Like a cardinal principle, Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, made it a point of duty in the outgone year that his administration would deliver more on infrastructural projects in 2022. He also said that the 46-year-old state would witness completion of projects carried out by his administration as well as the uncompleted projects of the immediate past administration with emphasis on direct economic impact on the people.
It needs not be restated that the past two years have proved daunting for the administration, no thanks to Covid-19 and its effect on governance. But as far the governor is concerned, electoral promises must be delivered in accordance with the implementation of the ISEYA Agenda.
By January 13, Abiodun’s infrastructure promise had become a reality as President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in Abeokuta on a one-day official visit to commission 14km Ijebu Ode-Mojoda-Epe road, the Gateway City Gate; the 42-Kilometre Sagamu Interchange-Abeokuta Road and two housing estates for low, medium and high-income earners at Kobape and Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta respectively. It was a demonstration of the Ogun State government’s huge investment and commitment to the security of lives and property.
An elated President Buhari said at the commissioning that the projects have made Ogun State “one of the safest and most peaceful States in the country and investors’ destination of choice” while describing governor Abiodun as a promise keeper of whom the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is proud. It is generally believed that the Ijebu Ode-Mojoda-Epe road would complement the Sagamu-Benin expressway which the Federal Government is currently reconstructing and is due for commissioning this year.
The significance of the two commissioned roads cannot be over-emphasised. Aside from being federal roads, it also highlights constructive engagement, cooperation and collaboration between the states and federal government, in addition to fitting well into the rail transportation master plan which connects Lagos to Kano with Ogun State also having more rail stations, along the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor.
To have a housing estate that cuts across different social strata of the low, medium and high income earners can only be described as remarkable, although it is also a result of a well-thought out plan by the Abiodun administration which is also determined to ensure that the state’s infrastructure meets its status of industrial hub of Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
When all the foregoing is viewed from the lens of the Abiodun administration’s recent Statisense ranking that put Ogun State fourth among 36 states in Nigeria in terms of revenue generation, coming only behind Lagos State, Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State, 2022 cannot but be expected to offer promises.
Yet, governor Abiodun looks forward to increased IGR this year, excited by the fact that his government has grown the state’s economy by 20 per cent over the last one year, in addition to the 2021 budget having achieved about 85 per cent performance before December 31, thanks largely to transparency and accountability in public spending and the efficiency of the Economic Team headed by the Commissioner of Finance/Chief Economic Adviser, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo.
A further assurance on how 2022 would come good can be explained by the introduction of the Ogun State Land Administration and Revenue Management System (OLARMS) which aims principally to enhance operational efficiency that would in turn improve internally generated revenue of the state.
