Unity, peace key to community development

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The leader of the senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele has reiterated the need for the society to embrace peace and live together in unity to bring about socio-economic development in the communities.

The senator representing Ekiti central senatorial district who spoke at the weekend during the celebration of the 2023 Iyin-Ekiti Day, explained that there will be development and progress if people agree to shun any form of acrimony among themselves.

Bamidele, who is from the community congratulated all sons and daughters of Iyin-Ekiti for the celebration after a few years of interregnum and added that people must learn to give back to their home and contribute to its growth.

He said, “Today has spoken out so largely again that the only way you can enhance development in a community is to have peace and unity.

“This town is comprised of four different quarters. We are glad today because we are talking about Iyin Ekiti not just a quarter of the town. The event was a celebration of our unity and the restrengthening of our union as a community. We are back hitting the ground running.

“For me, community development is about trying to make some commitment that the lives of the people and the community cannot be the same. People have their individual lives but a community has its own life as an entity and you don’t talk about a community without talking about its people.

“We are not only doing this in Ekiti, I am also encouraging every other town within my senatorial district to do this. I just want to say, it is part of a way of giving back to the system and we are glad to do it in our community again with our friends.”

Speaking on the federal university to be established in the town, he said, “It is a desire of the people of Iyin Ekiti to have a Federal University established in this town. It is a desire that is currently receiving utmost legislative attention and at the end of the legislative action, which will be completed very soon because the bill again has passed the second reading in the Senate and it will pass the third reading and will be moved to the House of Representatives for its concurrence at the second chamber.

“So within the next few weeks, we would have concluded this and Mr President is waiting to give his assent to this bill when it is finally passed so that we can be on our way to hosting a Federal University of Technology and Environmental Services in Iyin Ekiti.

“And it is about helping to provide access to many of our youths and children who are desirous of getting a university education and who on a yearly basis get turned back because we don’t have enough academic institutions to take care of them. We are on course in this regard and in a matter of some months, it would have become a reality.”

Speaking, the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti, Oba Adeniyi Ajakaiye stressed the need for communities to identify and harness their potential to enhance economic growth at the grassroots.

According to him, “We have visited a lot of places, tourist attractions that we need to project to the world, to bring tourists to Ekiti, to enhance the development of our town and we are putting up a strategic plan on how to develop the town.

“Iyin used to be the best-planned town in the old western region and we want to continue this legacy.”

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