ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE GOVERNOR OF OGUN STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY, SENATOR IBIKUNLE AMOSUN FCA, ON THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ADMINISTRATION, HELD ON THURSDAY, 29TH MAY, 2014. Exactly three years today, I took the oath of office as the fourth democratically elected Governor of our great State. The ceremony was for me not just a statutory obligation but rather the start of a deeply personal commitment to public service summarised in our Mission to Rebuild Ogun State. Looking back over the last three years, there has been visible and impactful change and improvement in the daily lives of the good people of Ogun State. 2. My dear good people of Ogun State, you will agree with me that events in these past three years have confirmed the doggedness, resoluteness and the commitment of our Administration to truly rebuild our great State. Our collective commitment, dedication and co-operation through this period, as evident in the various development programmes carried out by our Administration, has paid off. I am happy that we are already reaping the dividends of the sacrifices made. In the next few weeks, we will start commissioning various projects embarked upon by our Administration across the three senatorial districts of our State. 3. Undoubtedly, our Administration has consistently kept faith with the 5 Cardinal Programme of the Mission to Rebuild our dear state, which are as follows: * Affordable Qualitative Education; * Efficient Health Care Delivery; * Increased Agricultural Production/Industrialisation; * Affordable Housing & Urban Renewal; and * Rural and Infrastructural development /Employment Generation 4. We have been careful not to compromise or sacrifice good governance on the altar of politics. Let me use this medium to appreciate our, traditional rulers, political leaders, opinion leaders, members of the private sector, public servants, artisans, trade unions, civil societies, market men and women, the media and all citizens of our great State, for the support given to our Administration in the last three years. Without you, we could not have achieved this much. And, as we approach the fourth year of our Administration, be rest assured that we will not take your support for granted. 5. Today, as we begin the fourth year of our administration , let me again review how far we have gone in executing our five cardinal programme as outlined in our Mission to Rebuild Ogun State. AFFORDABLE QUALITATIVE EDUCATION 6. We have invested heavily in rebuilding infrastructure in the education sector. We have also focussed on training and retraining of staff, spending over N140M. Encouraging students to excel through the provision of conducive environment for learning. 7. We have demonstrated our commitment to providing affordable qualitative education, through the following. • Allocating 23% of our annual budget to Education steadily progressing towards the globally accepted UNESCO recommendation. • Our “Free Education Initiative” in all public primary and secondary schools with the abolition of tuition fees and all forms of levies resulted in a marked increase in enrolment from 292,324 in 2010/2011 to 411,619 in the current academic session. This represents an increase of 40.8%. • Payment of an average of N400 million (annually) to West African Examination Council for the conduct of external examination for our SS3 students in State secondary schools. • .N3.25 billion expended on the purchase of free textbooks and instructional materials which were distributed to all primary and secondary school pupils and students in public schools. . This enables our students to enrich their learning through independent study • Payment of the registration and science practical fees for NABTEB (NTC/NBC) examination for students of government Science and Technical Colleges in the State, as well as End-of-Course examination fees for the final year students in public Science and Technical Colleges. . • Responding to the needs of our growing student population with the construction of 15 out of the planned 28 Model Schools. Each school has full boarding facilities and a carrying capacity of 1,000 students. These schools are expected to commence academic activities in September 2014 • Procurement of sets of furniture for Early Childhood Care Development Education (ECCDE) Centres and supply of 15,652 sets of pupils’ furniture to Public Primary Schools, as well as provision of 10,400 Students’ furniture in Junior Secondary Schools. • Supply of 7,148 sets of teachers’ furniture for both Public Primary and Junior Secondary Schools. • Under the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Rehabilitation of 1,244 classrooms for primary and junior secondary schools has been completed. This programme has impacted over 500 individual schools across the state. • Recruitment of 5256 new teaching and Non-teaching staff to complement the existing pool, especially in the core subjects as well as religious and special needs • . Promotion of 4961 teaching and non teaching staff of the Teaching Service Commission and 7,362 primary school teachers of the SUBEB As a result of our investment and efforts in the education sector, we have continued to record drastic reduction in the drop out rate from the public primary and secondary schools. Performance of our students in