*Commissions 12.5km dualized Challenge – OdoOna Elewe-Ellebu-Apata road,
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Governor Seyi Makinde on Friday, asked the Federal Government to allow states in the country to develop at their own pace.
Speaking at the commissioning of the dualized 12.5 kilometers Challenge – OdoOna Elewe-Ellebu-Apata road, Ibadan, the governor said the country’s federalism system should allow for the diversity of Nigeria to be reflected in the development of its states.
According to him, a one-size-fits-all approach to development will not work in a country as diverse as Nigeria, adding that each state has unique needs and resources, and should be allowed to use those resources to develop their own states.
The governor emphasized that this would lead to more efficient and effective development and would ultimately benefit the entire country as well as encourage competition and innovation among states which would lead to more effective use of resources.
“Let me use this opportunity to talk about the meeting we had a few days ago. We the governors of the Peoples Democratic Party including my brother here. We met in Abuja and one of the key issues we discussed is economic hardship our people are facing”, he said
Gov Makinde added, “Our focus at this time is helping our people overcome the challenges of the times. Some people continue to play politics and tell lies about how things are”.
” I read claims that FAC has doubled for states and local government areas. I think it’s just a lazy way to situate things. We must be talking about baking a bigger cake. FAC is what everybody is talking about.
The governor stressed “Why are we even going to Abuja in the first instance to share FAC? Were they doing that in the first republic?”
Well, FAC has moved up from about 6 billion Naira per month to about 8 billion Naira per month, but so also the responsibilities of government”.
Promising to increase the level of infrastructural development in the state and work to bring more dividends of democracy to the people, the governor announced the extension of wage awards to workers in the state by another six months
Gov Makinde who named the newly commissioned road as Chief Theophilus Akinyele way stressed that the extension of the wage award payment for the next six months was to further cushion the effect of subsidy removal
Speaking as the guest at the event, Gov Peter Mba of Enugu state tasked political leaders in Nigeria to do more in building projects for the country.
“We can only expand our economy through critical infrastructure like this one done by my brother, Engr. Seyi Makinde”, he said
Governor Mbah commended Gov Makinde for his decisiveness and progressive mindedness which is essentially about the collective interest of the people.
