Somtochukwu

The success of any government is measured by how well an administration has successfully and positively impacted the lives of the people it was elected to govern. Over the years, there has been a great paradigm shift away from the traditional and pure understanding of what governance and leadership is all about.

Taking the case of the Nigerian Political setting, the first generational leaders which followed the Nigerian independence was made of elites who set the pace for what good leadership is all about. While getting a breed that fits into this category might be hard to find in our present day realities, a fresh air of hope comes with the realization that there are quite a handful left within the Nigerian Political scene who understand what governance and leadership is all about.

Standing tall among these few lot, who understand pure art of governance, is Arakunin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN. One who is willing to take the bull by the horn, doing the needful to effecting the much needed change and also ready to taking the necessary sacrifice for the good all.

The inception of Arakunrin Akeredolu as the governor of Ondo State came at a time when the state was in dire need of a savior, one that can muster the much needed courage and strength to salvage what was left of the state. Setting to work like a Picasso with a pastel of colors and a brush, Akeredolu within the space of three and a half years created a masterpiece out of the ordinary in Ondo State; setting the pace for a new Ondo as he gave the good sons and daughters of the Sunshine state a new lease of hope that through progressive governance led by people like Arakunrin Akeredolu in Ondo State; reaping the dividends of democracy is possible.

Under his watch, the under listed projects in the state has given the state a new outlook of which has made the Sunshine state a place of pride among its contemporaries;

INFRASTRUCTURE:
▪️Construction of over 400km of roads
Some of the roads include; The dualization of the once bloodsucking Oke-alabojuto road, Dualization of Emure-Owo road, Dualization of Ikare Township Road, Dualization of Emure-Owo road, Dualization of Oba Osupa Road in Akure, Dualization of Owo Township road, Construction of Iyere-Ipele Road, Dualization of Nepa-Hospital Road, Dualization of CBN – Bishop Court, Akure, Dualization of Oda Road in Akure, Construction of OAUSTECH Internal access road in Okitipupa, Construction of Sabomi Township Road, Construction of 12km Okitipupa – Igbokoda bypass Road, Construction of 16km Idanre – Ijoka virgin Road, Construction of Iwalewa – Hospital Road, Construction Of Abusoro-Ijoka Road, Alagbaka SIB/Appeal Court Road in Akure, Construction of Gaga Community Road, Construction of Oke-Ogba Community Road, Reconstruction of Ijapo Road, Construction of Club 20 Road, Reconstruction of Iwaro-Oka Road, Reconstruction of Jubilee – Ugbe-Akoko Road, Asphalt overlay of Okitipupa township road, construction of Igbara-Oke/Ibuji/Ekiti boundary Road and many others

▪️Construction of Ore Flyover Bridge
▪️Construction of a new office complex for Ondo State Internal Revenue Service.
▪️Completed and Commissioned the Civil Engineering Building at Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. 

HEALTHCARE:
▪️Recruitment of over 500 health personnel and 200 medical doctors. 
▪️Increased the Mother and Child Hospital from 2 to 7. Mother and Child hospital used to be in only Akure and Ondo Town before. Now, there is mother and Child hospital in Ikare-Akoko, Owo, Ore, Okitipupa and Igbokoda. 
▪️Construction of a new Critical Care Unit at UNIMED, Akure.
▪️Upgraded Akure Specialist Hospital to UNIMED teaching Hospital.
▪️Distribution of about N2.1billion worth of medical equipment to health facilities across Ondo State.
▪️Rehabilitation of dilapidated health centres across the state. 
▪️Construction of UNIMED teaching Hospital in Ondo Town.
▪️Ongoing Construction of 500-beddings Hospital complex at UNIMED, Ondo and Akure. 

EDUCATION:
▪️Construction and rehabilitation of over 700 Public Primary schools
▪️Supplying 10,672 pieces of furniture. He also supplied ICT Facilities, solar systems, playground equipment to the schools
▪️Promotion of teachers as and when due.
▪️Governor Akeredolu breath life into Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa after it was abandoned by Mimiko for 8years. He reconstructed the main gate, completed the construction the University Library, the Auditorium and the Administrative Building Complex. He also constructed the internal roads of the University. 

