By Sunmola Olowookere

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Since the inception of the Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s administration, the Governor and his team have embarked on a mission to renew the allure in the state’s cities, towns and communities. It embarked on massive upgrades of road infrastructure, over 511 dilapidated primary schools buildings renovation and it also recorded massive improvement in providing potable water, electricity to various communities that have suffered these amenities across the state.
By its second year, the government cleared about seven months backlog of salaries and pensions arrears it inherited after assumption of office that had long been owed them. The government is also living up to its promises not to owe salaries. The Governor has since been paying promptly and despite the economic crunch, has not retrenched a single worker. He has been promoting workers that were due for promotions as well.

ROAD PROJECTS
The unprecedented infrastructural development in the state include the construction of 5.25km Ile-Oluji township road. There were also massive road constructions at Oke-Ogba, Gaga in Akure and in Ikare and other areas.
Other major road projects are the CBN-Alagbaka and “A” Division – Ijoka Road, Akure. The governor has expressed satisfaction over the level of work done. He said the Ijoka project is being executed in segments. The NEPA segment had been completed in March. The next segment is from NEPA to Olukayode roundabout.
The Igbara Oke-Ibuji road is an important route which connects the State with other neighbouring states of Osun and Ekiti. The Akure-Idanre road project is also rearing completion.
Besides, in Oke Aro, Akure, Ondo State also flagged off the reconstruction of a bridge in the community.
As part of measures to boost grassroots development, the government also commenced grading of streets roads in Ese-Odo communities across the council area.
The road project will allow unhindered access to the communities, it will also allow the people to have access to their farms and houses.”
Also, the waterways were cleared of dirt, debris and hyacinths so as to encourage fishing activities and to promote efficient water transportation in riverine area.
It will also help to reduce accident, provide efficient water transportation and enhance the fishing activities.
The contract for the construction of the 51 kilometers Araromi-Seaside-Lekki-Lagos road which has the potential of turning around the economic fortunes of Ondo State had been awarded.
The Araromi-Seaside-Lekki project, will link Ondo State with Lagos Nigeria’s commercial hub which will add serious advantages to the economy of Ilaje and the state in general.
The state took advantage of the proximity to Lagos where it can share just about 30 kilometers from Araromi to Lekki.
That means somebody coming from Onitsha or Benin City needs not go through the long journey again but veer off Ore to Igbokoda and in less than one and a half hours, will be in Lagos. This saves a lot of travel time.
Residents of Bolorunduro, headquarters of Ondo East local government area of the State also could not hide their joy as they have given kudos to Governor Akeredolu for constructing the long abandoned road.
One of the residents, Mr Olufunso Ademukolu said the construction of the Bolorunduro road is evidential testimony of the Governor’s determination to implement all his campaign promises.

WATER PROVISION
In the area of water provision, the Akeredolu’s Administration also came with a firm resolve to ensure that the people have access to potable water, an effort lauded by the Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, over the commissioning of Kamomi Aketi Accelerated Water Scheme at Ayede-Ogbese in Akure North Local Government and several others council areas.
The Ogbese water scheme has the capacity to provide 100,000 litres of potable water with 160 fetching points for the people of Ayede Ogbese.
The consequences of lack of access to water and sanitation include economic losses, high prevalence of water-related diseases, reduced school enrolment and attendance, loss of dignity, increased risks of insecurity and violence against women and children.
Water is life and has no substitute. However, our country today still has significant challenges of access to adequate Water supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash).
Recent statistics from the WASH-NORM (National Outcome Routine Mapping) survey indicated that about 67.9 percent of our population have access to improved water supply from all sources while 41.5 percent have access to basic sanitation facilities.
Furthermore, about 25 percent of our population practice open defecation and this makes our country number two in rank amongst all nations still practising open defecation in the world.
However, the Minister of Water Resources encouraged the State Government to include provision of sanitation facilities in the public places in the programme so as to make Ondo State Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2025 which is the target year for ODF in our country.
Over 3,000 communities across the eighteen local government areas of Ondo State benefitted from the water scheme called”Kamomi,Aketi Water Scheme” .

