Borrowing won’t hinder my second term ambition – Akeredolu

…Says no state can survive without borrowing

…Promises continuity of Ondo development

Ondo state governor, Arakunrun Rotimi Akeredolu on Tuesday said he cannot be denied the opportunity of seeking re – election on the accusation of borrowing for the development of the state.

The governor said it is erroneous to claim that he may be rejected either at the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary or at the October 10 election on the account of borrowing to facilitate develipmentsl projects for the benefit of his people.

Akeredolu said this at the national sectetariat of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) on Tuesday after returning his nomination form to recontest for office.

The governor said no serious administrator can do any meaningful work without borrowing because governments at all levels are not financially sufficient to cater for state needs.

He cited example of states in Nigeria which he said cannot do all they set out to do due to paucity of funds.

The governor said ” even oil rich states with allications from the gederation account and internally generated revenue cannot boast of funding every projects without taking loans either locally or foreign.

“Not even a nation can do without borrowing. A nation like the United States do borrow. They are the greatest debtor.

*We met a lot of debt on ground and we are settling them. We floated a N30b bond but secured N15b which was spent on infrsstructural development”.

He thanked the members of the National Working Committee of the APC, the State Executive Committee of the party, party leaders from all the 18 local government areas of the State, Speaker and members of the State House of Assembly, members of the State Executive Council, other elected and appointed political office holders, for the support given him.

The governor said his aspiration for a second term in office is by popular demand of his teeming supporters andvthose that believe in his capability to lead the people of Ondo State once again.

“It is a great privilege to be called upon to serve. Public service poses its own challenges but the knowledge of an omnibus acceptance emboldens the public servant to proceed without fear.

Akeredolu promised to continue pursue the development of the state with courage.

Presenting his programme of action for the revalidation of the mandate given him in 2016, he said “we must, however, not fail to, without any fear of contradiction, that we have kept faith with our people.

Naira Marley’s Concert: FCT Minister vows to prosecute those involve

We have been relentless in the pursuit of the set objectives in all the sectors bear indelible imprints on the socio – economic landscape in the State.

“We have taken our message of redemption to all the nooks and crannies of the State. Every part of our land is treated as our cherished heritage I must be preserved. Our people are treated with respect. Our administration has rekindled hope in the possibility of altruistic service.

“We have promoted amity among the workers. Prior attention is extended to matters concerning their welfare. We shall continue to encourage diligence, honesty and ingenuity. No public servant needs to be afraid of persecution under our watch.

“We have participated in politics bearing in mind the overriding interest of the people. We have never, at any moment, allowed parochial considerations becloud our vision for optimum service delivery. We have invested massively in infrastructure to bridge the embarrassing deficit

Meanwhile, other two aspirants, Ambassador Sola Iji and Prince Jimi Odimayo also on Tuesday obtained expression of interest and nominations forms to contest the Ondo APC ticket.

Iji said the state governor, Akeredolu has done his best but the state need a fresh hand to take care of deficiences in Akeredolu’s administration.

He said he is ready to take over the rein from Akeredolu but follow the principles and programmes of the APC.

“He has excelled in some areas and in some other areas, there will be deficiency and because governance is continued, you cannot finish the job but what I say he has done his best, his best may not be as good for all of us.

It means we are coming in to improve on what he may have achieved and what the party may have achieved.

“There is a lot of work to be done. If you look at the state of education in our Ondo state, parents are crying because of exorbitant fees that we are charging in state university and of course we ought to make education accessible to the majority of the citizens of the state.

“So, it is part of what we have in mind to review the fee that we charge in our tertiary institutions so that more of our children can have access to tertiary education in the state.

“We are also mindful that we have a large army of graduates of our high schools as well as tertiary institutions. And of course through agricultural improvement, we can employ more people.

The Ondo State is an agricultural driven state and we need to go back to what we used to in the 60s and 70s. We not only produced for our own consumption and export but we have opportunity to create employment opportunities for our children who are graduating from school”, he said.

On his own part, Odimayo said he is in the race to change the narative in governance in the state.

Considering the factions in the state chapter of the party, he promised to bring warring factions together and make APC stronger to contest elections while promising that his candidacy will ensure victory for the party.

Odimayo said he is not in the race to play a second fiddle to any of the other aspirants but wish to clinch the APC ticket.

He promised to tackle unemployment and improve the economy base of Ondo state by leveraging on abundant agricultutal and mineral resources that abound in the state.