West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination has also improved with an increase of 130% . We have also given due attention to tertiary education. An average of N600m is paid monthly to our tertiary institutions, as subvention . This amounts to over N21.6Bn in the last three years. Our highly successful cashless collection policy has generated considerable additional revenue which is being re-invested directly by the institutions. Other initiatives include: • Freezing of fees payable in eight of the nine State owned tertiary institutions to the levels inherited in 2011 thereby making higher education affordable to all. • Easing student travel by the purchase of 54-seater TATA Buses and Hilux Patrol Vehicles, Ambulances and 18-seater Buses for the two State Universities and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic. • Clearing the backlog of seven academic sessions in the Olabisi Onabanjo University (O.O.U) Ago-Iwoye which had concluded without convocations being held . This situation had left over 50,000 graduates of the University at a disadvantaged position in the tough employment market, being unable to formally prove their qualifications, with a certificate. This has now been rectified and certificates are issued as and when due. • N120 million spent on bursary, scholarship and grants to students of Ogun State origin studying in various institutions across the nation. . 8. This administration will continue to prioritise education due to its undisputed impact on development. We will ensure not only continuous investment but also continuous improvement. 9. EFFICIENT HEALTH CARE DELIVERY 10. My dear good people of Ogun State, our Administration has always attached importance to the health sector because we know that a healthy population is a great asset in the development of a nation or society. That is why we have consistently allocated considerable resources to the sector. Our interventions in this sector include the following: i. Construction of a well equipped modern comprehensive Health Centre in Totoro, Abeokuta, to reduce the pressure on the General Hospital, Ijaye. Construction of nine similar facility is about taking off in each of the Federal Constituencies; ii. Improved Routine Immunization for children 149, 048 (82%) in 2012 to 171,359 (100%) in 2013 while we equally achieved the sustenance of Wild Polio free State. A total of 5,308,818 immunisation doses have been administered to children under the age of five in the last two years; iii. Reduction in the number of missed / un- immunized children from 32,152 (38%) in 2012 to 11,966 (7%) in 2013 through routine Immunization strengthening and Supplemental Immunization Activities; iv. Improved Antenatal Care attendance and Increased number of deliveries by Skilled Birth Attendants through implementation of first phase of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) in three (3) LGAs - Abeokuta South, Ipokia and Sagamu-; v. In 2013, we were able to upgrade the equipment in some of our hospitals with the provision of anaesthetic machines, x-ray machines, mammogram machines, surgical lights and equipment, ambulances, as well as additional hospital beds, among others. vi. Our administration has equally increased the number of medical personnel across the state. With the employment of 782 medical workers in 2013, the number of medical doctors increased by 32% while the number of nurses increased by 15% and pharmacists by 47%. In the area of medical education, the number of nursing tutors increased by over 100%. vii. Successful Launch of Community Based Health Insurance Scheme “ARAYA” and Second Phase of Conditional Cash Transfer “GBOMORO” in the State; viii. Renovation of dilapidated structures in Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, (OOUTH) (medical, surgical and children’s wards). In addition,purchase of an ultrasound machine, a mobile x-ray with complementary accessories and consumables was undertaken together with laboratory and anaesthetic equipment, ix. Refurbishing and re-equipping of over 100 primary Health Care Centres; x. Renovation and reconstruction of dental clinics at Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Ota and Ilaro; and, 11. It is our belief that there must be adequate and efficient manpower to bring our vision for efficient health care delivery to reality. That is why we have significantly invested on training and retraining our health officials in order to create a renewed, vigorous healthcare sector. In this regard, our initiatives include: • Training of bio-medical engineering health workers; and health workers on diabetes and hypertension by the State Hospitals Management Board, resulting in the screening of patients on the ailments 12. This has led to the Maternal Mortality rate being reduced from 295/1000 to 245/1000 per births. In the same vein, our antenatal attendance also rose from 49% to 55%. Another achievement we recorded in this sector was in malaria cases. While 124,023 cases were recorded in 2012, only 54,162 cases were recorded in 2013. This is a 56% reduction. 13. More so, the therapeutic coverage of River Blindness in Ogun State improved to 48% in eight endemic Local Government Areas as at 2013 from 30% in 2009 to 2012. We also recorded 0% prevalence rate of guinea worm while HIV/AIDS prevalence in the State has gone down from 3.1% in 2010 to 0.6% presently. 