A financial expert and candidate of the Accord in the last general election in Oyo State, Hon. Saheed Adegboyega Ajadi has said that he will make Ibadan the cleanest capital within the first two years of his administration when he becomes governor come 2023.
Hon. Ajadi expressed the confidence while briefing journalists recently on his vision and dream for the state. He disclosed that he has the blueprint to turn around the fortune of the state within two years and make it a financially independent state in Nigeria.
The Accord gubernatorial candidate in the last generate election lamented that the decision of the state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde to give people free hands to trade by the road sides is worrisome, maintaining that it is contributing to environmental and social hazard in the state.
“Street trading has been the order of the day and Oyo State is not known to be a lawless state. So, telling the people not to trade in the right of way has been a problem in Ibadan since I was born. My mother was a trader, I sold at Agbeni Market, I was a distributor of Lever Brothers, Unilever products, name that conglomerate, so I know what it means to be a trader, but there was something in those days, there was monitoring. You can’t put your goods anywhere, you will be fined in Ibadan, even if you don’t have a shop. Oyo State government used to fine people who did not comply, therefore, giving excuses for allowing the state to return to street trading now is worrisome.
“So, as a governor, I’m I going to allow people to do things the way they want to do it, in my state? No, that cannot happen, why I’m I the governor? Then I should go back to my home and rest. There are no environmental officers (Wolewole) anywhere anymore to tell the people not to engage in open defecation again, to tell the people not to throw refuse anywhere anymore on the road again. By the time I become the governor of Oyo State in 2023, I will make Ibadan the cleanest capital in Nigeria,” Hon Ajadi said.
Speaking on his plans for education, Hon. Ajadi faulted the governor’s free education policy for making it ambiguous for the parents to understand. He stated that there should be a clear understanding and specifications of what is expected of parents as duties and responsibilities.
“A lot of people are poor, if you want to help them, help them in clear understanding. My own plan is to make education totally free. I will train my teachers and give them a sense of belonging, I will give them incentives, make accommodation possible for them, make access to car loan possible. With these, you will see the wonder they will perform, because they won’t think about problem of housing again, they won’t think about how to move about again, so technically, the problem of education is solved.”
Hon. Ajadi, an Ibadan born and bred politician, explained that his mission is to focus on how to turn waste to wealth and making Oyo State a financially Independent state within the shortest period of time of his administration.
His words, “I need the waste because waste is money for me. We have to look inwards to make our dear state financially stable and independent. Everything is a resource for a ready-to-work-governor, your waste, your feces if I am able to put pipe around all Ibadan is a raw material for development for me. I will make Oyo State a rich state because I will make biogas, I will produce best flame to cook. I will acquire plant that will recycle waste and turn it to money for the state.
“I am going to import waste from other South West states because I know the waste I will be generating in Oyo alone cannot be sufficient for me to make fertilizer for our farmers. I am going to engage our youths in mechanized farming system. I am going to have farm settlements across the state to develop agriculture and make it to drive our economy. My focus is to make it attractive, build prototype houses and equip them with modern day facilities to make them worth living for our teeming youths who are interested in agriculture in those settlements,” he reiterated
In the area of sports, Hon. Ajadi assured that it is in his plans to return all secondary school games back to school system, where talents will be discovered at younger age and sports will be promoted from the grassroots.
According to Hon. Ajadi, “we can use sports to make money because I am a sports man. My plan is to engage youths through sports, promote their talents and fuse them together and nurture them to become prominent. I will set up junior academy where talents discovered will be trained, monitored and mentored to ensure that their dreams of becoming important figures through sporting activities come into fruition.”
Packaged by Kunle Gazali
