EVER since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu celebrated his 100 days in office as governor of Lagos State in 1999, the culture of 100 days in office to deliver quick wins has gained ground, and now, many governors have adopted the practice as a key component of governance.
DURING the celebration, governors highlight their achievements within the period, reinstate the commitments of their administration towards good governance and set agenda for the future.
IT is therefore no surprise that Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Governor of Ondo State, follows a tradition that has become institutionalized, by celebrating his 100 days of his second term in office.
WE believe that getting the second term was no surprise to many people, and we observe with pride some of the actions taken in the past 100 days, despite the crushing macro-economic and political challenges the governor has been facing.
WITHIN the period, he’s been able to provide a strong leadership to southern Nigerian governors, at a time when the activities of herdsmen, Islamic insurgents and criminals threaten the very fabric of the Nigerian federation, which totters like an elephant about to collapse.
FOR instance, while many Nigerian governors shy away from discussing restructuring the country, Akeredolu in the last one hundred days showed enormous courage by not shying away from national issues, insisting that the nation needs to be restructured if it must survive present-day turbulence.
CONSIDERING the fact that millions of Nigerians share this opinion, Akeredolu’s positions himself as the champion of a popular idea to avert tragedies if his call for restructuring is accepted by other sections of the country.
THOUGH a local security outfit, and new in the state, the governor has increased the value of Amotekun so much that many today point to the organ as an example of what a local institutions can be in tackling security challenges in local communities.
THROUGH its activities, Amotekun prevents herdsmen and other intruders from overwhelming the forests and cities of the state, a function similar outfits in surrounding states find difficult to carry out with success.
NEEDLESS to say, COVID-19 and economic depression affected a lot of developments during the period under review, but the Akeredolu’s administration responded frontally to the challenges by resorting to a lean government.
WITH such tactic, the administration has cut down the cost of governance, enabling the state to run seamlessly at a time of economic adversity and social upheaval intensified by Islamic insurgency and a general breakdown of law and other.
IN terms of infrastructural development, the government has not scaled down projects execution judging by the tempo of activities at the Alagbaka government office .
DESPITE the harsh economic climate nationwide, projects embarked by the administration continue to be pursued in the last one hundred days, while the government plans to build 100 kilometer rural roads.
OBVIOUSLY, they will open up the rural areas for economic expansion, as farm produce will have opportunities to be transported to urban areas, boosting the financial status of local farmers and preventing the spread of rural criminal activity.
THOUGH the government began the impetus during the first term of Akeredolu’s administration, the appointment of new teachers in primary schools took place in the period under review.
OF course, this means rural schools suffering from shortage of teachers will have a respite, while teachers with new ideas will reengineer primary school pupils in a way to make them respond to the technological changes taking place around us.
HAVING said this, we appreciate the governor for his efforts so far, but we are of the view that he can do more to make residents look at the period of his tenure with fondness.
THOUGH we appreciate the fact that the nation’s revenue dwindles by the day, the governor should look for creative ways to generate money to strengthen the coffers of the state.
THROUGH this means, the governor could be able to tackle the challenge inherent in paying workers’ salaries and speed up the completion of many infrastructural projects.
THE governor should continue to operate a lean government, as this should cut down the cost of governance in the long term, allowing residents a breather in these turbulent times.
HE should continue to take the issue of security in a serious light, and he can do this by making Amotekun a more efficient institution in the struggle against insurgents, herdsmen’s encroachment and criminal activities in this part of the country.
HE should carry out this function through the recruitment of more staff for the local security outfit, purchase new vehicles and provision of better equipment for the operatives of the state.
ON the proposed Port Ondo, the governor should liaise with his counterparts in contiguous states, as well as rally all political representatives of Ondo State extraction across the different political divides, to form a lobby group that reach out to the different sectors involved in processing the request that will make the port a reality.
WE encourage him to take hard decisions to develop his constituency but such must be seen to be in the best interest of the generality of people of the state.