My regrets as Oyo Governor- Ajimobi

Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

After governing Oyo State for two terms of eight years, the outgoing governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has revealed what he could not do and has been his regret.

Ajimobi said he regrets the fact that he has not been able to do everything he wanted to do.

The governor said this on Friday when he spoke to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said that he wished the people of Oyo State could be more understanding, could be more patient but they feel that “any time you try to make a change, people resist change even if it’s good for them.”

The governor also regretted that he wished he had been in politics 20 years ago.

However, the governor who expressed gratitude to God for making him the only governor to have governed the state for two consecutive terms, said he has built a legacy that would stand the test of time.

Ajimobi also thanked President Buhari for the support he has given all the states particularly during the period of “scarcity of funds to execute our projects, to pay salaries, to meet the socioeconomic development demands.”

“He (Buhari) was on hand to help all of us. He supported us by releasing funds to all of us and as at today that I am talking most of the states including Oyo State are not owing salaries.

“He also assisted us with social infrastructure that is extending the welfare nets to the states, that is why I am here to thank Mr. President because in another two days I am going for Umrah and by the time I come back I won’t be in office as Governor.

“I am going to Umrah to thank God. When I came in, I pleaded with God to give me the opportunity to serve peacefully and that He did.

I also want to thank the people of Oyo State for allowing me to be the first governor to do two terms of eight years, it has never happened in Oyo State”, he added.

The Oyo lawmaker cum executive governor said he was leaving a legacy of peace and security in Oyo.

“At a time Oyo State was seen as what you call a garrison state, today Oyo state is one of the peaceful states in Nigeria.

“If our government has not done anything at all, we have brought peace and tranquility and development to Oyo State. It’s been a worthwhile venture.

“Many of us could seat back and say I retired as an MD of a multinational but if we seat back and play the ostrich, we will see that evil will always triumph when men of goodwill fail to act.

“I want to say that Ajumobi came, brought peace to Oyo State and added value to the social economic development of the state and to Nigeria in general,” the governor said.

Though Governor Ajimobi succeeded in ruling Oyo State for eight years from 2011-2019, his party lost the 2019 governorship election while he lost his senatorial bid both to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.