Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has cautioned the political class against playing politics with peoples’ welfare.
This is as Governor Adeleke also stated that the goal of governance is the welfare of the people and that it is anti- God to hurt the public through state power.
The governor gave the word of caution while addressing dignitaries during celebrations to mark the 34th year anniversary of the creation of the state in Osogbo on Wednesday.
DAILY POST gathered that Osun State was created by the administration of President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida on August 27, 1991.
Adeleke said, “We task other political actors to respect the rights and wishes of the people. We must never play politics with the welfare of the public. Osun is our common state. It is not politics to willfully punish voters and the public. We have a sacred duty to create red lines in politicking.”
He reassured the people of his commitment to their welfare with a promise never to trade the people’s interest for anything, adding “as we have the people and God with us, our administration remains unshaken and undisturbed”
The Governor, while reviewing the trajectory of state development, commended his predecessors for their contributions to state building.
He added that, “our government has implemented what many classed as impossible.
“I am proud to declare today that our administration has stabilised the public service by granting the civil servants and pensioners their due entitlements. Osun workers and pensioners appreciate our deep care and obsession with their welfare.
“Aside from human capital development, our administration addressed the major hindrance to Osun economic growth –the huge infrastructure deficit which stood at around 80 percent when we took over in 2022. No society grows economically without strong infrastructure. Osun cannot industrialize or exit civil service status without building her infrastructure.
“Our government took up the challenge and targeted transforming our major cities and towns into economic and social hubs. We are building sustainable roads and bridges across the state. The goal is to open up the state to investors across the sectors.
“Our administration also reviewed the business climate to make it more appealing to local and external investors. We harmonized the tax systems. We ease the process of acquisition of Certificate of Occupancy. Our investment portal and agency were digitized.
“We ventured into new policy territories. Osun’s digital economy is boosted with new ICT and tech innovation policies. We are setting up a Digital Economy Advisory Board. Osun is primed to be a major digital hub for the South West.
“As we are upgrading state infrastructure and capturing opportunities in business and digital space, our administration is putting in place machinery to boost and manage the state electricity sector. A new law on the electricity market system is in place.
“Our target is to enhance power generation through licensing of new power producers. We seek to regulate the relationship between power distributors and consumers. The energy sector laws and policies are to support and ease the burden of our business sector.”
On the mining sector, Governor Adeleke revealed that the state is now a shareholder in the Segilola Gold Project and that the 16 mining licences belonging to the state have been upgraded with ongoing negotiations with partners and investors.
He said, “We are holding miners and mining companies accountable about preservation and protection of the environment. Environmental assessment, remediation action and enforcement processes are already in place. We are passionate about environmental protection.”
The chairman of the anniversary celebrations, former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola who was represented by the House Speaker, Adewale Egbedun hailed developmental achievements of the Adeleke administration and called on President Bola Tinubu to release Osun withheld allocations.
