IN less than two weeks, the people of Osun State will be faced with the decision of electing the next governor of the state. As a chieftain of the APC, why do you think the people should support your party’s standard-bearer?
My message to the voters is simple, really. They should go all out and vote for continuity. They should not allow politicians to use money to buy their conscience; they should vote for any candidate they have in mind.
But I know that every voter in osun will want to vote for the APC candidate in person of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola so as to give room for the continuity of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s eight years of purposeful and meaningful administration in Osun State.
Governor Aregbesola has done marvellously well in Osun and the only way to ensure that good governance continues is to vote for Oyetola.
Do you think the Aregbesola government has done enough to warrant the APC’s ongoing campaign that a vote for Oyetola is a vote for continuity?
In fact, Aregbesola has performed meritoriously well in the eight years of his government. Nobody can contest the achievements of this government in the areas of introduction of homegrown school feeding programme, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria; the massive building infrastructure in the education sector, including the building of standard schools and renovation of countless others. It is also to the credit of the Aregbesola government that the tablets of knowledge (Opon Imo) was distributed to secondary schools in the state, while the government also gave school uniforms to all secondary school students free of charge.
In the area of infrastructure, the government has carried out the construction of many roads including dualisation and tarring of several roads across the state and channelisation of drainages, which has helped in the protection against erosion. You can also go out and verify; Osun State has become the most peaceful state in the federation as a result of Aregbesola’s commitment to the effective security of the state.
For a government that created massive employment opportunities by way of recruiting over 100,000 youths into the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES); boosted agricultural production through the O-Reap programme and has continued to assist farmers in the state by giving them the necessary support in order to boost food production in the state, there can be doubt that it is a people-oriented government. So, calling for the continuity of such administration is in the interest of the state. And it would interest you to know that Oyetola has been part of the Aregbesola government as the Chief of Staff. So, with all these laudable achievements of the government in which Oyetola is part, I want to believe that if he is elected as the governor, it will not be difficult for him to continue with these laudable achievements.
The APC been in government for eight years and according to you, it has achieved tremendously. So, what do you think are the new things that Oyetola will add to what Aregbesola has done?
The government has achieved and this is not just my view; the evidence is spread across the state for all to see. And as I said earlier, Oyetola was an insider in the present administration of Governor Aregbesola and he has a clear idea of the next thing to do after the exit of Governor Aregbesola. If he is elected as governor, Oyetola will perform excellently well in the areas of job creation for the youths, completion of many infrastructural development projects as well as growing the economy of the state by bring in investors and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. He has also identified agriculture as an area of major focus and I think with his experience and exposure, he can take Osun to the Promised Land.
As Oriade council chairman, what has been your experience so far?
My experience as council chairman has made me to move closer to my people. The position has also enabled me to serve my people well at the grassroots, as it has created a very good experience for me politically. But I want to call on the people of the local government to continue to support us so as to enable us to bring more dividends of democracy to their doorsteps and I promise I won’t disappoint them on all I promised them when I was seeking their votes.
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