As the governorship election draws near in Ondo State, the state government has urged politicians to be fair in their criticism about the state government saying such criticism should be constructive and objective.
This appeal was contained in a statement issued and signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor (Media and Publicity, Mr Ojo Oyewamide, while reacting to some issues raised by a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr Banji Ayiloge, on the state of development in the state.
Oyewamide, who acknowledged the right of every individual to contest the 2020 election but urged every political office seekers to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship devoid of rancour, acrimony or bitterness as the campaigns for the governorship elections gather momentum.
He said “the right of Ayiloge to aspire to the highest political position in the state is undoubtedly, inalienable. That is the beauty of democracy.
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“This is more so that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, has not, and will not find enthralling, any undemocratic arrangement whereby he is seen to be the only governorship contender. Such is no longer a contest.”
He, however, said the state government decided to address some issues raised by Ayiloge in an interview in order to put the record straight.
He said “A major part of the vision of this administration is how to boost the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state. Governor Akeredolu believes that government cannot do much with poor IGR.
“A former staff of WEMA Bank, Mr Tolu Adegbie, was appointed by the governor as the chairman of Ondo State Internal Revenue Service after emerging the best in a screening exercise conducted for applicants who sought the job.
“Although state is yet to attain her target, it is heartwarming to inform the public that the State IGR is no longer crawling. We have improved from N700m to an average of N1.5billion monthly.
“Unfortunately, Ayiloge is not interested in the productivity of the revenue generation agency and commendable feat it has achieved within the last two years.
“Rather, the former Commissioner for Information mischievously elected to play politics by falsely linking Governor Akeredolu’s son with the now vibrant organization. This is preposterous and most unexpected of an elder whose passion for self-aggrandizement has overshadowed reasoning.”
Speaking on the state of infrastructure put in place by the present administration in the state, Oyewamide said “it imperative to state that the Akeredolu government, which came on board in 2017, began its infrastructural projects in Ifedore Local Government Area where Ayiloge hails from.
“Among the various road projects done by the present government in Ifedore is that of Odo-Oja in Ijare where the family house of Ayiloge is located. If he cannot see other notable road projects across the state, he is, at least, expected to see the one that passes through the front of his father’s house in his hometown.
“While Ayiloge reserves the right to run for the governorship of Ondo State, especially on the platform of the APC, his trajectory of lies are the least of desirable qualities needed by the people of the State. We have not gone that low in the Sunshine State.”
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