Olatunbosun Oladimeji

The good people of Ondo State will have another opportunity to decide who will preside over the state in the next four years from the Alagbaka Government House on Saturday, November 16.

As recently indicated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), interests are very high in the election with over 50,000 new Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected. With the election just a few days away, the candidates have upped their campaigns.

 As usual, some of the hitherto obscure candidates on the ballot are stepping up to make outlandish claims, promising to ‘build bridges where there is no water’ with the intention of bamboozling the electorate.

One of their strategies was a blackmail scheme orchestrated through a video clip that was recently released to the public domain. Their evil intention was to discredit and stain the ever white flowing robe of the gentle, stylish, newly discovered dancing governor. But they failed spectacularly, and the good people of Ondo State and indeed, Nigerians were able to decipher their evil intentions, thus frustrating their plans. And contrary to their plans,  Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, the lucky  governor, came out glowing like a well-refined gold to the applause of the masses, especially after the furnace of Seun Okinbaloye’s anchored Channel TV debate on Sunday, November 2. 

But let’s get to the basics about the November 16 election.

Some analysts have said only two candidates out of the lot who will be on the ballot have the chance of emerging winner when the outcome of the November 16 poll is declared. But I think such analysts are generous and probably, wanted to portray the election as still very open or not attune with the situation on ground. 

A standing, glaring scene came open with the direct, open firing of ‘punches’ from the arch rival, Agboola Ajayi through the opportunity he had with Channel TV debate when Ayedatiwa laughed him off with all the arsenals in his kits when he said to Ajayi to stop breeding fake data and untrue stories on the Ondo State government. That might be the last punch expected to stop the strongest of the Lilyputian opposition in the camp of the weeping and crying disgruntled team.

But for me, the choice for the people of Ondo State is clear and unambiguous -for the continued progress  and well -being of our dear state, every thumbprint on the ballot should go to Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, the flag bearer of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the incumbent occupier of Alagbaka Government House.

And I know that so many people in Ondo State have realised this fact and this was the reason for the massive defection of leaders in the opposition parties to the APC ahead of the election.

Such defections were in realisation of the fact that the other option not only portends danger, it will be a reward for a man whose only claim to fame was disloyalty.

But the less said about him and his dead on arrival ambition, the better. Indeed, to me, he is a distraction not worth dwelling on at this critical time when the people of the state are faced with the task of determining the future of Ondo State.

Rather, my aim in this article is to impress it on our people why Aiyedatiwa should be kept in office to continue his many ‘Lucky Strides’ on Saturday, November 16.

 Since he took over leadership of our state earlier this year following the unfortunate demise of his boss, Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, Aiyedatiwa had initiated projects and embarked on initiatives designed to boost the social economic fortunes of Ondo State across various sectors. Continuing on the footsteps of his late boss, Aiyedatiwa has embarked on projects designed to make a difference in the lives of the people.

The good news is that the generality of the people of the state appreciate these lucky strides, hence the commendations and the huge turnout at the APC campaign rallies as Aiyedatiwa goes around the state soliciting for the support of the people for a fresh mandate.  

The massive defection of chieftains of opposition parties to the APC while pledging to ensure that Aiyedatiwa emerges winner of the November 16 election is further proof that the generality of the people realised the significance of letting the lucky strides continue for more years.       

While there have been lucky strides in many areas, in this write-up, we will focus on the massive rehabilitation of roads across the state with many of the projects completed and others nearing completion by the Governor. 

Some of these projects include the  Oda road dualisation project nearing completion, the Onyearugbulem-Irese flyover in Akure,  the 15km Oda Cocoa Board road in Oda town, the 3.5km Ebute Ipare road in Ilaje,  11.9km, the 6km   road , in Housing Estate, Otapete-Owo, the 6 km Iselu to Isuada-Owo road, the Omolege-Agunbiade road in Owo,  and the 10.9km Idanre-Obajare Road in Idanre area of the state.

Also, projects like the Oda road dualisation, Ijoka road dualisation and the Irese/Shagari Flyover in Akure, Owo dualisation, Igoba road construction, etc are getting attention while approval has been given for the rehabilitation of 60km of selected roads across the state with asphalt-overlay. And as part of the bid to stop incessant accidents in Akungba-Akoko in Akoko South West local government area of the state, Aiyedatiwa has finalised plans for the dualisation of the road that runs from the town through the frontage of the main gate of the Adekunle Ajasin University.

Also, the contract has been awarded for the construction of 28km Iyansan-Akotogbo-Iju-Osun road in the Irele Local Government area to connect Ondo Free Trade Zone with Edo State and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway route in the state. 

In the same vein, the construction of many rural roads have been initiated by Aiyedatiwa across the three senatorial districts in the state for development of grassroots working through the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAMP).

Outlets roads leading to farmsteads and urban areas in Owo are graded for easier access to farming and transportation of foods and goods to the general public domain and the people.

 In all, about 700 Kilometres of rural roads will be constructed across all the 18 local government areas of the State. Of course, to make the roads work more pronounced, this will be complemented by  constructions of nine of Agro-Logistics Centers (ALCs) designed to boost the rural economy.

Significantly, Aiyedatiwa’s consistent payment of counterpart funds for RAAMP, in line with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the World Bank and the French Development Agency made the construction of the roads possible. 

Speaking while flagging off the 3.5km Ebute Ipare-oke rural road project in Ilaje local government area, Ondo southern senatorial district, Aiyedatiwa said his administration’s focus on the infrastructure projects, especially road constructions and rehabilitation, was to transform the rural areas.

 According to him, the new roads would help address the economic gap between the rural and urban areas by facilitating smoother transportations and creating opportunities for the local farmers. 

No doubt, Ondo State is set to witness the significant turnaround in the areas of roads and other infrastructure developments in the next four years. 

There are revolutionary developments going on in the education, health, agriculture, development of human capital and others that will form the subject of our subsequent article ahead of the election. The intention was to stop the obvious attempt by buccaneers to deceive our people.

Like they say, morning shows the day;the signs are very positive and this is why no other person other than Aiyedatiwa and the broom symbol of his party deserve your thumbprints on Saturday, November 16. 

 Olatunbosun Oladimeji, a writer, political analyst and activist was a former Senior Special Assistant on Publications to the late Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu.