Ogun State: Governor-Elect, Abiodun Speaks On What He Expects From Outgoing Governor, Amosun

Governor-Elect Dapo Abiodun Reels Out Plans Of His Incoming Administration.

The Ogun state governor-elect, Prince Dapo Abiodun,  says that his incoming administration is filled with determination to make a difference in the governance of the state.

Abiodun, however, expressed the hope that the outgoing Governor, Ibikunle Amosun would provide timely and accurate information on all the ongoing projects in the state and the general state of affairs of the people’s common patrimony to enable him face governance seamlessly.

The Governor-elect made this known in Ogere, Ogun State, during the formal inauguration of his Economic Transition Committee (ETC) and Work Groups.

He noted that he is not unmindful of the fact that people have become quite cynical of government and the political class because of their experiences, but pledged that his would be different, as he would provide leadership that could earn the confidence of the people.

He also pledged to run a government that has a character that could be trusted.

The 23 member ETC is chaired by Mr. Tunde Lemo, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria with Dapo Okubadejo serving as its Secretary while the Work Groups which are broken into parts have larger memberships.

While ETC is expected to help articulate Abiodun’s campaign manifesto, ensure robust engagement with stakeholders and develop a roadmap to guide its implementation, the Work Groups would focus on assigned thematic areas such as Education, Youth and Sports, Health and Social Services, Government Processes, Agriculture and Food Security, Transformational Initiatives, to ensure an effective and efficient discharge of its assignment.

He reiterated his vision to provide good and focused governance that will create an enabling environment for sustainable economic development of the state and translate to significant improvement in the welfare of citizens and their individual prosperity.

Abiodun, an oil magnate and successful entrepreneur noted that the paucity of funds may present challenges to the incoming government, and urged the Work Group on Finance to identify creative means of funding to support the realisation of governance agenda.

Abiodun said: “The importance of the task at hand cannot be over-emphasised. You are being called upon to elaborate on over-emphasizednifesto, identify and distil the pressing needs of the state and our people, recommend specific programmes and policies and develop a measurable and realistic roadmap, including identifying low hanging fruits, for implementation.

“The Terms of Reference for the Work Groups will be provided to guide the assignment. However, should there be a compelling reason to tweak any of the items; I believe the Secretariat will be favourably disposed to consider such adjustment.

“I am confident that the main committee and the Work Groups are most suited to deliver the objectives of this assignment, what with an array of leading lights of our State in all fields of endeavour, rich blend of perspectives across professions, political affiliations, gender, demography, among others. While our non-partisan technocrats are expected to bring to bear on the assignment their rich, global and detached “outsider” perspectives, the professionals in politics and other political actors will provide context and knowledge of the environment to develop a Policy Document that is deep in concept, broad in scope, ambitious in vision but takes cognizance of the current realties.

“Equally important, it will enjoy the ownership and buy- in of the critical stakeholders, an important component of our commitment to inclusive government. In this regard, each work group should identify critical and relevant stakeholders and seek their input, as may be necessary.

“Our vision is to provide good and focused governance that creates an enabling environment for sustainable economic development of the state that translates to significant improvement in the welfare of our citizens and their individual prosperity.

“In traversing the length and breadth of the over 16,000 square kilometers of the state during the campaign, I gained further appreciation of the vast natural resources spread across the state. These natural resources, coupled with the premier status of Ogun State as the intellectual capital of the nation, should make the job easy. The challenge here is to bridge the gap between the potentials and actual performance.

“There is no gain-saying that funding will be a major constraint, hence our recognition of public – private partnership as a veritable tool for funding in a manner that keeps the interest of the state paramount while delivering significant value to all the stakeholders.

“Therefore, the Work Group on Finance is enjoined to identify creative means of funding to support the realisation of the governance agenda.

“There are two other issues that I believe are worth emphasising. First, the Transition Committee and the Work Groups are requested to come up with recommendations on Monitoring and Evaluation mechanism that will ensure that agreed initiatives are not only implemented, but there is a framework to track progress and ensure desired outcomes are achieved.

As Larry Bossidy, co-author of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Done, once said, “strategies are intellectually simple; but the implementation is not.”

“On our part, I want to assure that we are fully committed to this process and that the document that will emerge will not be used to decorate the shelf but will be diligently implemented.

“The second point I will like to reiterate is that the government is a continuum. Therefore, the next Administration will continue the implementation of the ongoing projects that have a clear line of sight to upliftment of Ogun State and benefits to the people.

“I am hopeful that the incumbent government will provide to us timeously accurate information on all the ongoing projects in the state and the general state of affairs of our common patrimony.”