Governor Seyi Makinde has stated that his administration is in the process of designing a brand-new, ultramodern business district in Ibadan to expand socio-economic activities in the city and Oyo state.
The Governor stated this yesterday while receiving a team from the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), led by its President, Arc Sonny Echono, at his Secretariat office.
In a press statement released by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, the Governor was quoted expressing his pleasure at the choice of the NIA to hold the meeting in Ibadan. He added that the decision was a show of faith in Oyo State.
In his words: “Yes, we do have security challenges across the country and Oyo State is having its own share of that but we are doing everything within our power to ensure that we keep the state safe and secure and this is a good testimony that you can come here today.”
“I hope you will be able to let others know, by words of mouth, that we are open for business in Oyo State and we are eager to host more of these types of meetings, conferences and interactions here.”
He added that Ibadan was lucky to enjoy the good work done by some of the past leaders of the Western Region and added that his administration is taking steps to implement the inherited designs.
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He said: “I always tell some of my colleagues that in Ibadan, the capital of the Western region, they have done most of the designs; the roads going here and there. If we need to build another road now, like what we are doing from Iseyin to Ogbomoso, we are not starting from scratch. We just go and pick the document, dust it up and ask people to go there. They will come back with a report to us and we move on.”
“In Ibadan, any road we are building must have been anticipated before our own administration. So, we want to collaborate but we want to have a consistent benchmark that can match what I will get from anywhere in the world.”
He further explained that his administration is busy ensuring that the Oyo State moniker ‘the pacesetter state’ is accurate and added: “the previous government basically claimed to be the architect of modern Oyo State. They kept saying it and I said, well, I am an Engineer. What an Architect does is to come out with the drawing, put it on the wall but you need an Engineer to actualize it. And today, we are actualizing most of the drawings we met on the wall.”
He went on to call on professionals to participate in politics so that their wealth of knowledge and experience could benefit the country and ensure that political development is a constant.
“Yes, I am a supporter of professionals wanting to participate in a political process. Don’t look at politics as a dirty process and keep away as professionals. The truth is, if we leave it to non-professionals and people that are not educated, then, we should not complain if they misrule us.”
“In Oyo State, we always say that most of our decisions are based on data, science and logic. We ask questions on what is the science behind a particular thing and also the logic, which I call common sense. So, I will always encourage professionals to join politics and also be in the position of authority.”
At the meeting, the President, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Arc Sonny Echono expressed his appreciation of the present Oyo State government and stated that members of the NIA are very comfortable in the state.
“We are pleased to know from the feedback we got from our members that Oyo State has a conducive environment. We also have a very rich reservoir of architects who are residing in Ibadan.”
“Your Excellency, our agenda is simple as a conventional body with a strong corporate social responsibility. Most of what we asked for is not for personal and monetary gains but the opportunity to be able to contribute to society. “We believe you will continue to set the pace in Oyo State and make the people of the state proud,” he said.
Oyo Govt Designing New Ibadan Business District – Makinde
IFRAME SYNC
I would be very grateful to be one of the workers