By Solomon Odeniyi
Contrary to speculations that he has been endorsed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola for the September 22 governorship election, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola has debunked the insinuation, saying he has no endorsement of the governor.
Oyetola said this at his campaign office in Osogbo, the state capital shortly after declaring his ambition to contest for the race under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said, “If Governor Aregbesola endorsed me, I will not need to struggle or campaign as I’m doing now. I have toured every nooks and crannies of this state consulting the stakeholders. I don’t discuss campaign issue with the Governor. So, he (Aregbesola) has been fair to all APC aspirants.”
He said, he should not be evaluated based on sentiments, but on merit, saying, “With my 30 years experience in the private sector and eight years in the governance of this state, I’m the most qualified among all the APC aspirants and I’m well positioned to continue from where Aregbesola stops.”
Having been part of the administration for the past seven and half years, he said he knew what the issues are, as well as knowing what the people need in an agenda of continuity and revitalization that will deepen the current gains in infrastructural development.
Oyetola described himself as a leader with steady hands whose words are his bonds and someone who would continue with the leadership values of the incumbent to unite the people, inspire them to jettison primordial sentiments and work for the development of the people and secure a prosperous state for the benefit of generation unborn.
He added that the welfare of workers would top his list of priorities even as he sought to embark on massive job creation through creation of industrial parks that would absorb thousands of employable youths.
“My goal is to make Osun to be known as the state for employment and jobs in the country. A study that we commissioned has indicated that 25-30 factories employing over 30,000 workers can be created within a period of 3-4 years across the state. I will also pay critical attention to the establishment of light manufacturing industries such as those focusing on agricultural processing, meat and fish preservation among others”.
Oyetola maintained that he would work with the private sector and NGOs to identify and prioritize the socio-economic and other needs of the state, deploying a Public Private Partnership model which would enable his administration to focus on upgrading facilities and infrastructure available for education, health, sporting activities, skill acquisition, poverty alleviation and environmental care.
The Chief of staff also stated that he would work with well-meaning bureaucrats in order to increase the internally generated revenue base, blocking all leakages in tax collection and tax administration processes which would help in reducing dependence on federal allocation as a means of funding the state.