Chief Adebayo Adelabu, the gubernatorial candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has been talking about why he is more qualified than the others in the race for the Agodi Government House.
He identified his background in public finance management, his experience at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), youthfulness and energy to bring about accelerated development to the state as some of the qualities that set him apart from other candidates.
Adelabu, who bagged a First Class in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife and joined PriceWaterhouse, international chartered accountants and management consultants firm from where he worked with other firms before joining the CBN, spoke to newsmen in Ibadan, on Thursday.
He said requisite experience in public finance management was one of the most critical qualifications for anyone aspiring to become the governor of the state since the key responsibility of the office involved making good use of state resources in a way to ensure accountability and financial control.
The APC candidate said his vision was to run the state in a way to foster shared economic prosperity through the agriculture value chain as enshrined in his seven-point prosperity agenda for the people of the state.
According to him, Governor Abiola Ajimobi has made his job easier as the incoming governor with what he called the unprecedented level of development witnessed in the state in the last eight years.
“If there is anything we can say we have a comparative advantage over others, it is agriculture. So, we can’t take it with levity. In fact, our industrialisation that we are envisioning for the state will be agro allied based. So, agriculture is going to be the focus of our government and a lot of jobs will be created through the Agric value chain.
“We have the largest fertile land in Nigeria. A lot of things can grow on our land, with or without fertiliser. We will resuscitate the farm settlement model and create more farm settlements and make farming attractive to our people, especially the youths, by making social amenities available at the settlements, including access roads, good schools, clinics and more.
“We will take the state to a level where we won’t need monthly allocation from Abuja to survive as a state. Why must we be going to Abuja every month? Lagos State does not send its Finance Commissioner to Abuja. It only sends a Director or a Permanent Secretary to attend FAAC. How much is Lagos getting from Abuja compared to how much it is making as IGR locally?
“So, you can see why continuity is good. If another person, who is not a progressive, comes in as governor, he will abandon all the good things Governor Ajimobi has done and the people of the state will suffer for that. I am proud to leverage the good work and the foundation laid by Ajimobi and what I will do can only be incremental.
“Governor Abiola Ajimobi has done a lot in roads, not just within the cities, even across towns. Go to Iseyin, Saki, Ogbomosho, Oyo and Ibadan. So, I don’t have the burden of redoing those ones. I will only more and concentrate on linking rural areas and farm settlements.
“My desire and passion to foster economic prosperity in Oyo State rather than pecuniary and personal aggrandizement inspired my interest in the number one seat of the state. Our administration will boost tourism, ensure youth inclusiveness, and exploit potentialities in agro-allied industries,’’ he added.
Credit: tribuneonlineng.com
