Eighty political parties in Ogun State, on Tuesday passed a vote of confidence on Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The Chairman of Labour Party in the State, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi, led the chairmen of 79 other political parties in the State to pass the vote of confidence.
Arabambi, pushing aside scathing criticisms and litigations of the immediate past, said all the political parties that contested the March 9 governorship election in the State, with the exception of one are happy with the performance of the Abiodun-led administration.
He said that the parties, except “the only one that is in the Court of Appeal” have examined the activities of Prince Dapo Abiodun and found out that he had “extensively identified policies and programmes that brought us failure as a State and set up various interventions using the instrumentalities of the law to pursue the aspirations of the people of Ogun State.
“These various remarkable interventions have highly impacted on the performance of your government in key sectors like education, health, housing, security, agriculture, financial discipline and other core government businesses,” he noted.
Only a couple of months ago, Arabambi had described some of the committees set up by Governor Abiodun as “irresponsible, irrelevant, unnecessary and wasteful.”
The Labour Party chairman who doubles as the chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, consisting of 81 political parties in the State spoke during a courtesy call to Governor Abiodun in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. The meeting was at the instance of IPAC.
Arabambi on behalf of his colleagues expressed confidence on the ability of the Governor to steer the ship of the State.
“You have consistently and strongly justified your rating as a big name in the business of managing men and resources. In a short space of time, you have remained committed to all matters of development in the State.
“It is now clear that the destiny of our great State is in the hands of a capable, prudent and competent manager of resources. Your government shall not just make a difference, but shall be different,” he said.
Comrade Arabambi called for the establishment of a joint Government/IPAC platform for an inclusive partnership that would include major stakeholders in the State, adding that the Council was ready to work with government to take the State to the next level.
Also speaking, a foremost politician and former Political Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Gbolade Osinowo noted that the Governor has written his name in gold by deliberately promoting inclusive governance that embrace all political divide.
Osinowo, who is the chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the State said: “You are making a difference by deliberately promoting inclusive governance. You are not a lone ranger who claims to know it all.
“Your actions show that you want to tap from the experiences of the people irrespective of their political leaning to run your government and we at IPAC are able, ready and willing to contribute our quota to move Ogun State forward.”
Responding, Governor Abiodun said that it was imperative for all hands to be on deck if the State was to make any meaningful progress, as no one is a repository of knowledge.
The governor enthused that democracy thrives better when it is “participatory, inclusive and anchored on the principles of rule of law.”
He thanked the leaders of the political parties for being truthful in their assessment and for sharing his vision “no matter what happened before or immediately after the elections.”
He added that their desire to join hands with him “is in the best interest of the State.”
Abiodun, who reeled out the programmes, policies and what his administration had been able to achieve in the last five months, said 236 primary schools and Primary Health Centres are currently undergoing rehabilitation in all wards across the state.
The government, he added, is also renovating and equipping General Hospitals across the State.
“We are also taking the issue of security very seriously. So far, we have re-launched our Security Trust Fund and provided security agencies with 100 patrol vehicles and 200 motorcycles. This is to ensure that our State is peaceful for people to live and do business,” he noted.
He said his administration was passionate about the economic growth of the State.
The governor said the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria, establishment of the Public Private Partnership and Ease of Doing Business offices, opening of Job Portal, among others were parts of the interventions to open up the State and create employment opportunities.
Governor Abiodun, who acknowledged the deplorable condition of roads across the State, said a Public Works Agency to carry out rehabilitation of township roads had been established, while efforts are on to work on the rural roads.
He said his administration would not shy away from working with people who has something meaningful to offer the State.
He said: “I see a lot of value in this meeting and I want to enjoin us to find a way to hold our hands in building this State together.
“We are ready for anyone who is genuine and has the right intentions and commingled to us with all sense of honesty and responsibility. We are ready and determine to ensure that we are inclusive.
“I want to suggest that we set up an Intra- IPAC Administrative team to harmonize all the suggestions that have been made between us and IPAC. This team will allow us to interface between IPAC executives and government so that this building our future together can be actualized.”