Governing Ogun Challenging, But Fulfilling, Says Gov Abiodun

Ogun State governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has described the past five years of his administration as very challenging, but his faith in God has brought him the success he desired.

During his 64th birthday and 5th year thanksgiving service at the Ogun State Government House Chapel, Oke-Igbein, Abeokuta, Governor Abiodun recalled his journey to power despite all odds, attributing his victory to God Almighty.

He said, “The process through which I emerged as governor was a very unusual one; one in which my predecessor who was in the same party with me was fighting me and campaigning for another person in another party, and I will sit down and ask myself, ‘Baba God, this is very unusual, why do I have to go through so much to assume this office?’ And then I will answer myself that it is because God wants to take that glory.

“The last five years of governance over the state of Ogun for me has been one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. It has been extremely turbulent, it has been very challenging, particularly, it has been rancorous. But the most important thing is that God has given us victory.”

Abiodun said his government was taking giant steps to reshape the state’s economy and that the steps were yielding results.

According to him, one such step is the plan to make Ogun an oil-producing state, as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will soon begin oil exploration there.

“Only on Friday, the leadership of the Ministry of Petroleum led by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, was here with three others and the chairman of Shell to announce that they would soon begin to drill oil in Ogun State”.

The governor also seized the opportunity to respond to comments by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, Ladi Adebutu, on the Sagamu-Iperu Road project.

Adebutu had criticised the state government’s eight-kilometre Sagamu-Iperu Road project.

The governor said his focus was to continue the positive trajectory of the Gateway State and not to dwell on the submission of a man who could not see the over 600km of roads across the length and breadth of Ogun State done by his administration.

He maintained that he had learned not to respond to people who had developed the habit of barking whenever they were no longer in the spotlight.

He promised that his administration would continue to make life comfortable for the state’s people by providing more infrastructure to improve their well-being.