Ondo State Government has said it had provided the opportunity for the people of the state to contribute to designing the 30-year long-term economic plan.

Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Pastor Emmanuel Igbasan disclosed this while presenting cash awards to writers of the best three proposals.

He explained that the long-term economic plan is backed by legal instruments for the development of the state beyond the present administration. Igbasan said: “The crafting of the project, the Ondo 2055 Economic Plan, is a product of the Fiscal Responsibility Law 2017 of Ondo State.

“It’s a long-term development plan of the state government. We have started the administrative plan long ago. We considered the human capital present in our state and decided to craft the great future we all desire. This plan will be reviewed every five years to see where we are.

“We look at the schools, infrastructural facilities, health facilities, population and economic growth for further improvement. A lot of money is committed, and in a couple of weeks, the project will be completed and forwarded to the governor for onward presentation to the people of Ondo State.”

Speaking on the entries from the people of the state, the commissioner disclosed that as of the time of closing the portal, no fewer than 93 proposals were received. He disclosed that consultants were engaged to go through the proposals to see how to extract whatever could be added to the materials prepared by the state.

Having read through the materials, the consultants pruned the proposals to 22, out of which they submitted the best three to the commissioner.

Igbasan, therefore, announced 28-year-old Adeoti Kolapo John, a graduate of English from Adeyemi College of Education, as the best writer. Dr. Omosehin Michael’s proposal was rated second, while Oladapo Segun Samuel’s proposal was rated third best.

They were presented with dummy cheques of N500,000, N300,000, and N200,000 as prizes for framing vision statements for the state Development Plan tagged: ‘Ondo 2055.’

Earlier, one of the consultants, Professor T.M. Obamuyi, said the competition asked stakeholders what they expect the state to be in the next 30 years. “We are happy about the submissions, which will form part of the final submission. I congratulate the participants for being part of the development of the state. The response was impressive, with 93 submitted as of the time of closing the portal.”

The best participant, Adeoti Kolapo John, expressed shock at his emergence as the best writer.

He disclosed that he used Lagos State as the benchmark in preparing his proposal for Ondo State in 30 years.

Adeoti, therefore, implored people at the helm of affairs of the state, particularly politicians, not to allow the long-term proposal to become another document that ends up in the trash can.

The commissioner promised that the proposals submitted by the participants would be posted on the state website for people to read.

Participants who travelled from outside the state to the prize-giving ceremony were compensated by the organisers.

The programme was handled by the Economic Planning and Coordinating Office of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, led by the Administrative Secretary, Mr. Bamidele John Daisi.