14. Let me however restate our belief that there are no quick wins or short cuts in fixing the health sector. We are determined to continue to invest in structures, equipment and manpower that will support the realisation of our efficient healthcare delivery system. INCREASED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION/INDUSTRIALISATION 14. In our recently concluded Investors Forum, Agriculture was a specific area of focus. We see agriculture leading to industrialisation as a credible means of creating much needed jobs, particularly for the unemployed youths of our great State. Our efforts in agriculture include the following: • Procurement of over N700m worth of agricultural equipment for land clearing, planting and other aspects of mechanised farming. These are available on lease to our farming community at subsidised rates • Successful pilot and commencement of N500m rollout of the Greenhouse Franchise Scheme aimed to create jobs for our youth by producing tomatoes, cucumber and green peppers using hydroponic techniques. • Establishment of new Model Farm Estate at Owowo with cultivation of 150 hectares of land for cassava and other produce. • Allocation of over two hundred thousand (200,000) hectares of land to willing investors in agriculture at minimal cost. • Collaboration with the Malaysian Government to cultivate 200 hectares of rice to boost local production 17. Our approach in Ogun State is not only holistic but futuristic. Thus, Ogun State is at the forefront of the regional push for agro-business development that would raise employment and alleviate poverty at all levels. We are focused on the development of both primary and secondary agricultural production in both public and private sectors. By doing this ,we will not only be replacing the ageing farming population but, we will also empower and motivate our local farmers with an institutionalised development of the agric-business system. AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND URBAN RENEWAL 21. As the third of our Five Cardinal Programme, housing and urban development is a key area of focus. We recognise the tremendous impact it can have towards the development of our State. 22. Within three years of our Administration, we have made landmark achievements in housing delivery. Some of which include: i. Development of 170 hectare site and services residential scheme at Kobape; v. Conceptualisation and launch of Mitros City new town housing development scheme in Isheri. vi. Proposed 650 hectare residential/industrial development at Agbara; and 18 bungalows at Opic- Agbara Estate as well as provision of road infrastructure within the Estate 23. As part of on-going projects in the housing sector, we have also embarked on the following: i. Construction of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom housing units of detached and semi-detached bungalows and duplexes, as well as flats at the Plainfield Estate, Oke-Mosan; ii. Construction of the first phase of Orange Valley Estate, a fully serviced gated community located close to Olusegun Obasanjo Hilltop and scheduled for completion within six months. 24. To support these projects and to ensure the availability of long term funds to the good people of Ogun State we have recapitalised Gateway Savings and Loans with N2.5Bn. Let me state that our ultimate goal is to intervene in the housing delivery process and ensure that all our citizens own or have access to decent, safe and healthy accommodation at affordable cost. 25. Our Administration recognises and appreciates the role played by the Civil and Public Service, as the engine room of government.. This is why our Public and Civil Servants must have good shelter . I am pleased to announce that we shall shortly be commissioning the first phase of the 1,000 housing units we promised our Civil Servants. HOME OWNERS CHARTER 26. Another milestone achievement of our Administration in the area of housing is the Home Owners Charter Programme. We realised that many of our people are in the habit of building houses without the necessary approval from the relevant agencies. This makes it difficult for us as government, to plan and upgrade facilities where needed. And, the research carried out indicates that the people were discouraged by government bottlenecks and high cost of obtaining Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). To encourage our people to get proper documentation, we embarked on this programme, thereby heavily subsidizing the cost. The programme has been eagerly embraced by our people. The first set of C of O’s were issued to those who applied within the first three months of the programme. We believe that availability of the relevant documents for our properties will enhance not only the property values in Ogun State but will also go a long way to ending property related disputes. COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 27. Through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, we are mobilizing and empowering Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs). To this end, actions and activities taken include: i. Establishment of N1billion MSMEs Industrial Development Fund, a partnership between Ogun State Government and the Bank of Industry. 828 individual Micro and Small entrepreneurs had benefited from the soft loan programme with the creation of over 25,000 direct and indirect jobs ii. Training of 1000 unemployed graduates youth empowerment workshop on entrepreneurship. 28. We have revived the Ogun State Agricultural and Multipurpose Credit Agency (OSAMCA). The Agency’s main mandate is to provide credit support to micro and small enterprises for economic empowerment of the people. 29. The following achievements have also been recorded in the commerce and industry sector of our State economy: i. 46 major industries opened between May 2011 and April 2014. These include May and Baker who opened a US 719M plant and Proctor and Gamble who opened a state of the art US$300m plant in Agbara and Wempco steel rolling mill with investment of US$1.5Bn. Many other major industries are various stages of completion LAND ADMINISTRATION 34. Our land management and administration system has been reviewed and automated with the introduction of Geographic Information System (GIS) . As at today, the Bureau of Lands can boast of an excellent service delivery geared towards satisfying the numerous clients of the Bureau in a transparent manner and in accordance to international best practices. Our focus in land administration is to create easy access to land by investors and private developers. 35. RURAL & INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT / EMPLOYMENT GENERATION 41. Infrastructural development has been at the forefront of our Administration’s efforts to rebuild Ogun State. In our rural and urban areas, we have worked hard to update our ageing infrastructure and thus prepare our State for its future development and role as the most industrialised and emerging commercial centre of Nigeria. 42. The swift action of our Administration in this area has greatly improved the quality of life of our people and has curbed the daily loss of lives as a result of road accidents. For example, the newly constructed fly over at Mobalufon Junction in Ijebu Ode has ended the area’s notoriety as an accident black spot. It is sad to recall that the last accident before the construction commended claimed over 50 lives. The days of the unusually long travel time with attendant frustration and high vehicular maintenance cost that used to be the bane of motorists and other road users in the State are over. As stated earlier we are seeing enhanced commercial interest in all the areas where road renewal is ongoing. 44. Our resolve to rebuild and reposition the State, has led to the construction and reconstruction of many roads across the State, with all necessary road furniture, grade separation (Flyover Bridge), adequate and modern drainages, overhead pedestrian bridges, street lighting, e.t.c, termed the “Ogun Standard”.. 45. I am pleased to inform you that the State Government has awarded contracts for the construction of a total of 306.55km of roads in accordance with the “Ogun Standard”, i.e. minimum of six (6) lanes width roads and in some areas ten (10) lanes with Flyover Bridges at intersection points, plus all the road Furniture, Drainages, Pavement Marking, Green Areas, Directional Signs, e.t.c. This has generated thousands of jobs for our citizenry. 46. Interestingly, the longest road we are constructing is the Ilara- Tombolo- Ijoun- Tata Egua- Oja- Odan and Ilase Road which is over 110km long. It is a road which links four of the five Local Government Areas in the Western Senatorial District and provides access to thousands of square kilometres of the most arable farmland in our State. One major road worthy of special mention is the 32 kilometre Sango/Ijoko-Ojodu-Abiodun Road with two (2) bridges across rivers Yakoyo and Abule Ekun and three (3) flyover at Ijoko, Agbado and Akute. The road will lead to an increase in socio-economic activities as well as reduction in the incessant traffic bottleneck daily experienced by commuters in that corridor. 47. Some of the other road construction works that are on-going are: • Sagamu Benin Express/Oba Erinwole Road; • Flyover at Sabo/ Odelemo Junction; • Ilisan/Ago-Iwoye Road; • Mowe/Ofada Road; • Ejinrin/Oluwalogbon Road; • Flyover Bridge at Lagos Garage Ijebu-Ode; • Flyover Bridge at Mobalufon Junction, Ijebu-Ode; • Ilo-Awela Road; • Flyover at Ota Toll Gate along Abeokuta-Lagos Road; • Ilara/Ijohun/Egua/Oja Odan/Ilase Road; • Magboro Underpass; • Lafenwa Ayetoro Road; • OGTV/Brewery Road; • Flyover at Itoku; • Flyover at Sapon; • Ojere Adatan Road; • Moshood Abiola Way; • Flyover at Iyana Mortuary along Moshood Abiola Way; • Sango/Ijoko/Ojodu-Abiodun Road; • Flyover at Ijoko Railway Crossing; • Flyover at Agbado Crossing; • Flyover at Akute Junction; • Bridge over Abule Ekun River; • Bridge over Yakoyo River, amongst others. 48. In addition, our rural areas have also received attention. We rehabilitated over 220 kilometres of rural roads across 15 local government areas of the State with grading, laterite filling and provision of culverts where necessary. 51. Our infrastructural development is not limited to roads. We have continued with the supply of transformers to communities across the state. We also invested in the provision of potable water in collaboration with The World Bank, upgrading our physical infrastructure particularly in the area of distribution and improving technical capacity of our staff. We are equally providing boreholes, both electric and solar powered, to many of our communities. