Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, has rallied the 32 members of the 10th session of the Oyo State House of Assembly to work with him to bring about sustainable development in the state.
He gave this call on Wednesday, shortly after the inauguration of the Assembly, held at the House of Assembly Chambers, where the member representing Ibarapa East State Constituency and immediate past Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, was re-elected as Speaker and Hon. Muhammed Fadeyi was also re-elected as the Deputy Speaker.
Makinde, who stated that he was confident that the legislative arm would cooperate with his administration in its resolve to continue to deliver good governance, congratulated the 15 re-elected members and 17 newly-elected members of the 10th Assembly.
Governor Makinde maintained that the turn-over rate in the 10th Assembly meant that the learning process of the lawmakers would be short, calling on the lawmakers to work with his administration in its bid to make Oyo State the first to provide 24/7 electricity to its residents.
He stated that one of the benefits yielded by his trips to Abuja was the signing of the Electricity Bill into Law by President Bola Tinubu.
He equally noted that he would expect the lawmakers’ cooperation as he seeks to continue to improve the education sector, build more infrastructure and make life more meaningful for residents, adding that the achievements under Omituntun 2.0 will surpass those of the last four years.
He said: “It is my honour, pursuant to Section 105 subsection 3 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to issue the proclamation of the 10th Oyo State House of Assembly.
“I congratulate and welcome you the 32 members of the House of Assembly, the 15 re-elected members and the 17 freshers.
“In the 9th Assembly, we had only one lady and now, we have two. Also, for the first time, we have 15 members from the 9th Assembly being sworn in today. Before then, we used to have at most three. So, we are laying the foundation for continuity in governance in Oyo State, and the learning process will also be very short.
“Let me also congratulate Rt. Hon. Ogundoyin on his emergence as the Speaker and Hon. Muhammed Fadeyi as the Deputy Speaker.
“I remember the first time I addressed you, four years ago, as we inaugurated the 9th Assembly, I prayed then that we would work together and forge a new type of synergy.
“I, again, ask all the Honourable members that you work with us. Work with us as we continue to make education a priority. We have promised the people of Oyo State that we will continue to allocate 20 per cent of our budget to education and that we will take all actions necessary to return another 20 per cent of our out-of-school-children back to the classrooms. Of course, these budgets will be sent to this house to be passed into law. Our expectation is that when we present our budgets, they will be passed in good time.
“I ask that you work with us in continued infrastructural development. We have promised the good people of Oyo State that we will continue to extract all the value trapped in moribund assets in the state; that we will complete the 110-kilometre Senator Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road and that we will create a modern take to the Dugbe Business District at Ilutuntun in Akinyele Local Government Area, among other promises.”
The Governor added: “We will come to you for support as we take decisions that will make these deliverables possible.
“Again, my expectation is that you will support us to benefit the people of the state. I ask you to work with us as we strive to be the first state in Nigeria to provide 24/7 electricity supply to our people.”
Throwing more light on the plan of his administration to embark on power generation and distribution, the Governor said, “we have already started the process by presenting the Oyo State Electricity Regulatory Commission Bill before the 9th Assembly. When passed into law, we will allow partnership with the private sector on large scale energy provision.”
The Governor, who spoke of his administration’s plan to improve on the environment, called on the legislators to cooperate with the executive in its bid to sanitise the state to birth a world-class environment.
He said: “We are proposing a new agency, the Oyo State Mobilisation Agency for Socioeconomic Development (OMASED). Through this agency, we will harness our sensitisation and enforcement effort for an orderly Oyo State on waste management, market sanitisation and urban development. We expect that when we come to you, you will deliberate on this timeously so that this instrument will be used effectively timely.”
Earlier, the newly-elected Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Ogundoyin, commended the governor for blazing the trail of good governance in the state, promising to cooperate with all stakeholders to uplift the state and place the Assembly on a higher pedestal.
