Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has declared that he has been able to bring human face and fear of God to the administration of the state in the last three years.
He made the declaration at the turning of the sod of the new palace of the Olubadan of Ibadanland sited at Oke-Aremo in the heart of the state capital on Wednesday.
According
to the governor, his administration’s vision and mission have been platformed on the tripod of transformation, restoration and repositioning to achieve the desired goal of a rapid development.
He said that the monumental development, which his government had brought to the state to improve the living standard of the people, had been achieved without inflicting any pain on the people.
For instance, on the rumours being peddled by the opposition that his administration had been demolishing shops and other means of livelihood of the people of the state, he said that the only structures that his government ever removed were those trading by the roadsides.
On his administration’s urban renewal and environmental sanitation programmes which culminated in the removal of traders from the streets, Governor Ajimobi said it was done to ensure the environmental, health and safety of the people of the state.
He said that his government was moved into embarking on the urban renewal programme in view of the tagging of the state and in particular, Ibadan, the state capital, as the dirtiest city in Nigeria.
“We removed illegal traders only in Ibadan, said to be, before now, the dirtiest city in Nigeria. By removing illegal traders from underneath the bridges and roadsides where there were no toilets, we have reduced the incidence of cholera and communicable diseases to the barest minimum.
“Those trading under high-tension wires were also removed for their own self-safety while flood-prone area traders who were removed have reduced our flood incidences,’’ he said.
The governor, who said that people still sell by the roadsides till today, added that they had only been moved away from deadly road paths.
“Check traders anywhere in Ibadan, we never demolished a single shop or house. We only asked the traders to move from dangerous road-paths to enhance city aesthetics and give even the traders long life,’’ he said.
Governor Ajimobi said that shops were also built by government and given to those removed from the streets free of charge, while they were also given interest-free loans to help in their trade.
“All the traders removed from the Molete under-bridge and Challenge Area were allocated shops at the newly-constructed Scout Camp Market at Challenge and given N20 million interest-free loan.
“Besides, a total sum of N300 million was recently given to market men and women, traders and artisans at N50,000 per trader to help them in their businesses,’’ he said.
Governor Ajimobi further stated that his administration also took a step further by instructing all the 11 local government councils in Ibadan to construct at least two neighbourhood markets each to accommodate traders in their respective council areas.
He also disclosed that a total sum of N1.7 billion had been paid as WAEC fees for SSS III students in public schools between 2012 and 2014, while free buses were provided for civil servants to take them to and fro work and other buses to take members of the public to their respective destinations with a paltry cost of N50, with students enjoying free ride.
The governor called on the people of the state to be wary of the opposition whose activities, he said, were centred on deliberate misinformation in order to paint his government as lacking human face.