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 53. Our Administration, while working on various sectors of the economy, has equally given attention to empowerment of the women folk, development of our youths and promotion of sporting activities. In this area, our womenfolk have benefitted from three different tranches of soft loan totalling N700 million administered by Ecobank. Nineteen thousand (19,000) women have so far benefitted from this loan scheme which is given out at single digit interest rate. I want to use this opportunity to commend our women for not treating the fund as what is known as their own share of the ‘national cake’. The beneficiaries have kept faith as we have recorded 100 percent repayment rate. We are equally using sports to engage our youths and prevent them from involving themselves in vices. That is why we are renovating the MKO Abiola Stadium. Our administration has equally organised several training programmes aimed at empowering our youths and making them to be self-employed. CULTURE AND TOURISM 39. In Ogun State, we are proud of our rich culture and tourism possibilities. When we adequately tap into this rich culture and tourism potentials, we will be opening more economic opportunities for our people. That is why the Ministry of Culture and Tourism created by our administration has been aggressively promoting our tourism sites and potentials while attracting prospective investors into the sector. 40. My Dear People, through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we have renovated, refurbished and remodelled the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto to international standard. We have also renovated the Adire International Market, Asero; Constructed Skills Acquisition Centres at Odeda and Asero, alongside the Creation of Fun Park. In addition to this, the Ministry has successfully participated in all festivals and town celebrations across the State and country in the last three years. Apart from the exhibition of our State at the London Olympics, we are also working with international culture organisations to make our festivals conform with international standards. SECURITY 54. We are fully aware that no matter the level of infrastructural development in the state, if there is no adequate security, our investment drive will be an exercise in futility. No meaningful investment will thrive in an unsecured environment. Again, we know that the security of lives and property is the first constitutional responsibility of a government to its people. This is why we have continued to empower our security agencies with the State of the art facilities, not with-standing that they are federal agencies. Apart from the purchase of 14 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), 250 Hilux vans equipped with communication gadgets and other equipment provided for the security agencies, we remain committed to providing further support for the agencies so that we can continue to win the war against crime and criminals. We are happy to state that crime has reduced to the barest minimum in our state. I, therefore, enjoin us all to be very proactive on the issue of security, most especially, with the recent happenings all over the country. Environment To further complement our efforts in urban renewal through the rebuilding of infrastructure, we have also devoted energy into beautifying and cleaning our environment. We have personnel staff who on a daily basis sweep major streets in our urban areas. Landscaping and beautification have also received the attention of the administration. The monthly and weekly environmental sanitation exercise complements other initiatives in maintaining a clean environment. Our flood and erosion control programme through which we desilt and dredged 44.35km length of drainage channels, 16 kilometres of rivers and stream courses have led to a more beautiful society. The recruitment of Environmental Marshals who will be charged with the responsibility of enforcing relevant laws is on-going and they will soon be deployed across the state. I hereby appeal to our people to continue to co-operate with the government in saving our environment by not blocking the drainages or littering the streets. 55. As I close, let me use this opportunity to thank the good people of Ogun State for your continuous support, prayers and encouragement. Our joint attainments of the last three years demand that you be rechristened hereafter the “great” people of Ogun State. As we move from Good to great in the next 12 months I want to assure you that we continue to work hard to retain the trust you have reposed in us as we rebuild this great state. We will never take the support and cooperation of our people for granted. I seek the continuous cooperation and support of all in the task of rebuilding the State. There are many tasks ahead, but, I am convinced, as ever, that we have laid a strong foundation for our “Mission to Rebuild”, for the creation of an enduring democratic, prosperous and greater Ogun State, and, wish to assure the good people of our State, that, this is a task that must be done. We will never be tired in our efforts to better the lot of our People. Long Live Ogun State! Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria! 56. I thank you all for listening and God bless. Omo Ogun, Ise ya! Senator Ibikunle Amosun FCA Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria. Thursday, 29th May, 2014.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 20:54:29 +0000
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