An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant in the forthcoming Ondo State governorship election, Dr Olamide Ohunyeye, has vowed to revive moribund industries across the state if elected into office.
Ohunyeye made the pledge during a parley with stakeholders of the APC at Idanre in Idanre local government area of the state, a statement by his media office issued in Abuja stated.
The retired military officer lamented that many industries established by former governors, Pa Adekunle Ajasin and Adebayo Adefarati, are grounded.
He said one of his priorities as governor would be to restore the lost glory of the state by reviving the industries and establishing new ones.
He explained that the state has not sufficiently grown in the last eight years compared to the development recorded by other oil producing states like Rivers and Akwa Ibom within the same time frame.
“For example, on my way coming, I observed with keen interest the road leading to Idanre and discovered that it is in a sorry state. It is highly condemnable that there is no good road network in Idanre, and we know quite well that Idanre is the headquarters of Ondo state politics.
“In addition, Idanre is the headquarters of cocoa farming. Profits from cocoa production in the then Ondo province of which Idanre was in the forefront was used to build the famous Cocoa House in Ibadan and indeed some Oodua Investments. How many cocoa factories are in Idanre here? That is where we are going to start from.
“Cocoa that is being exported to the western countries, processed over there and is then returned as finished products for sales to us…we will build factories here to process our cocoa. Farmers in Idanre will be duly compensated. We will bring experts to come and give our farmers cocoa seedlings so that once they are planted, within a reasonable period, they will be harvested,” he said.
He said his government would have deliberate policies to lift the people out of poverty by repositioning critical sectors such as security, health, education and infrastructure.
He said; “The kind of government we are trying to bring on board in Ondo state is for all. It is not a “national cake” kind of government that enriches the rich and impoverishes the “masses”.
“Let me cut my words short because over-wordiness of thoughts is accompanied by subterfuge. I want you to remember that once you bring us in, every party structure, I reiterate, will be highly respected,” the statement said.
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