The governor of the State of Osun, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, has described Osun as a testament that it is possible to run a state in a depressed economy without necessarily inflicting additional pains on the people.
Oyetola commended the citizens of Osun for giving him the platform to prove this possibility to the observing national and global audience.
This is as DAAR Communications Limited crowned Oyetola as the nation’s Outstanding Leader in Public Service (Citizens’ Welfare) for 2021, at its 4th DAAR Awards, held at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja.
This is as Sir Steve Omojafor, former Chairman of Zenith Bank, who chaired the event and presented the award, lauded Oyetola’s achievements as governor of Osun State, adding that fiscal discipline and good governance have characterised his administration.
Oyetola, in his response, said his government would continue to live up to its billing as a responsive and responsible administration.
According to him: “After many years in the Private Sector, I came into political office with a fervent resolve to apply private sector results-oriented principles to fill the gap in governance so that the people can truly enjoy the dividends of democracy.
“In Osun, the people are at the heart of what we do. Our workers for example get their salaries in full as and when due. We may not be that buoyant but we pay minimum wage. We pay pensions and gratuities regularly just as we are paying the arrears we inherited.
“We have restored the car loan scheme to our workers and they also enjoy our intervention in the sector among other welfare packages. Through the Osun Insurance Health Scheme, our workers contribute just 1.5 percent of their basic salary, while the government pays 3 percent making it 4.5 percent as premium to enjoy quality healthcare.
“To ensure our citizens have access to healthcare at the grassroots level, we embarked on the rehabilitation, reconstruction and revitalisation of 332 PHCs at a go. As I speak, over 300 have been completed and are being used while the rest are at various stages of completion.
“We enrolled the vulnerable, including the aged and people living with disabilities into the Osun Health Insurance Scheme at free premium to enable them to enjoy quality healthcare.
“We feed 30,000 vulnerable persons on monthly basis through the Osun Food Support Scheme. We will soon be rolling out other specific support programmes for the elderly and widows before the end of the year.
“We have provided loans and credit facilities for our citizens, including women and youths. So far, over 18, 000 Osun youths have been empowered through various schemes, including loan disbursement to enable them to start new businesses and boost existing ones.
“We inaugurated 350 Amotekun Corps and recruited 750 vigilantes, including hunters across all Local Government in the State to further enhance the security of lives and property of our people,” the governor added.
While dedicating the award to the people of the State, Oyetola said “ I thank DAAR Communications for this award and I dedicate it to the people of Osun who gave me the platform to prove that it is indeed possible to run a State like Osun in a depressed economy without necessarily inflicting additional pains on the people.”
