Mid Term Report: Carrying on without amala in Oyo BY OLA AJAYI

The two year administration of Senator Abiola Ajimobi has rewritten the rules of political engagement in Oyo State particularly deleting the politics of violence . But hearts are yet to be completely won over

It would be unfair to say that nothing has changed in Oyo State since Senator Abiola Ajimobi assumed the mantle of leadership in the state two years ago. Besides physical developments on ground, the state has also shed the toga of political violence that was once associated with it.

Indeed, with the exception of the skirmish that happened some weeks ago when some people believed to be sympathetic to the government disrupted the rally organized by the opposition political party, Accord at Olomi where some people were injured, the state has enjoyed a peace which practically eluded the state in the last two previous governments

As some claim, Ajimobi has shown that good governance can be attained without brandishing cutlasses, cudgels or intimidating political opponents. The praise is, however, not universal given the woes of street traders and many others that have been affected by the administration’s demolition programmes especially in Ibadan.


The speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mrs. Sunmonu Monsurat, is however, nonplussed by such assertions saying that Ajimobi has excelled his two immediate predecessors, in office, Senator Rasheed Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala both of whom served on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Challenges of unemployment
The administration has created 20,000 jobs under the Youth Employment Scheme, christened YES-O and launched 1,000 tricycles popularly called Keke Ajumose to address the challenges of unemployment, ensuring safety on roads, and crime prevention and control in the society.

The administration has also made financial and infrastructural interventions in the education sector and in 2012, paid N396 million WAEC fees of final year secondary school students and continues to provide free transportation for school children to and from school.

The administration has also secured National Universities Commission, NUC approval for the establishment of The Technical University, Ibadan.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, however, faults the administration for its alleged political subterfuge. The PDP has faulted the administration for supposedly giving the impression that 100 mass transit busses provided by the Federal Government came from the state administration.

But the PDP accused  the governor of trying to give a false impression that it was the Action Congress of Nigeria led administration in the state that provided 100 units of mass transit which President Goodluck Jonathan gave to the state.

The PDP wondered how a party that “dubbed itself as a haven of intellectuals and progressives could descend so low as to claim other party’s programme as its own, noting that in academics this is known as “plagiarism” and piracy in the creative industry, an offense that may earn the convicted student or scholar outright dismissal or a heavy fine and even a long jail term”.

The ACN has dismissed the PDP’s claims accusing the party of shallow grasp of issues saying the state and local governments are paying for the busses, affirming, further that under the immediate past government of the PDP that hundreds of vehicles bought for such schemes were distributed to party faithful ,girlfriends of people in government and cronies of those in government.

“We actually understand their frustration. All their faithful who defaulted in repayment of the loans are hurting from the collection of the vehicles from them,” the ACN said in a statement. “The Ajimobi government had to pick up the liability of the unpaid loan defaults which denied the genuine Oyo State people from benefitting from the scheme. So if the money used in purchasing the vehicles belonged to the Oyo State government, it is at liberty to name the buses whatever it desires,” the party added.

Another issue where the opposition parties have tackled the administration is the dithering procrastination to conduct local government elections saying that it is contrary to the democracy mantra that the ACN normally trumpets.

Former Governors Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala while crying foul have dared the governor to conduct the elections.

But, the Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mr. Adebayo Ojo said the election was put on hold due to legal constraints created by the opposition parties.

As commendable as the achievements of the administration are to its patrons and supporters, it has repeatedly been drummed into the ears of the governor by some chieftains of the opposition party, including Dr. Dejoi Raimi, that he should forget a second term as it has never happened in the history of the state for a governor to serve the state twice.



Vanguard