Ondo @50: Aiyedatiwa, Olanipekun, Oyedele, Others Harp On Modern Developmental Strategies
•By Admin
AKURE – FUTURE development of Ondo State has been the focus of all speakers at the public lecture of the golden jubilee celebration of the creation of the state.
The public lecture, which held at the International Culture and Event Centre, The Dome, Alagbaka, Akure, Ondo State capital, on Monday, saw Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa unveiled his plan for the state for the future.
Delivering his address, Governor Aiyedatiwa said he would lay the foundation for the future development of the state in all sectors.
He promised to ensure the development plan of the state is in line with the emerging technologies and world economies.
Aiyedatiwa said: “I won’t be here in 50 years anyway, but we are projecting to the future for the state as the one in the saddle at this time during this 50th year anniversary of the creation of the state.
“We have seen what the past leaders have done, their contributions, landmark projects, programmes and policies that have been driving the state before I became governor. We have to continue to strengthen that because that is a structure that we cannot change but to improve on that, which we call continuous service improvement, which I believe strongly in.
“We will continue to strengthen our institutions, for example, you are not starting a new ministry of health, but you can make that one work better. You can’t create a new ministry of education, it’s been there, it’s a structure we can make more functional, to deliver better.
“So also other structures, the security architecture, Amotekun has come to stay, I can make it work better, recruit more personnel, equip them the more, push for the law that will make them to carry, you know, sophisticated weapons, which will happen very soon, especially with these demands for state policing, which the current President has also approved in principle while the national assemblies are working on the modality.
“By the time that happens, Amotekun will automatically become state police, that will be able to hold, handle sophisticated weapons against the bandits and the marauders. So we need to just, these are some of the things we have to do, and apart from that, we need to begin to build foundation, new foundation, to some other area, especially industrialisation, which is the way to go.
“You heard from the speakers, you know, about blue economy, about our agriculture, we are still leading cocoa grower in Nigeria, that has been before, we are still leading, that means every government has come to be, continue to support agriculture, which we will continue to support.
“But we take it up from just growing the cocoa beans and exporting, we can develop the value production, a processing plant that will turn the beans into other products that can be exported, like cocoa butter, you know, chocolate. These are areas we have to begin to look at, rather than just raw agricultural product. We have a declaration already, which we have not built.
“By the time that is done, in the next three years, by the grace of God, when we are still here, that will turn the state around. So many other developments will come to be as a result of the deep seaport.
“And the refinery is coming, like they also advised that, you know, we begin to build our people to have skills, because the industry will definitely come.
“The coastal highway, a major game changer, that will drive industry, because it’s saturated already, that will bring movement of people to this area. Industry will come, because by the time Lagos-Ondo is connected to Lagos, it will just take about 45 minutes or one hour at most from Lagos to Ondo State in the southern corridor, where we have the longest coastline.
“And that is what I could see Ondo State becoming, not even 50 years time, in the 10-20 years time, I hope you will live to also see that what will be happening.
“Definitely, there are developmental plans that have been already, we can always improve on them, something we don’t have. We have one already, five years rolling plan, 10 years rolling plan, which is based on human capital development, we have that already. But we can begin to review and see where we have gotten to, and begin to look at this.”
In his address, the Chairman of the Public Lecture, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN tasked South-West leaders to come together and fashion out how to jointly develop the region.
He noted the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not remain in office forever, thereby urging them to see how the region could be developed all in sectors.
Olanipekun, who eulogised the past leaders of Ondo State, including the late Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, a former executive governor of old Ondo state.
He disclosed that the late governor facilitated the inclusion of Ondo State on the list of oil producing states.
The legal luminary, who was called to bar the year Ondo State was created, tasked Governor Aiyedatiwa on leading the state very well through designing and implementation of socio-economic plans that would make the state rank among comity of developed states in the country.
He said: “I’m not just asking us to prepare for post-2031, because Tinubu will not be there forever. He will be there till 2031.
“So, we should be prepared for post-2031, hold ourselves together, be united, there should be cohesion, there should be unity, there should be love, there should be respect, there should be thoughtfulness, otherwise, that’s the way I see it.”
Delivering the lecture entitled: “Ondo State Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” Prof. Taiwo Oyedele, the guest lecturer, advised Governor Aiyedatiwa to leverage on the new tax reform.
The Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee said: “Implement the new tax reform acts, enact the State Tax Harmonisation law to curb nuisance and illegal taxes. The state can even host the national Tax Ombud office for the South West region to lead in taxpayer rights and protection.
“Beyond implementing the new tax reform acts and the State Tax Harmonisation law, Ondo State can introduce a Tax Accountability Report to be sent annually to every taxpayer and develop a holistic State Tax and Fiscal Policy Framework to guide spending, revenue mobilisation, and debt management.”
Prof. Oyedele further suggested that Governor Aiyedatiwa should embark on “Robust economic growth that aims to grow faster than the national GDP, achieve key Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and further reduce poverty, ultimately moving the state from middle power status to a leading state with an upper-income economy.
“We must leverage our superior intellectual capital to build a future-proof, knowledge-based economy.
“Positioning Ondo State as the premier hub for technology and innovation in Africa through focused investment in tech incubation centers and digital skills training.
“Leveraging inventions like those by the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) to stimulate more innovation and positioning our citizens to play a leading role in the new global AI-powered world.
“Implementing comprehensive digital solutions, e-government and investment in broadband infrastructure to improve service delivery, transparency, and internally generated revenue (IGR).
“Implementing crucial land reform to provide ease of property ownership and transfers, with transparency and opportunities to unlock value for our citizens. Ondo state can lead Nigeria in this regard.
“Fostering an environment of robust legal protection and predictable policy to reduce bureaucracy. We must improve tax registration, simplify regulatory fees, and advance service harmonisation across the state.
“Crucially, the state should establish a Task Force on Government Efficiency and accelerate the implementation of comprehensive e-government solutions to improve service delivery and transparency.
“We need to strengthen the State’s Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI) to effectively hold and manage the state’s investment in assets and state-owned enterprises, beginning with the creation of a proper assets and investment register.”
Delivering the keynote address, Mrs. Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy said: “The generation before us gave land, institutions, and identity. Our responsibility is to give opportunity, dignity, and a future our children do not need to leave home to find.
“If we unite vision with discipline, ambition with integrity, and heritage with innovation, then when Ondo gathers again fifty years from now, history will say of us: they honoured their past, rose to their moment, and secured the future.”