Why people call Akeredolu Mr Talk and Do –Ale

The Chief of Staff to Ondo State Governor, Chief Olugbenga Ale spoke with ADEKOLA AFOLABI on the various landmark projects of the Governor and on the Governor’s rumoured ill health.

Excerpts:

Some members of the opposition party are saying governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has not done much in the state. What is your immediate reaction to this?

It is pure mischief for anybody to say that Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has not done much in the state. It is mischief of the highest order because even the blind can see all the good work the present administration led by Arakunrin Akeredolu is doing across the state. People talk about the laudable achievements of the governor everyday. Take for instance, the issue of payment of workers’ salaries touches every household. There is hardly any household in Ondo state without a public servant and they are being paid regularly. When you pay a teacher or any civil servant, you can see the multiplier effect, the money goes round.  It touches members of his/her immediately family, it touches the market woman and even the artisans because the money flows in the economy.

So, nobody can say he doesn’t see what the governor is doing, and if anyone says he doesn’t know what the governor is doing, it is a pure mischief. Look at the numbers of roads that have been constructed, tarred across the state; these are what people can see, and everybody talks about it. In Akure for instance, how will somebody say he does not know we have constructed the dual carriage road from ‘A’ Division to NEPA roundabout with streetlights provided. How will somebody say he cannot see the ongoing construction of the dual carriage road from NEPA roundabout to Olukayode roundabout at Oluwatuyi. People are plying these roads and they are appreciating the governor for the good work.

This project will go as far as Oke-Obere in Ijoka. Also, the people of Idanre are commending Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for the road project in the town. By the time the present administration came on board, only one road entered Idanre but today our government has opened up Idanre with another road from Idanre to ijoka road which will connect the dual carriage way we are constructing. This is different from many other roads we have constructed within Akure metropolis which the people are enjoying now.

If you go to the Southern senatorial district of the state, we are also constructing roads there. Look at the legacy project in Ore, the flyover, which is now opening up the economy of the state. Go to Ore Industrial Hub- the Ondo Lynyi Industrial Project and see the number of companies that are springing up in that place. These companies have already started operations and thousands of unemployed youths of the state have been employed. One of our cardinal objectives as a government is to create jobs for our youths and we are doing this through the industrialisation of the state.

Also if you go to the Northern senatorial district of the state, you will see that the dreaded Oke-Alabojuto in Ikare which was taking lives before has been brought down and fully constructed. Look at Oke-Oka that was a death trap for motorists before our administration came in but has now been constructed by Akeredolu-led government. So,  everybody can see and enjoy all the people-oriented projects that the present administration is executing. The number of kilometres of road constructed by Akeredolu-led government in the first two years in office was not even constructed by any government in the state in their four years. There was a government in this state that constructed Fiwasaye/Airport road for eight years and still the project was not completed; it was when we came in that we completed it.

Of what impact are all these projects on the lives of the citizenry?

In the area of education, especially in the area of primary school, if you want to liberate any man, give him education. We are redefining primary education in the state; we are redefining approach to solving issues. Now, over a thousand of primary schools have been reconstructed and renovated. This has also increased enrollment numbers in our public schools.

We are providing light- solar power, boreholes and fences to ensure the safety of  school pupils and their teachers. We are providing conducive environment for teaching and learning. We are also doing a lot in the health sector. Health, they say, is wealth. Government is providing state-of-the-art equipments in our health facilities to ensure quality healthcare delivery system for the benefit of the people of the state. The same thing is being done in the area of agriculture to create jobs and ensure food sufficiency. You can achieve much in agriculture with bad road network, and that is why the governor is opening up our rural roads to encourage our farmers and address challenges being faced accessing road by our farmers .

So, we are touching virtually all sectors to ensure the people of the state have their lives turned around. And the impacts of all these have been tremendous. The Governor’s ‘Igba Otun’ mantra is really in action and working for us in Ondo state. The governor has brought new life to the people of the state through his various developmental projects that are positively impacting on the lives of our people. Take for instance, all the road projects have greatly improved the economic fortunes of our people in the affected areas and the state at large.

The fulfillment of electioneering campaign promises by the present administration to the people of the state has further rekindled the hope of the people in good governance. What does this portends for our democractic practice?

Yes. When we say think anew, act anew, it is not just for the fun of it. Yes, politics in the past has always been by deception. But one thing our leader, that is, the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has in abundance and has brought to governance is integrity. Nobody has ever questioned his integrity. Even the oppositions do give it to him that he is a man of high integrity.  Akeredolu is a man of his words and that laid a solid background for our government.

Till today, he still keeps and protects his integrity and that is why people believe him and have trust and confidence in his government. This is attracting more support for him and the party, All Progressives Congress, APC. They know he can be trusted and that whatever he says he will do. People now call him ‘Mr Talk and Do.’ That name is not easy to come by.  People are wondering, how manage; where is he getting money from to execute all these landmark projects despite the fact that the resources  accruing to the state have gone down drastically.

There was a time when this state was getting as high as N12b, N10b monthly. But now if we can have N6b in a month we will be dancing that we have good resources in that month. Despite this, he has been able to harness the Internally Generated Revenue of the state with the little that is coming from the Federation Account. He has been judiciously managing this to pay workers’ salaries. The governor has promised he would not owe workers and since we came in we have been paying salaries even up to October 2019. We even pay that of October salary much earlier than usual. Also, we have paid six out of the seven months arrears owed by the past administration, and this cost government several billions of naira, over N30b. This shows the special interest  the governor has in the welfare of workers in the state and he has promised to continue to give priority to this. The people are the focus of his administration and that is why he is doing all these to make people happy and comfortable. There is no how a governor will be doing all these and the people will not be happy and even support him the more.

Are you now saying the various achievements of the governor with his high integrity has silenced the opposition(s)?

Well, I believe in opposition because democracy thrives more when there is vibrant opposition. When you talk and there is no opposition party to raise alternative position, that is not good democracy. That Akeredolu is gaining more support day in day out because of his good work and integrity does not mean there is no opposition in the state. But the unfortunate thing is that they are not engaging in constructive criticism. When they talk, you expect them to provide alternatives to what they are criticising, but you will see that they don’t have verifiable alternatives. They only criticise for the sake of it.

Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has been away in Abuja for some time now with the rumour of ill health flying around. Is the governor really indisposed or it is  a  rumour? Tell us the true situation of thing about his health.

You know our governor is a human being. Blood and water flows in his veins. Any human being, whether you are a governor, president, cleaner, a market woman or anybody, can fall sick. It is just the normal cause of nature. So,  to say Mr. Governor falls sick, I don’t see anything strange in that. And if some people are hyping it, it is just for their political gain and it is unfortunate. But one thing I know is that the governor is hale and hearty as I’m speaking with you today. The governor is working and the state is running. The governor is also being supported by the deputy governor and others who are here. There is no vacuum in government

When should the people of Ondo State expect him back to the state?

I wouldn’t want to speculate. The governor is in Nigeria and where he is in Abuja is Ondo State Governor’s Lodge. He can come any time, he can even come  on Friday. But what I know is that when he comes we will all see him hale and hearty.

How would you describe Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu?

Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu I can say is a gift to this state. He is a man who God has made to come and serve the people of this state. He prepared himself for this job by virtue of other public offices he had occupied in the past. For somebody to be President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, it is not a joke. His election has been the only one in Nigeria without any opposition, and he navigated the place successfully to the extent that the national office of the NBA was named after him. He is a man of high integrity, a transparent man with a lot of followership. He is a man that can be trusted and relied on, he is a good leader. He is open-minded, he is a team player.  He is a kind of man that Ondo state needs at this time; the state needs him to continue to redefine governance, to save the state from government of deceit and change it to that of trust. He is redefining politics in Ondo state and the good people of the State are happy to have him as their governor.