An aspirant for Oyo West local government chairmanship seat, Barr. Adebiyi Aderemi Santos, has stated that he has all it requires to reposition the local government area if elected to serve the people of the Council.
The Oyo-born young legal practitioner, who stated this during a media chat with select journalists in his office at Oyo, on Thursday, explained that he has the capacity to provide purposeful and pragmatic leadership, deviating from norm.
While saying that he will capitalise on Governor Makinde’s development roadmap to create an enabling environment for residents and business owners in the council, Santos explained that his administration will explore untapped potentials to generate revenue, with a view to curtailing reliance on the state government.
Speaking further, Santos maintained he is the best person and most qualified to replace the incumbent Chairman of the Council, adding that his plans for the local government is to consolidate on the efforts of the state government in delivering good governance to the people.
“I am coming with a message and the message is that we cannot continue to run local government administration the way it is being run currently. My concern, as a personality who is ready to deliver pragmatic leadership, is about how things must be done differently and in a better way.
“Gone are the days when they say those who are into politics are illiterates. Now, youths who are University graduates are getting involved in politics and that is the way it should be. I can tell you that local government is the best way through which we can make impact in the lives of the people. How many people will have access to the governor or the serving commissioners?
“So, I believe if the right person is occupying the office and there is good concentration on agriculture, this local government will be better for it.
“We are the owner of Fasola agribusiness industrial hub. In some wards in this LG, we have many old industrial buildings that have been abandoned. So, the best any governor can do is the expansion of the road and our farmers that live around will be encouraged to live there.
“After then, we can begin to think of little things we can do, which are not financially tasking to make the place interesting to live. We can then have markets through which the LG can be generating IGR. We can replicate something like Ajegunle market in our Fasola market here and create more revenue for ourselves.
“On the issue of health, we are all aware that the state government is building one PHC in each ward. Local government under Makinde just need to effectively manage what the governor is doing already and look at how they can increase their own IGR. Once you can consolidate on the governor’s efforts, the IGR of such local government will automatically shore up. This is because the governor is already renovating the schools, PHCs, which used to be the campaign basis for LGs. We only need to manage the resources to show that government is working.”
He emphasised on changing the status quo and promised to replicate Omituntun 2.0 agenda of the state government in the Council, adding that he would make agriculture the economic mainstay of the local governornment if given the opportunity.
“I am not contesting the election because I want to be collecting salary or servicing the pocket of some politicians. No, all I want is to change the face of Oyo East local government, and to give our people a modern life they deserve through good government at the grassroots.
“As a practicing lawyer, born and raised in Oyo town, Oyo West to be precise, I can tell you that our local government is not in a capable hand. Governor Makinde has given us all we need to thrive but now left for us to make use of the opportunity.
“If I am allowing to serve, I will not be a council chairman who will sit in his office and wait for the monthly stipend from the state government. I will rather focus fully on agriculture alone in Oyo West, which will give us the fund to execute many projects that can change the face of the Council.
“Governor Makinde, last week, went to the U.K to woo international investors because he wants to expand the state economy. It is good as we can also emulate that at the local level if given the opportunity. We will introduce fresh ideas and initiatives for the socio-economic development of Oyo West and the Oyo town as a whole.
“It is visible that nothing is working in the local government presently. The council waits for what government will give at the end of the month. The roads are bad, no street lights provided by the local government to ease the vehicular movement at night, but nobody believe there are simple ways to make all these things easy. All we need is purposeful and pragmatic leadership like that of Seyi Makinde at the local level and our Oyo West especially.
“You can see I keep mentioning the governor’s name, I will because I see him as a visionary leader and role model. He has executed almost all the duties of local government. He is fixing the PHCs in all the wards in the state, and continuously renovating schools. If a state governor has devoted his time doing all these for the LGs, then, it is just left for the chairmen to think outside the box and consolidate on the efforts. They should not just be waiting for money to be shared.
“I learnt from him that one has no business in governance if ones interest is not to serve humanity. We must prioritize the interest of the people and that is what we need to emulate from our governor, He said.
Barr. Santos, who is the current legal adviser to the People’s Democratic party in Oyo West local government emphasised he is a reliable grassroot politician with good track record among the party leaders and members.
Concluding, he explained that his ambition is premised upon the betterment of the people of Oyo West, saying that his plans and programmes transcend that of other aspirants vying for same position.
“Like I said, I am the most qualified in terms of popularity. I have good record in political participation over the years, and my relationship with the residents is very reliable. I can boast of that. So, I challenge any aspirant to beat me to my credentials. And if I see any aspirant, who is more qualified than me, I will withdraw and support such person for the sake of the local government,” Barr. Aderemi stated.
