The Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has donated 28 18-seater buses to tertiary institutions in the state, saying his administration will continue to give its best to the people of the state despite the challenging times.
The governor said this, on Thursday, during the presentation of the buses to federal, state, indigenous and special education institutions in the state, at the car park of the Governor’s Office, State Secretariat, Agodi, in Ibadan, the state capital.
While addressing the students, Governor Makinde, who noted that the country is passing through a tough period, assured that the period will soon be over, pledging that his administration will never relent in giving the best to the state and its people.
Makinde stated that he was sensitive to the hardship foisted on the students as a result of the tough times, and encouraged them to endure as the hardship will soon become a thing of the past.
While expressing his appreciation to the students for the uncommon support he has been enjoying from them right from the inception of his administration, the governor enjoined them to cooperate with the leadership of their institutions.
Makinde, who disclosed that he had just signed the state scholarship and bursary awards for 2024, stressed that he will ensure that the disbursement is done seamlessly and with integrity, asserting that ‘Omituntun’, which is the embodiment of his political philosophy, has become a movement and would transcend 2027.
He said: “When I started with Omituntun in 2015, it did not yield anything. In 2019, we had Omituntun 2019, then we won. So, we started Omituntun 1.0. In 2023, the student body came out to support this administration massively, and again we won. That gave birth to Omituntun 2.0. In 2027, Omituntun 3.0 is coming because ‘Omituntun’ is not about Seyi Makinde anymore.
“I am restoring my own personal scholarship scheme. I stopped it after I became the governor but now I see the need to restore it because government alone cannot do enough. So the Seyi Makinde Scholarship Scheme will be in the paper in the next four weeks and will be disbursed in the next eight weeks,” the governor revealed.
Earlier in his speech, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Student Affairs, Comrade Victor Olojede, commended Governor Makinde for the donation of the buses, describing it as unprecedented in the history of Nigeria.
He said that no governor has ever donated buses to all tertiary institutions and student bodies at the same time in the history of the country.
Other leaders who spoke on behalf of the students also commended the magnanimity of Governor Makinde towards the students in the state, describing him as the most student-friendly governor.
The event was attended by the Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal; