Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state during a televised quarterly media chat on Saturday responded to questions on sundry matters from viewers who phoned in on the programme. Bayo Agboola brings excerpts.
What steps have you taken to ensure safety during this festive period?
The security patrol vehicles and the emergency security number, 615, are working together to help combat crime. The most important thing is that the communication network is good, I tested it myself.
The main draw back before was the communication network, which is now resolved. I sometime go around in the middle of the night to check on the security personnel to make sure they are working. We’ve had good feedback from people calling the 615 number. We have also lit up Ibadan to help reduce crime. We’ve seen a reduction in criminal activities. I thank the security personnel and the people of Oyo state for their support and cooperation.
On schools governing board?
Education is one of the four main pillars of our administration. I was a beneficiary of free education under late Governor Bola Ige and I know what difference it made in my life. We are making the schools governing board better.
SGB accounts were not well maintained in the past, we are retaining the structure, though we are no longer collecting money from the students. It’s the government which gives subvention and this has to be accounted for unlike the case in the past.
On LAUTECH
I maintain that the ownership is opaque, but I have asked the governing council to prepare a sustainability document. I have the preliminary report but it’s not encouraging. If the fees are reduced, the university will collapse. The term of reference is clear; to get a ‘divorce’ from Osun state regarding ownership. I believe the members of the committee are up to the task. We are not being unreasonable; we are negotiating with Osun on this. Our stand on LAUTECH is in the interest of the parents, students and staff. We were given an overwhelming mandate by the people of Oyo state both in the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections so we cannot claim lack of political will.
How are you able to pay salary with no problem and what about new minimum wage?
When we started, Oyo state’s finances were in a bad state. At the moment, I still use my personal car. We have not bought any car for the officials. This will cost billions of naira.
We decided to prioritise the needs of the people of Oyo state which had over 60 bank accounts, I asked the Accountant General to consolidate into one account. The total was N6billion. The IGR has gone up a bit, because we have blocked the loopholes but we will do more.
The Oyo state government didn’t spend 1 kobo on the Christmas decorations. It was funded by the usual ‘Christmas gift’ to the governor that was what we used to pay for the Christmas decorations. So it cost government nothing. We have cut out a lot of wastage, to enable us fund everything which we have been paying for.
On minimum wage, we set up a committee yesterday that will engage with labour. We have been open with incoming funds, and been transparent about government expenditure. If we adopt the minimum wage, we know how much we need to pay for this but do we have the means to do it and at the same time carry out all the developmental works in Oyo state? We promised good governance and we are surely working on delivering that to all residents.
Why was the licence of the refuse contractor revoked without having replacement before it was withdrawn?
It is true because they were holding the government to ransom, also they were not efficient. Since we declared state of emergency, we have been working round the clock to address the problem. Our people have been going round Bodija and Oje to educate people about dumping refuse on the street. A truck comes every morning to pick up refuse.
A new architecture is being put in place. It’s currently going through due process. Once that is done, it will be implemented. By the end of the first quarter of 2020, the entire process on refuse disposal should be seamless.
We haven’t determined the amount needed to carry out the task, the costing has been ‘padded’ all along. We have been working on this, we are getting there. I have to commend the emergency committee set up to handle this, its members have been working round the clock.
If you go the other cities like Ogbomosho, we have all these challenges too but Ibadan is the major one and we will surely resolve it soonest. The old contractor was not efficient at all, hence they had to go.
State television network is poor
In the 2020 budget, N300M has been included for television network so that should address that issue. I will attend to the other issues you raised later.
When will the restated staff be asked to resume work?
Their reinstatement was approved in the EXCO meeting 2 weeks ago, so the process is on. Once the documentation being handled by the Head of Service is done, they will be recalled.
What is your plan for agriculture and youths in Ogbomoso?
Agric sector is our main economic drive, we have already started the farm settlement in Akufo, using the CACS N7B which we prevented the previous administration from spending. We will move to other areas gradually.
There is interest from all over the world to collaborate with Oyo state on agribusiness. We have a lot of recommendations on agriculture. We haven’t used 10 percent of it and we will ensure that we implement them. Also, we have written to the federal government on the federal road issues.
Transportation and housing
On transportation, we have been extremely lucky. We do have a good road networks, we just need to maintain it. We need to attract more people to our state. I don’t see the current influx of people into Oyo state as a challenge; I see it as a huge opportunity to grow our economy.
The dry port, rail network and the circular road are good opportunities to kick start the real estate sector. Yes, it will present a few challenges but there is an assurance it won’t turn to another Lagos. We will recreate infrastructure similar to Ikoyi but with value for money.
Okeho/Itesiwaju road is not good
We will look into it. We will ensure no part of Oyo state will be cut off from other parts. Governance will cover all parts of Oyo state.
On health:
Primary Healthcare centres (PHC), there is stress on the general hospitals because of lack of facilities in the PHCs. Oranyan PHC is the standard we will use for all PHCs in Oyo state. We have about 600 of them but most are not fit for the purpose. I spoke to the people running it, instead of having 600, let’s rationalise them.
We will start by ensuring that one per ward is fully functional. We are working making healthcare insurance more effective, once this is completed, we will have more resources to deploy to address this. The plan is to have fewer but fully functional primary healthcare centres in Oyo state.
What plan is there to stop street hawking?
Street trading will not be eradicated overnight. Some of them are breadwinners and that is their main source of income. I agree it’s very dangerous. Our position is, we can’t chase them off the street without providing them alternative avenues.
The ones removed from Ojoo, were moved to the Akinyele trailer park. At Scout Camp, we reduced the rent for stalls and ordered installation of electricity, toilets etc. we have to be careful we don’t take away their means of livelihood without offering alternatives.
Dealing with the issue of street trading requires careful planning and implementation by the government.
We notice work is ongoing for roads in Ibadan, what about outskirt or side roads?
We’ve seen some roads, from Lagos to Apata (Akala way), with 3km left to finish it, it was stopped. We will complete this road. Traffic will be reduced considerably once this is completed. Some of the projects that the immediate past administration awarded have not been stopped especially the contractors doing the right thing, even if we didn’t agree with the costing. We want to make ourselves accountable that is why we set up the Oyo state Financial Crime Commission.
Operation Burst in Ogbomoso and on LAUTECH Teaching Hospital sacked staff:
I am aware of the issues, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital problem is linked to the issue with the main school. Once we can take over the school, we can resolve the issue with the hospital. On the Operation Burst complaint, my Security SA is here, any genuine complaint, we will investigate so that the security agencies can punish those found guilty of any misdeeds.
I thank God and the people of Oyo state. You spoke and that was why we won in March. I want to thank the judges and all 7 justices of the Supreme Court, they stood for the truth. The time for politicking and partisanship is gone; it’s time for good governance.
I thank all the political parties too. We thank the people of Oyo State for the confidence they have in us and we will work hard to meet the expectations of the people of Oyo state. Let’s accept that this government is a set up by God for the development of this state.