EDUCATION
In the education sector, the government seems to have mastered all about academic improvement, and one of the ways it achieved this is through renovation of schools, putting students into well-designed buildings stocked with computers and other appurtenances of technology.
The belief of the state education planners is that renovated schools influence children’s perception about learning, giving them the inspiration to do better every time.
It is not surprising that Ondo State Government is following this trend, pumping billions of naira into renovation of schools, so pupils in the state primary and secondary schools can improve in their examinations.
The thinking is that schools in the state don’t have to be dilapidated, weather-beaten and wretched-looking, relics of the Mongo Park era, having jagged roof tops, broken walls, and a stuffy environment.
Past administrations have walked through the same path, but the Akeredolu-led government is taking new strides in the direction, re-writing the trajectory of public institutions once rejected many.
In 2018, the administration renovated over 511 schools under SUBEB.
SUBEB also renovated over 30 secondary schools in Ifedore Local Government area.
Before starting schools’ renovation, the governor had taken a good look at the existing infrastructure of the sector and had not liked what he saw on the ground.
He had decried what he described as an embarrassing state of public schools and expressed his administration’s determination to develop the sector and make it an envy of other states in the country.
He believed that through such a development, the state stood a realistic chance of achieving its quest for technological development.
“Education defines the quality of human existence. The training of human beings is for the benefit of the society.
“Our government, our party and our people look up to us for the development of our vast knowledge and wealth of experience to salvage the basic education sector from collapse,” the governor had said.
He said government on its part would continue to engage all sectors, insisting on the best practices in the discharge of its mandate to serve the people, vowing that his administration would not be distracted by issues extraneous to the well-being of the people.
“We expect renovation work on dilapidated structure, in our entire primary and secondary schools to commerce in earnest. We anticipate supervision of projects in this regard. No contractor should hope to receive a certificate of performance for any shoddy job. This administration will hold consultants and appointees vicariously liable for any bad job.
The projects included the construction of 76 containerised toilets and boreholes across the 18 council areas of the state.
“We will get them completed because we have been paying contractors as and when due. I am sure they are speeding up the work,” SUBEB Chairman, Oladunni Odu.
She had stated then that the project was a total package in every local government, with at least 20 ongoing, adding that about 90% of it had been completed.
She stated that the cost implication was about N7.8billion inclusive of the counterpart fund and the one contributed by the state government.
But Governor Akeredolu was not done on the issue of renovating schools in the state, as secondary schools had problems with their infrastructure.
The problem with secondary schools then was that the state had not been able to access funds that would ensure renovation, but the governor surmounted the problem, as his administration approved access to the one billion naira budgetary provision dedicated to the project across the three senatorial districts of the state.

INDUSTRIALISATION
Another major sector the government has recorded great feat is the industrialisation of the state with the proposed Port of Ondo which would serve as a West African Port, and would change the landscape of the state when completed.
The Port of Ondo is the only valuable deep seaport Nigeria could have as one of the states with the deepest coastlines.
The government has also embarked on Gas Plant to tackle epileptic power supply and ensure the industrial hubs do not suffer power supply.
“Our dream for this port in Ondo State is to serve as a conduit for our goods, agricultural produce and our Bitumen.
“It is the goal of this administration to ensure that the potential of the State is maximised and that all necessary infrastructure required to make this a reality is put in place to achieve this,” Akeredolu said.
The governor further said his administration would pursue the Port relentlessly, for the future generation and not for the present times.
Akeredolu listed some of the benefits of the Port to include opening of the State to the world and access to the hinterland of Nigeria and significant employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in the state.
Others, according to the Governor are acquisition of new skills for the labour force while government will benefit from project sharing with the concessionaries as well as increased IGR.
Akeredolu also mentioned infrastructural development as part of the advantages, adding that it will complement the state’s Free Trade Zone, thereby facilitating global transit of goods and equipment in and out of Ondo State.
The proposed Port, when completed, would have multiplier effects of higher indirect job opportunities.
The Port would attract Free Trade Zone, Shipping of port activities, enhancement of community roads and provision of sufficient traffic and businesses to justify the Port development.

