On May 29, 2011, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala will cease to be the Governor of Oyo State. OLALEKAN ADETAYO examines various projects inaugurated by the outgoing governor since he lost his re-election bid and concludes that the governor has put the electoral defeat behind him
Everything that has a beginning must have an end. Tenure of political office holders is not an exception. The nation’s constitution allows a four-year tenure for a state governor, deputy governor, president and vice-president at a go. They are also allowed a maximum of two terms of four years each.
With this at the back of his mind, when Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala of the Peoples Democratic Party was inaugurated on May 29, 2007 as the governor of Oyo State, he knew that except his victory was upturned by a court of competent jurisdiction or members of the state House of Assembly removed him, he would be calling the shots from the Agodi Government House till at least May 29, 2011. The duration seemed a long one that time.
Immediately he was inaugurated, the clock started ticking: seconds rolled into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, days into months and of course, months into years. Then, the time came for another round of elections to be held and Alao-Akala did not mince words on his desire to seek re-election.
He hinged his decision to get the nod of the people of the state to lead them for second term on his desire to consolidate on the feats his administration performed in the first four years. Some of the achievements being flaunted by the governor are what he called massive road construction (over 880 kilometres) in the state, provision of streetlights, construction of classrooms and provision of furniture and instructional materials for the schools, upgrading of health facilities as well as upgrading of all the stadia in the state among others.
His campaign organisation, the Akala/Arapaja Campaign Organisation, did a lot to bring these and more projects to the fore as a way of wooing the voting public in the state. Many slogans were crafted for his campaign. One of such was “Ise rere o duro” which literarily means “Good works don’t stop.” So when he eventually lost the election to Senator Abiola Ajimobi of the Action Congress of Nigeria, the slogan was derisively used by some people of the state that his so-called good works had stopped.
Not a few people expected the governor to mourn his electoral loss with his head permanently bowed until he leaves office by month end. But surprisingly, Alao-Akala seems to have put the loss behind him. In fact, events of the last few days in the life of the administration have once again proved that “Good works don’t stop” win or lose. The outgoing governor has been going about inaugurating different projects in what looks like a special way of bidding the people of the state farewell. The first of such is the inauguration of 33 units of state-of-the-art waste compactor trucks purchased by his administration in collaboration with the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria. Apparently sending words to the incoming administration, Alao-Akala at the inauguration, said his administration had worked assiduously to achieve better living condition for the people of the state. The governor said his administration’s record of achievement would continue to speak for him.
He pointed out that he had left indelible footprints on the sand of time and that posterity would continue to judge him as a remarkable achiever. Alao-Akala said the procurement of the waste compactors was further demonstration of his administration’s determination to rid Oyo State of dirt, adding that the equipment will immediately be distributed to the 33 local government areas for effective waste disposal. He, therefore, appealed to all the 33 local government authorities to make judicious use of the waste compactors and ensure their regular maintenance to ensure their durability.
Shortly after that, the outgoing governor also inaugurated the N174m new office complex constructed by his administration for the state Head of Service. It was at that occasion that he told the people of the state that despite the fears being entertained in some quarters especially by the incoming administration, he would not leave any debt by the time he leaves office on May 29. While saying that the state does not owe any bank, he added that his administration had been servicing the only foreign debt it inherited in 2007.
Alao-Akala said the inauguration of the HOS’ office complex was another attestation to his administration’s commitment to sincere development of infrastructural facilities in the state. He said, “There is no gainsaying the fact that this administration had touched virtually, if not all, the entire socio-economic landscape of the state with innovative, progressive and developmental programmes. This administration has performed creditably well in the area of construction of new projects, rehabilitation of existing ones and in some instances upgrading and providing existing structure with modern equipment. I am bold to state that Oyo State is now much better than we met it and posterity will surely judge us right.”
He said the conception of the new office complex for the HOS came to the fore as a result of his conviction that civil/public servants play vital role in the implementation of government policies and programmes and are equally stakeholders in governance. He added that the project was aimed at giving the HOS and other civil servants a sense of belonging and to serve as a stimulus for better performance.
Not long after, Alao-Akala again inaugurated the newly-upgraded N170m Oyo State Liaison Office on Oduduwa Crescent Ikeja, Lagos, where he expressed satisfaction that he would be handing over a new improved Oyo State to the incoming administration. The building which is part of a complex constructed by the Western Region Government and shared to the state had suffered total neglect in the hands of previous administrations, hence the decision of outgoing administration to upgrade its structures which comprise the renovation of the main building, the administrative building, the staff quarters and a complete new 15 room guest chalets.
Alao-Akala disclosed that contract for the upgrading of the building was initially awarded for over N147m but was revised to over N170m to allow for the provision of additional facilities such as a 300KVA transformer, two sound proof generators, overhead steel water tower and construction of detached power control room among others. He explained that the implementation of the project was considered necessary not only to provide liaison services for the friends of the state in and around Lagos but also to make the presence of the state better felt by a larger concentration of its indigenes in Lagos.
Already, arrangements have been concluded for the governor to inaugurate the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital and Health Sciences, Ogbomoso. The inauguration is scheduled to hold on Friday. According to a statement by the governor’s spokesman, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, Alao-Akala will formally commission the multi-billion naira complex and will become operational immediately. The statement added that the hospital complex is one of the largest in the country and certainly one of the best equipped. It is said to have 1000 beds like the University College Hospital in Ibadan and with MRI, CT scan, Xray, ultrasound, mobile-ray, special theatre tables, dialysis machine, laboratory equipment among others.
The outgoing governor has been using the inauguration of these projects to present the account of his stewardship to the people of the state and of course bid them farewell. But while some people are commending him for the projects, some others are wondering why the inauguration of the projects is just taking place now at the twilight of his administration. Those who belong to the last category are quick to suspect that the projects were being used as conduit pipe to siphon public fund as “parting gift.” Much of this was said by the state chapter of the ACN in a statement jointly issued by its Chairman, Chief Akin Oke; and the Secretary, Mr. Wasiu Olatubosun. The party specifically accused the outgoing governor of allegedly “commissioning worthless projects hurriedly put in place as a conduit to justify the huge sum of money being moved out of government treasury daily.”
But in all, as the administration of Alao-Akala who prides himself as “O yato governor” (the governor that does things differently) winds up in Oyo State, it is certain that the people of the state will not forget him in a hurry, either for good or otherwise.
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