Alao-Akala asks Indigenes to be impartial judges

The soon-to-be former governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala, said in Ibadan on Thursday that his administration was leaving the state better than he met it four years ago, urging people to cast their minds to 2007 and make a dispassionate comparison of the situation then and now.

Mr Alao-Akala, who made the remark in a special valedictory address to the people of the state, said, "We have no reason to leave the scene unannounced."

"The leaders who bow out of office secretly are those that have disappointed the masses of the people and for fear of public recrimination or condemnation, they take their exit through the back door.

"Four years ago, when we assumed the mantle of leadership of Oyo State, our solemn oath was that by the time my tenure ends I will leave the state much better than we met it," he said.

"We are very proud of our achievements which cover all sectors of the state economy. Infrastructural decay which became synonymous with governance in Oyo State has become a thing of the past.

"Our state capital is wearing a new look and the facilities available now are comparable to what obtains in a few cities in the country. For decades, street lights and traffic control lights have remained undesirable luxury in our state capital, but today, we have started to taste modernity," Mr Alao-Akala said.

The governor highlighted some achievements of his administration, including capacity building of the state civil service through intensive local and overseas training and the erection of a modern health facility in the state - the Ladoke Akintola Teaching Hospital and College of Health Sciences - equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities, which he said were comparable to what those available only in the best medical institutions.

"Earlier this week, our state won the first zonal position in the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Good Performance Award for 2009 with a plague and N100 million prize. This is an improvement on our earlier efforts when we secured the 2nd position a few years ago," NAN quotes Akala as saying.

He noted that such numerous unsolicited awards and recognition gave credence "to our satisfaction that we have done what you expected of us."

"We can say, with all sense of responsibility and corporate pride, that we have not borrowed any money from any bank or financial institution to finance all these laudable projects that we have itemised.

"As I step out of office, I have no regret or ill-feelings towards anyone. At the very beginning, I had a vision and today, I am deeply fulfilled that I have been able to translate my vision for Oyo State to reality," Mr Alao-Akala said.

He implored the entire Oyo State workforce to show the same commitment and dedication to duty to the incoming administration.

"To our party loyalists, I admonish you to look forward with hope to the future, let us accept the reality that the only thing that is constant is change.

Credits: NAN