BITUMEN
Good days of economic prosperity are already beckoning on the state as the age-long dream of prospecting the world’s largest deposit of Bitumen has begun. Several mining and processing equipments have been moved to the site.
The underutilized mineral resource in the state would be explored, exploited and exported for foreign exchange which would also boost the economy of the state.
This is why the State Government has reiterated its commitment to ensure that the much awaited bitumen development in the state come to fruition without rancour between the host communities and the investors.
While assuring the royal fathers and the community leaders in the host area that their views would be adequately captured and implemented to the best level of practice as the process move forward, he said there are immense benefits the development of bitumen will bring to the host communities ranging from direct and indirect employment to physical development.
Ore Interchange, Industrial Hub
Pessimists were absolutely in doubt and critics considered it unthinkable on February 20, 2018 when Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, flagged-off the construction of some mutibillion naira projects in the Southern Senatorial District of the state. The flag-off of the construction of the projects was part of the Governor Akeredolu-led government’s commitment to the rapid transformation of the Sunshine State from an agrarian to an industrial hub.
As a thoughtful leader with the ability to balance and prioritise multiple agenda, Akeredolu stood before thousands of the people of Ore, including travellers and traders, in Odigbo Local Government area, to dismiss the people’s worry over the possibility of executing the multibillion naira projects. The fear stemmed from the fact that this period was the time the State was passing through total financial straight jacket.
The Interchange (Fly-Over) consists of three Spans 15M, 30M and 15M (Pre stressed concrete) covering a length of 60m, 13m carriage width with 1.5m walkway on both sides.
Embedded also in this bridge are numerous piles of 800mm diameter to a depth of not less than 10m ( in the case of the piers and abutments).
The interchange (partial cloverleaf ) which has 167m and 182m length on either sides, carriage width of 8m with 1.5m walkway on both sides and a fill embankment average height of 4m with the needful slope and its protection. The approach road to the bridge is a length of 1km, with 13m carriage width and 1.5m walkway on both sides. This is also inclusive of 12m of fill embankment with the appropriate slope and its protection
On the same day, Akeredolu also allayed the deep-rooted fear over the perennial joblessness among the youths in the state as he mobilised members of the state executive, traditional and religious leaders, among other stakeholders to flag-off the construction of the over N15b Industrial Park in Ore. The moves were parts of the activities to mark his administration’s one year in office.
Today, the cassava to Ethanol factory, Truck Assembly Plant, Textile industry among others are success stories.
The government also recently secured new investors for its Powdered Egg Factory and the moribund Oluwa Glass factory.
Akeredolu had said that the quest to industrialise the state gathered greater momentum through the creation of the Ondo state Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) to midwife the establishment of new industries and reactivate the moribund and comatose ones under Public Private Partnership arrangement. Akeredolu’s administration was able to achieve the feat following the signing of Memorandum of Understanding with HESSMAC Nigeria Limited for the development, operation and management of the Industrial Park.
The Industrial Park, which covers a land area of 1000 hectares, will generate 15,000 direct employment and other auxiliary services from 400 industries that are expected to spring up in the place.
Governor Akeredolu had added: “An Industrial Park of this magnitude is typically accompanied by a number of technical and infrastructural facilities such as hotels and Guest Houses, textiles and apparels, Telecommunications, Furniture, Garment, Building Materials, Plastic Products, Gas Pipeline and Distribution among others, adding that the projects would be completed within 24 months.
So, the Ore Interchange now forms a good artery through which the economy of Ondo State pulses. Ore, being like a gateway city to Ondo State, has yearned for infrastructural development for ages. But the coming of the Interchange and the Industrial Hub will, no doubt, inject life into the economic activities of the ancient city and the state in general.
Because availability of infrastructure is of vital importance in order to make a state or country develop, the Ore Interchange, apart from its aesthetic benefits, will definitely make crucial contributions to the economic growth and facilitate the provision of other social benefits.
The needless waste of productive time will also be eliminated while loss of lives associated with road crashes along that axis of the Lagos-Ore-Benin Expressway will become a thing of the past.
The Ore Industrial Hub has equally opened Ondo State to hundreds of investors who have mobilised their respective resources to set up companies and other business in the area. So, Governor Akeredolu’s ingenuity is systematically tackling the challenges of joblessness, wants and poverty in Ondo State through his pro-people initiatives by changing the not-too-popular narrative of the Sunshine State from an agrarian state to an industrialised economy.