Ibadan stands still as Ajimobi flags off re-election campaign

Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, literally stood still on Saturday as Gov­ernor Abiola Ajimobi flagged off his re-election campaign for the February 2015 gubernatorial election, just as national leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC) lambasted the Feder­al Government for ground­ing the economy of Nigeria through massive corruption and gross administrative in­eptitude.

The historic Mapo Hall, venue of the event and its environs witnessed an assem­blage of an unprecedented tumultuous crowd, while the National Leader of APC, Asi­waju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, former governors Segun Oni and Kayode Fay­emi of Ekiti State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former acting national chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande and other leaders of the party also graced the occasion.
Also on hand to solidarise with Oyo First Lady, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi were the First Lady of Osun State, Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola and for­mer First Lady of Ekiti State, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi among APC women leaders.
The crowd, most of whom were dressed in branded Ankara uniform attire, held broom which is the symbol of APC.
Governor Ajimobi, while addressing the gathering, ex­pressed happiness at the large turn-out of party faithful and the citizens of the state, which he said was a demonstration of the faith and confidence they had for him and his adminis­tration.
He used the occasion to reel out some of his key achieve­ments since he came on board as the state’s helmsman, which had led to the rapid social and economic transformation, un­precedented in the history of the state.
He said his administration was the first to construct a 7,000-capacity ultra-modern market for traders at Scout Camp, Challenge, Ibadan to accommodate traders dis­placed from the street free of charge, with N20 million free to trade.
In addition, he said 6,000 traders had benefitted from N300 million interest-free loans to boost their trade, stressing that this was aside the N120 million interest-free loans, which had earlier been made available.
Governor Ajimobi said it was during his administration that citizens now sleep with the two eyes closed because of the pervading peace and se­curity, which had attracted at least eight industrial giants to the state.
He also added that the con­struction of the first flyover by a civilian administration at Mokola in Ibadan as well as the upgrade of Agodi Gardens, hitherto a jungle, to a first class resort were part of the dividends of his administra­tion’s transformation agenda.
He also noted that his ad­ministration was the first to implement and pay the 142 per cent increase pension arrears, coupled with mass employ­ment of teachers and 20,000 youths under the Youth Em­powerment Scheme of Oyo State (YES-O).
If re-elected, he promised to deliver more dividends of de­mocracy, one of which would be the employment of 40,000 youths and widen the scope of the ongoing social and in­frastructural revolution in the state.