Oyo State governor ‘Seyi Makinde, said his government will do more for the people in 2025.
He noted that the administration would take decisive actions to increase Oyo State residents’ spending powers and ease their economic strains.
The governor stated this in his New Year Message aired on Wednesday on the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS).
Governor Makinde reiterated his position during Tuesday night’s Crossover Service held at the Livingspring Chapel International in Ibadan. He said he would remain focused and ensure that the state’s residents get value for their mandate.
He listed upgrading the Ibadan Airport, Alakia, to international status, the first segment of the Ibadan Circular Road, and further education and enlightenment of residents as some of the projects the government would embark upon in the New Year.
He also added that his administration would enforce the rule of law across different sectors and take more stringent measures against traffic offences in the state.
Governor Makinde maintained that 2024 tested the resilience of Oyo State residents to the limit. The state and its people faced many difficult situations, including economic hardship and tragedies in Ibadan.
According to the governor, the nation struggled with economic challenges throughout 2024, with inflation rates reducing the people’s spending power and dragging more people into poverty despite his administration working hard to lift people out of poverty through different policies and programmes.
He noted that the state’s people still had everything to thank God for.
Governor Makinde declared that due to the economic difficulties, his government took further actions to move people from poverty to prosperity by investing in making Oyo State an economic hub and making the environment more ideal for the private sector to thrive.
Through these initiatives, the governor said, the state attracted huge investors such as Africorp Consortium and Shell Nigeria Gas. It completed and commissioned the first phase of its Independent Power Project and flagged off the construction of the second agribusiness industrial hub in Eruwa.
He added that the tragedies, the Bodija Explosion and the Islamic High School stampede deaths, also made the administration become more proactive and take a second look at its strategies, policies and programmes.
Governor Makinde said: “What a year 2024 was! Our resilience as a people has been tested almost to the limit.
“We have faced economic challenges and social tragedies that have been a direct or indirect result of these challenges.
“We were shocked by the 16 January, 2024 Bodija Incident. We reacted by signing Executive Order 001, 2024, on the Safe Handling and Storage of Harmful Substances Within Oyo State. We also took steps to support those primarily affected by this incident. We will give them even more support in 2025.
“In December 2024, disaster again struck in our dear state as we lost 35 children to a stampede at Islamic High School Basorun. We are still mourning this great loss.
“Throughout the year, we struggled with economic challenges as a nation. Inflation rates reduced our spending power and dragged more people into poverty than we could help escape poverty.
“Our hearts are heavy. Still, we are thankful.
These tragedies have compelled us as a government to reassess our strategies, policies, and programs.
“For example, following the Bodija Incident, we took actions that further secured the lives of our people. We are more determined to put further measures in place to ensure such incidents never occur again.
“The economic difficulties also spurred us to take further actions to pull our people out of poverty. We invested in making Oyo State an economic hub, making our environment ideal for the private sector to thrive.
“We welcomed Africorp Consortium and Shell Nigeria Gas into Oyo State, completed and commissioned the first phase of our Independent Power Project, a public-private partnership with Elektron Energy, and flagged off the second agribusiness industrial hub construction at Eruwa.
“Indeed, despite the pain we feel regarding the tragedies that befell us last year, we are thankful.”
Governor Makinde also took the opportunity to assure state residents that the New Year would bring a positive turnaround and to urge them to continue to support his administration.