INDUSTRIALIZATION:
▪️Ondo-Linyi Industrial Hub in Ore. An industrial hub which houses about 6 industrial factories which include; Cassava-Ethanol Factory, Win-Win Textile Mill, Truck Assembly Plant, Wewood Factory, MDF/HDF Factory and a Paper Mill Factory.
▪️Governor Akeredolu commissioned a Granite and Marble factory in Ose LGA. 
▪️Governor Akeredolu also commissioned the Sunshine Chocolate Factory in Idanre. The factory is a PPP between Ondo State Government and a United States company, SPAGNVOLA CHOCOLATIERS, was established for the purpose of job creation and economic development of the state, using cocoa value-chain. 

WORKERS WELFARE:
▪️Payment of 6months out of the 7months salary arrears and pension inherited from the immediate past Mimiko administration. 
▪️Payment of over N4billion for the payment of gratuity inherited from the previous administration in the state. 
▪️Payment of new Minimum wage and payment of 33.4% pension increase. 
▪️Promotion of workers as and when due. 

JOB CREATION:
▪️Employment of Over 420 fresh graduates into the state board of internal revenue service. 
▪️Recruitment of over 500 health personnel and 200 medical doctors.
▪️Employment of 70 workers into Ondo State Radiovision cooperation (OSRC)
▪️Employment of 35 special persons into the state civil service 
▪️Over 2000 people have been employed through Ondo-Linyi Industrial Hub and other industries. 
▪️Ongoing recruitment of 1000 teachers and 432 health workers to fill the personnel gaps in primary health care facilities across the state.

WATER SUPPLY:
▪️Digging and resuscitation of over 2000 boreholes in our rural and urban areas through the “Kamomi Aketi Water Scheme”.
▪️Akeredolu commissioned the 45.6 kilometre water rising mains and pipe laying project along Igbokoda – Ugbonla road in Ilaje local government area of the state. The project worth over 2.3 billion naira was embarked upon by the immediate past government but was not completed until the Akeredolu administration came on board.

AGRICULTURE:
▪️Distribution of over 800,000 cocoa seedlings to farmers in Ondo State to boost cocoa production. 
▪️Procured 20 brand new tractors for farmers in the state. 
▪️Reactivation of the afforestation projects in Ondo State. 10,000 Hectares of the state afforestation projects sited at Omotoso in Okitipupa local government. The projects is worth N20billion and it has employed over 1,000 youths of Ondo state. This is a Public Private Partnership with Weewood, a Chinese company.
▪️Under Akeredolu, Over N210,000,000 have been disbursed to farmers co-operative societies in the state, under the FADAMA Scheme.
▪️Over 1,000 metrics ton of fertilizers have been distributed to farmers in Ondo state for enhanced farming.
▪️Distribution of of over 100,000 brazilian cashew seedlings and top quality oil palm seedlings to farmers across the state.
▪️Empowerment and training of about 6,000 youths to become Agripreneurs.

OTHERS:
▪️Governor Akeredolu has given out about N550million as soft loans to Artisans, market women, groups and the vulnerable through the State Micro-Credit Agency.
▪️Today, from a horrible inherited less than N800 million monthly chart, Ondo State has recorded sustained growth in its IGR since 2017. As of January 2020, the total IGR of the state was not less than N2 billion.
▪️Governor Akeredolu commissioned a new mass transit, Sunshine travels after the defunct Owena transit which was mismanaged by past administration. 

History will always be kind to men of good heart whose focus in driven by the sheer commitment and dedication to making life better for other. Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN has done what within four years what his contemporaries failed to do within the space of eight years. No doubt Ondo State is witnessing an unprecedented change in its history which must be sustained by the good people of Ondo State. 

Continuity is an integral part for good governance, keeping Arakunrin Akeredolu beyond 2020 is not just another giant step in their drive for good governance, but an assurance of good governance in the state for the next four years.

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