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Monday, September 20, 2010

Ogun is in news for wrong reason, says Tejuoso

OGUN State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship aspirant, Prince Kayode Tejuoso, has reiterated the agitation of the people for political change next year.

He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be dislodged from power so that a people-oriented governor can begin to navigate the ship of state.

‘Ogun State is tired of promises. We want service delivery’, said the aspirant who visited the Lagos Corporate Headquarters of Vintage Press Limited, Publishers of The Nation Newspapers.

Tejuoso, who was received by the General Manager, Training and Development, Mr Soji Omotunde, spoke on his vision for the Gateway State, saying that the development of human resources would be the priority of his administration, if elected as governor.

‘’My focal point is the development of the people. People are the main resource we have in Ogun State. Governance is about people. If you want to build roads, if the people do not have food, it will not work.

‘’I want to develop education, so that people can get quality education. People who cannot attain university education would benefit from vocational centres where they would acquire skills for making a living. For people to create wealth, they must be healthy. People are being invited from United States and China to invest in Ogun State, but they need local people with skills to work in their firms and industries’, he stressed.

Tejuoso lamented the political situation in the state, saying that Governor Gbenga Daniel and his party had retarded its progress.

But he hailed the lawmakers for protecting the interest of the state by denying Daniel of a legislative backing for N100billion bond.

‘’Ogun State, right now, is in disarray. It is not the only state in Nigeria, but it is in the news for the wrong reason. The World Bank Report said Ogun State is the worst to do business. A state that produced Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Prof. Wole Soyinka should not have this kind of stigma.

‘’What is happening in Ogun State is disheartening. All the legislators are from the same party. We don’t know the financial status of the state. There are conflicting results, when you make an enquiry’, he added.

Tejuoso flayed Daniel for avoiding the public debate on the bond, pointing out that he lacked justification for borrowing at the twilight of his tenure.

He wondered why the governor insisted on taking the loan at a time the state is unable to pay the salaries of workers regularly.

‘‘He said that he wanted to build a cargo airport. Is cargo airport the priority of Ogun State when teachers are not being paid? For how long would it take Ogun State to repay the loan, judging by its IGR and allocation from the federal purse? The timing is wrong. It is a messy situation’’, he said.

Tejuoso, who said the political survival of the governor would be an issue in post-2011 period, assured the people that AC N would unite to fight PDP which, he described as the common enemy of the people.

The aspirant said that he would bring his experience in the private sector to bear on governance in the state.

‘I am confident of wining the primaries of my party and our party will effect the desired change in Ogun State’’, he said.

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