Ogun residents will begin to ride in air-conditioned, wifi-enabled buses from this month — Gov Abiodun

…as governor wins Business Day’s awards on Security, Agriculture.

Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta

Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun has said that he’s poised to roll out air-conditioned mass transit buses this month (May) where commuters will also have access to free internet connectivity.

The governor stated this at the third Session of the 15th Synod of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Diocese of Egba, Abeokuta, with  the theme, “God Our Foundation And Salvation.”

Abiodun explained that “in line with our infrastructural rollout, we met with the UK foreign office and their department called the UK Prosperity Fund, they had a program called the ‘Future Cities Project,’ and we were made to bid, they had this bid to develop 20 cities all over the world to turn them into future cities.

“They were going to do urban regeneration and urban renewal, we bided and our bid was Abeokuta. Out of the cities that was shortlisted and accepted, Abeokuta was one of those 20 cities to enjoy their funding.

“They came and sat with our Ministry of Transportation, they began to design the implementation of the urban renewal and regeneration of the Gateway Capital City of Abeokuta.

“The plan is the mass transit system rollout in the whole state, but we have decided to start the pilot scheme of a mass transit of a modern city, a mega city mass transport pilot plan, we are starting in Abeokuta, that plan is not a future plan, we are starting before the end of May.

“You will begin to see befitting luxurious, air-conditioned, wifi-enabled buses going from Kobape to Kuto, Lafenwa to Oke-Igbein, you will begin to enjoy and see modern bus stops,” he said.

While calling on the clergy to help his administration decide the route right for the pilot scheme in the capital city, Abiodun said the intention of his administration was to ensure that the pilot scheme is implemented across the state after its initial commencement in the state capital.

He commended the Anglican Mission for its contribution towards the development of education and humanity, describing the church as the purveyor, transmitter and bringer of western education into the country.

Abiodun who also noted that the Synod is a viable platform to deliberate on various issues such as the development and growth of the Christian faith, added that the gathering is also an avenue where good Christian ethics are nurtured.

While commending the people of Egbaland for their support to his administration, the governor noted that the support of the people of the Egbaland had been vital towards the string of successes his administration had recorded in the socio-economic re-engineering of the state.

Gov. Abiodun lamented that, some of the yet-to-be occupied housing estates built by his predecessor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, have become dens of miscreants.

Abiodun, who attributed inability of residents of the state to own and occupy the estates to high price tag placed on the houses by the immediate past administration, also berated his predecessor for wasting the resources of the people on projects that had no meaningful impact on the lives of the people.

Abiodun declared that his administration in the last two years had built more houses than what any other administration had done.

“We are doing some housing projects in Kobape, Ilaro, Ota, Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode. Today we have built more houses in two years in office that others have built in four to six years.

“We intend to ensure that these houses are acquired by the people that need them and they truly affordable.

“When I assumed office, there were houses that were built by my predecessor that nobody bought; they have become dens of miscreants and we said something surely must be wrong. If they had the good intentions of building these houses and nobody has acquired them, we need to find out what has gone wrong.

“We chose to uphold all the tenets of good governance and part of that is being inclusive and being participatory in governance, meaning that we take your opinions into consideration when making decisions,” the governor states.

Abiodun further disclosed that his administration has rehabilitated more than 300 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and increased the number of ambulances in the state from three that he inherited to 2019.

Earlier in his remarks, the Bishop of Egba Anglican Diocese, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Adekunle commended Governor Abiodun for his strides in the education, health and housing sectors, calling on him to support Agro based cottage industries with grants to promote their development.

The Bishop also charged the people to ensure they take their doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, saying that the vaccine is meant for their overall protection

Meanwhile, Prince Dapo Abiodun has also bagged Business Day newspaper awards of the best Governor in Security 2019 and Agriculture and Economic Empowerment 2020.

The Managing Director of the company, Dr. Ogho Okiti who made the presentation of the award to the governor on Friday said that the choice of Prince Dapo Abiodun as the best Governor in Agriculture was an overwhelming decision as a result of the massive work his administration had embarked upon since it came on board.

Gov. Abiodun commended the Business Day Media Limited for paying particular attention to developments in the state, saying the award would spur his administration to continue to do more for the good of the people.