Hero of Democracy and Good Governance: Mr Gboyega Oyetola

Governor Oyetola, the immediate governor of Osun State. Adegboyega Oyetola had operated behind the scenes in Osun State politics for several years before stepping into the political centre stage.

The 64-year-old All Progressives Congress governor-elect spent the better part of his political foray getting others elected, then helping them implement their policies by applying his vast experience as a long time accounting and brokerage executive in the private sector.

Under Oyetola’s watch, Osun was more stable economically than he met it in 2018 despite all the visible socio-economic challenges confronting the State with its attendant effects. Oyetola was able to take care of the fears and evil of fiscal indiscipline and lack of implementation, which hamper projects and services in the nation’s public service.

Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun was nominated last year for the prestigious Honorary Award of a Fellow of National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), in recognition of his tremendous and sterling performance in raising the bar of good governance in the State.

The recognition and choice of the Governor for the coveted Award came on the heels of the thorough assessment of the outstanding performance and monumental achievements he recorded in four years in office.

Delivering on the benefits of governance,  Oyetola constructed and approved reconstruction of over 350km road projects such as the Olaiya bridge, 9.8km Osogbo-Okinni-Ilobu-Ifon, Ire-Akari-round-about-Erin Osun LCDA Junction road (3.21km) and Post Office-Aiyetoro-Jamodo Olufon Palace-Janta road in Ifon-Osun (2.1km),

In the space of four years, Oyetola-led administration successfully renovated about 332 Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in the state and to ensure that the outlay of people of the state on their health is greatly reduced, the incumbent introduced free Osun Health Insurance Scheme (O’HIS). Other initiatives include Osun Food Support Scheme  — to bring succour to the people with low income people in the state.

Throughout his four-year tenure, the state did not take any bank loan facility but it benefitted from the N3billion monthly intervention from the federal Government to all the States for six months to cushion the effect of deductions of budget support facility and salary bailout accessed by the previous administration, just as it paid N97billion from the total debt it inherited in 2018. His administration also left behind cash of over N14billion.

The performance of Oyetola as Governor also earned him the award of Best Governor on Efficiency of Public Expenditure and TOP Performer on Domestic Revenue Mobilisation by the World Bank’s States’ Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability, SFTAS, recently.