By Oluwafunso Obasan
For Prince Dapo Abiodun and the good people of Ogun State, the 29th day of May will definitely come with different views, the people of the state will be looking forward to the performance of the state governor, while the governor will not only be celebrating his first year in office, but will also be celebrating his birthday on the same day he was sworn in as the 5th Executive Governor of the state.
Even though the process that led to his victory was a very tense one, it was the battle of the fittest, remembering the drama at the presidential rally of President Muhammad Buhari at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta, against all odds, the president raised up the hand of Prince Dapo Abidoun to the admiration of the people of the state, all that is history today, the people not minding the insistence of the immediate past governor that his candidate will be the next governor, came out in their large numbers for the victory we all enjoy today.
After his victory at the pool and his swearing-in as governor, his victory was challenged at the Tribunal, Appeal Court and the Supreme Court, Prince Dapo Abidoun won all the litigations brought before the court of law.
Prince Dapo Abidoun came in triumphantly with a different type of leadership, the type that was bent to leave behind the politics of bitterness and embrace the politics of progress, Prince Dapo Abidoun upon his swearing-in had noted that he held no grudge with anyone that worked against his victory at the polls, he rather said that such people are just part of the plan of God for him, he said it was a test, he was glad God made him win.
During his swearing-in ceremony, Prince Dapo Abidoun disclosed that he holds a tripartite covenant between himself and God in one part, to serve him and also reciprocate his faithfulness through the journey so far by being a tool to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of the people of the state, regardless of their gender or political affliction, he also added that it is also a covenant with the people of the state.
Prince Dapo Abidoun had also affirmed that the people of the state will find in him the conduct of Omoluabi expected of omo Teacher!, he added that he will govern with character, serve the people diligently and sincerely and that he will make the interest of the people, the core of his administration.
The recent completion of the AIT/Raypower road and Osi-Ota- Ikola-Navy road in the Ado-Odo-Ota local government area of the state by the present administration of Prince Dapo Abidoun, a road linking Lagos State is a testimony to the fact that the Prince Dapo Abidoun led government is determined to do the needful at ensuring that the state is further developed, the road was not given the attention it required by the past administration, even after the Akinwunmi Ambode led government had completed it’s own portion, only awaiting Ogun state to complete it’s own side.
Also, it is important to note that in the last twelve months, the present administration in the state had made road infrastructure a priority, even though it looked a little bit tough at the beginning, in twelve months, the state government had been able to award the contract for the Ijebu-Ode- Epe road, the road which was awarded in February 2020 is expected to be ready by February, 2021.
Other road projects currently being worked on by the present administration in the state include the Fajol-Ajegunle-America Junction connecting Odeda and Abeokuta South, the Idi-Aba- Elite-Oke-Lantoro road, the Ashafa, Aiyegbami road in Ijebu-Ode, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital road in Sagamu and AIT/Raypower road and Osi-Ota-Ikola-Navy road.
In actual fact, the AIT/Raypower road and Osi-Ota-Ikola-Navy road, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital road in Sagamu has been completed for the usage of the people, while work is currently going on across the state.
In the area of education, the first point of call was to ensure that normalcy was returned back to the already moribund Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and the troubled Tai Solarin College of Education, all the issues bothering the two institutions were as a result of the way the immediate past administration in the state managed them, Prince Dapo Abidoun came in and ensured that the two institutions were saved from outright destruction, the rest they say is history now.
Today, the two institutions are now back and running, all thanks to the determination of the present administration in the state to ensure that the institutions continue to produce graduates and more teachers, for the country.
It is worthy to also note that the Prince Dapo Abidoun led government opted to renovate schools spread across the state instead of building new ones outrightly, the work has already begun, the renovation is at an advanced stage, anywhere you see a school with a yellow roof, one of the state colour, that is the magic wand of Prince Dapo Abidoun at ensuring that our schools have all the necessary infrastructure.
