we have achieved over 60% of the target within 30 months and are confident that we will deliver on this commitment, as we have done in all our programmes.”
“Your Excellency, we will like to inform you that all these projects are interrelated. These are not just projects – they are also part of our Agenda for Development and have been deliberately conceived and implemented to also achieve employment generation; poverty alleviation and local capacity development, as most of the people working on these projects, are local artisans, technicians and tradesmen and women.”
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