The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, has described the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as the architect of modern Osun with the level of development he has brought to the state.
The monarch said Aregbesola has taken the lead among his peers in the area of infrastructure as manifested in the spate of developments the state has recorded in the last seven and a half years of his government.
Akanbi contented that no governor has matched Aregbesola’s achievement in the history Osun as evident in the giant strides recorded in the state.
Oluwo stated this on Friday in his palace in Iwo while playing host to the Governor and his entourage who were on a goodwill visit to Iwo Federal Constituency as part of activities marking the All Progressives Congress (APC) visitation tours to the nine Federal Constituencies in the state.
He stated that it is evident that the present administration has brought dividends of democracy to every household in the state, a bid he said no governor has achieved since the creation of the state.
Akanbi emphasised that without mincing words or being sentimental, the present government under Aregbesola has been able to change the perception of the people about government as some individuals being in office to flex power, explaining that the present administration has shown to all that the business of government is to make life better for the people.
The royal father while commending the fight against corruption by the APC led Federal Government, eulogised Aregbesola for using the available funds at his disposal for the development of the state, saying if he had chosen otherwise, the state would have remained stagnant.
Recounting some of Aregbesola’s infrastructural projects in the state, Oba Akanbi stressed that he is particularly pleased with the bridges constructed by the government just as he noted that the beautiful school structures put up by the Aregbesola administration will go a long way in encouraging pupils to want to attend school.
According to the monarch, “I am not a politician and I am not being sentimental with what I am about to say, among all the governors and leaders in Nigeria, Aregbesola has redefined governance, he has brought a paradigm shift to governance in the country and he has brought a change to leadership in our land.
“He has shown us the way it should be done and I strongly think others should take a cue from this; I so much love Aregbesola and the All Progressives Congress because they hate what I hate and they love what I love.
“I detest corruption and I am happy that the APC too are seriously fighting corruption because it is destructive. On the other hand I love development and Aregbesola and the APC love development as demonstrated through the various developmental projects we are seeing in Osun.
“I am happy Aregbesola is using government resources to develop the state and not embezzling the funds. I am not a sycophant and also not a praise singer, if Aregbesola has not done well, I will say it but the achievements of this administration is out there for all to see and this is the way it should be done.
“We have never seen an overhead bridge in Osun but now we have several of them to the pride of everybody in the state. I am proud of those bridges because they are a landmark for us in the state”. The Oluwo stated.
In his remarks, the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, described the visit as a necessity to pay the monarch a special homage and as well receive royal blessings as next governorship election draws nearer.
The Governor asked APC loyalists in Iwo quoting the Secretary to the State Government that what happened in the last Osun West Senatorial bye-election which the APC lost will never happen again.
“We are here to inform you on the need to buckle up and sit tight by forming a formidable frontier that will help to take our party to victory in all elections, particularly in forthcoming governorship polls.
“As we all know, the result of the last Osun West Senatorial Bye-Election in the state was not too palatable for our party and we don’t want this to repeat itself, hence the need to remind our people to be more dedicated to the party’s course so as to our party to victory.
“We must also see this visit as a warning signal not to allow the PDP to come back to government as we all know that PDP has nothing good to offer Nigerians”, Aregbesola added.