To some families who had children graduate as the best student at some of the state owned higher institutions of learning where the governor was in attendance as the visitor, unemployment is the least of their concern presently as they have been offered automatic job placements by the state government owing to their brilliance in their academics, this is probably the first time in the history of the state that job placements would be made available to best graduating students n the state.
Let us not also forget that Ogun State during the Covid-19 lockdown was able to come out with an online classroom for it’s students, the platform, known as OgunDigiClass, has definitely helped prepare students and pupils for resumption after the lockdown, this feat, the first of it’s kind is currently being used by some other states of the Federation.
It has become a tradition that when an outgoing governor leaves office and hurriedly employees new staffs, either through ASCON or other avenues, the incoming governor can send them away, as he has the power to do so, this feat had happened when the immediate past governor of the state came on board, he met on ground new officers employed in the last minute of the administration of his predecessor, he sent them away without blinking an eye, those young chaps were sent back into the unemployment market, all because of politics.
But on coming on board of Prince Dapo Abidoun, he met on ground the same scenario, like what played out when his predecessor also came on board, but, unlike the way and manner his predecessor sent the young chaps away into the unemployment market, Prince Dapo Abidoun took his time, he was calm, precise and very calculative too.
Some of the young chaps, not knowing what faith had in stock for them were waiting for the same judgment, they were all sure of being sent away, as that was the trend, but, Prince Dapo Abidoun, being a son of teachers, a man of integrity and a father gave the state the best news ever when he announced that the administration would absorb the civil servants hurriedly employed by his predecessor, that decision is unprecedented in the annals of the state.
Upon their confirmation as civil servants, what was left for government to do was to pay their three months salary, it is a standard protocol that newly absorbed civil servants are paid three months salary, but again, Prince Dapo Abidoun approved the payment of about eight months salary to the new officers, it was unbelievable, he did what no governor would have done, he is indeed a man of integrity.
Under a year, over one hundred operational vehicles and two hundred motorcycles has been bought and distributed to security outfits operating within the corridor of the state, it will also be good to note that the vehicles and motorcycles before they were given out was equipped with the state of the art communication system.
Upon coming on board, Prince Dapo Abidoun had ensured the reinvigoration of the already moribund Security Trust Fund, upon his swearing-in, he ensured that the fund was rejigged with all the necessary items needed for it’s success
After the Security Trust Fund was passed into law by the state house of assembly, the trust fund had as it’s chairman, the Chairman, Larfarge Nigeria, Mr. Bolaji Balogun, a former Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje and representatives of some banks, after it’s signing into law, over one billion naira was raised at a dinner organised by the trust fund for project make Ogun a secured state.
Upon it’s signing into law, the trust fund had helped the security architecture of the state acquire a hundred operational vehicles and two hundred motorcycles, with another additional twenty five vehicles donated by the Dangote Group to the state all in the space of one year.
As the one year draws closer, a total of one hundred and thirty housing units will be handed over to applicants that have applied for a unit at the Prince Court Housing Estate, Kemta, Idi-Aba, a project that was started barely a year ago, also, about twenty primary health care centers spread across the twenty local government areas of the state, some primary and secondary schools with yellow roofs will be unveiled all in a year.
Prince Dapo Abidoun was born on the 29th of May, 1960 into the family of Dr Emmanuel and Mrs Victoria Abiodun from Iperu Remo, in Ogun East senatorial district, he is the managing director and Chief Executive Officer of Heyden Petroleum Ltd [HPL], an indigenous player in the downstream, midstream, and upstream oil and gas industry in Nigeria. Prince Dapo Abiodun is a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, although he is currently a member of the All Progressive Congress, before he contested the Ogun East senatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressive Congress(APC) in the 2015 general elections which he lost, he was elected a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) in 1998.
As God will have it, In 2019, he contested the Gubernatorial Elections in Ogun state and won, under the platform of the All Progressive Congress(APC),
His magic wand no doubt all in a year is unprecedented in the history of the state, congratulations to the people’s governor and silent acheiver at 60.
