Knocks, Kudos As Ogun Residents Appraise Gov. Abiodun’s Performance
Raymond Osho
The emergence of Dapo Abiodun as the Governor of Ogun State seems to mark a new beginning in the Gateway state, and almost four years down the line, for some, the Governor is the best choice ever made in the political history of the state, while for others, he seems to be a square peg in a round hole.
The election that brought in Abiodun as the number one citizen of the state in the last election was preceded by hit crisis within the All Progressives Congress (APC) that produced him.
The storm was so gritty that the sitting governor Ibikunle Amosun who, at a point, god himself over other party members in the state was eventually swept off with his cohorts by the wind, an incident that birthed the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
The genesis of the party’s crisis can be traced to when Governor Ibikunle Amosun, organised its internal affairs to select candidates for the elections through ‘consensus’. The selection process produced Adekunle Akinlade as the party’s governorship candidate.
But the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) made an order, stating that candidates who would jostle for one political seat or the other must be selected through Direct Primary. As a result of this, the NWC refused to ratify the emergence of Akinlade and the other candidates produced by the process under Amosun.
Grieved by the order of the NWC, a huge majority of Amosun’s foot soldiers and political associates formed a new political party, Allied People’s Movement (APM), to campaign for the Amosun’s anointed, Akinlade, while Amosun himself continued in APC.
The scenario became interesting when APC members in the State staged protests, describing Dapo Abiodun as a candidate that was allegedly foisted on the party.
Fast forward, the 2019 elections came in favour of Dapo Abiodun, having enjoyed the endorsement and support of the NWC and on May 29, the same year, the MKO Abiola stadium at Kuto, Abeokuta was filled to the brim with citizens of the state, government officials, politicians amongst others who came to witness the swearing-in of the 6th civilian Governor of the state.
The citizens fancies were caught by governor Dapo Abiodun’s speech which pronounced the load of promises he has for the people.
GOVERNOR ABIODUN’S PROMISES
The campaign promises of the governor include; , physical Infrastructure, massive employment,
upgrade of the educational system among others.
Dapo Abiodun’s campaign promises sounded like the Obafemi Awolowo’s development model. The governor assured the people, who turned out in a political rally organised for him, that if elected governor, his administration would embark on tuition-free programme in Ogun State.
Abiodun during the 2021 Local Governments election in the state, also promised to grant full autonomy to local government councils in the state, stressing that such gesture would help to provide good governance and bring government closer to the people at the grassroots.
At the beginning of year 2021, Dapo Abiodun also promised to launched Health Insurance Scheme for the Informal Sector as part of his pledge to upgrade the health system in the state.
HAS ABIODUN BEEN FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES?
The current administration on February 3rd, 2022 launched the Health Insurance Scheme for the Informal Sector of the state economy. Although, the launching of the scheme wasn’t fulfilled until after a Daily Post online report of January 1, 22 with headline “How Gov. Abiodun Failed To Fulfill 2021 Promises”.
The government also paid up a total sum of N200 million grant to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund as part of its resolve to take advantage of the health scheme in the state.
EDUCATION: The governor, immediately his assumption of office, made free education mandatory for pupils in primary and secondary schools. Before this time, government owned schools in the state were subjected to paying indiscriminate fees and levies of N3,700.
The governor also assured that his team would work with school principals and headmasters general to ensure that the non-payment of fees is sustained. When you go round schools in Ogun State, there are buildings with yellow roofs, these building were either refurbished or in some cases built from scratch.
Seven months after the local governments election, the governor has yet to grant the local government autonomy as pledged. Local governments in Ogun state are supposed to be independent, not relying on the state. A situation where they determine their own affairs and share their resources without interference from the state government. But all the 20 Local governments in the state still depend largely on the state government.
PEOPLE’S OPINIONS ABOUT ABIODUN’S ADMINISTRATION
Some citizens of the state have come out to appraise the performance of Dapo, while some praised him for job well done and expressed hope that the governor will fulfill other promises, some gave him knock, claiming that the current administration has no serous achievements to show.
Akinlade Taju, a commercial motorcycle rider lamented that the current administration is repeating the mistake of previous administrations. Akinlade pointed road construction as major project past governments focused on at the expense of other fundamental needs of the people, adding that Dapo Abiodun is walking the same path.
Another, Bolaji Ogundipe described the current administration as un-serious and lacking direction. He said since inception of the administration in 2019, insecurity has increased.
His words “The ritual killings, kidnappings and other criminal activities in the country were not as high as this before. Let him do something.”
A job-seeking Lolade Ogundele who also spoke said that Abiodun’s promise to create jobs for the youths was based on absolute lie. “Imagine the Job Portal created by the government, how many people have been employed through that.”
Another, Babalola Oni “I have witnessed three different administrations since I have been in Ogun state but I must confess, Dapo Abiodun administration is different. I am not trying to praise-sing the governor,. I’m saying the obvious. What his predecessor could not accomplish in eight years, he’s achieve them in his first term.
Also, a government school teacher who didn’t want to be mentioned stressed “Dapo Abiodun is not owing us any salary. Our salaries have been coming in steadily”.
Ibironke Oke said “In all honesty, Dapo Abiodun needs to be applauded and he deserves another term. If he’s given another opportunity for second term, Ogun state will overrun Lagos. Imagine a man who’s strategic in his developmental strides. Another thing I notice about governor Abiodun is the inclusiveness in his administration. In other words, this is the only administration in the history of Ogun state, to the best of my knowledge that has a larger number of youths. Most of his SAs and SSAs are Youths. Give it to Abiodun.”
“One thing that really caught my fancy about governor Abiodun is continuity. Look at all the abandoned projects of the past administration, Dapo Abiodun took them up and completed them and some are still being on the way to be completed. If his potential predecessor would emulate him when he leaves office, Ogun state will be best. If you notice, Dapo Abiodun is reconstructing roads without destroying houses and other properties unlike the previous administration. This is a leader indeed”.
Babatunde, a trader stated “Although, we are still expecting much from him but he’s performed beyond we could imagine. In terms of education, when he came in, he promised to redefine the educational sector, which he’s doing already- look at all our schools, each of them has new block of classrooms for conduciveness for learning. Sometime I wonder if it’s not a magic. Dapo Abiodun, despite limited resources and huge debt he met on ground, is performing.
