Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state on Thursday, June 13, said he has approved the grading of 30 kilometres of inner roads in all the 33 local government areas of the state.
He spoke while responding to requests from members of the state Assembly for the rehabilitation of inner roads across the state.
The governor was at the special plenary to present a state of the state address at the legislative chamber in commemoration of the first anniversary of the inauguration of the State’s 10th Assembly.
The governor, who was a guest at the special plenary sitting said funds for the execution of the project had been deposited in each of the Local government accounts assuring that works will commence soon on the project.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to lifting millions of residents of the state out of poverty despite the current economic challenges.
Governor Makinde who admitted that the year has been challenging due to the current economic crisis in the country said, however, that his administration will leave no stone unturned to turn around the fortune of the state
He noted that his administration has been able to shore up the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state from N4.2 billion in 2022 to about N4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
He added that the reason the state is recording progress in economic development and peaceful political firmament is a result of freedom of political participation as against the usual norm where political godfathers in the past held sway and dictated the tune for the political god sons.
He attributed his success in government to the absence of a political godfather who would have lorded his agenda on him as against what he has for the state.
Makinde assured that his government has made sure that the resources of the state are judiciously spent on meaningful projects that will impact the lives of the citizenry.
He highlighted some of his achievements in the last year which included the rapid social safety intervention to ameliorate the sufferings of the people occasioned by the economic challenges that trailed the removal of subsidy and floating of the exchange rate.
He spoke on his agricultural revolution initiative which his administration embarked on by rehabilitating all farm settlements as well as road network intervention in Oke-Ogun which included the reconstruction of Ibadan-Iseyin road, Oyo-Iseyin road, and Ogbomoso-Iseyin road.
He affirmed that the State is becoming a regional agricultural business hub and that his administration is ready to open the state for more investments.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the State Assembly, Right Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin commended Governor Makinde for the support from the executive arm of government which resulted in various achievements recorded by the legislative arm over the years.
The speaker assured the people of the state that the lawmakers would not rest on their oars until the dividends of democracy were delivered to all the people of the state.
Describing the occasion as a celebration of 12 months of steady legislative progress for the 10th Assembly in the State, the Speaker said from available records, the achievements of the 10th Oyo Assembly in its first year had surpassed that of the first legislative year of the 9th Oyo State House of Assembly.
He said that within one year, the 10th Oyo Assembly had passed 16 bills while four others are presently at various stages of legislative processes.
He said: “It gladdens my heart that nine out of the 16 bills had been assented to by His Excellency. I am pleased to also announce that 68 motions had been sponsored and moved by us, and the Committees had presented 35 reports on oversight functions and matters referred to the Committees at plenary sittings of the house.
“So far, the House had passed 170 resolutions to the Executive Arm of Government and others for appropriate actions.”
The speaker commended his colleagues for their high level of commitment and patriotism to their legislative duties, which he noted was responsible for the success recorded in the last 12 months.
The event witnessed the unveiling of the Legislative Agenda for the 10th Oyo State House of Assembly in the caucus room of the legislative chamber.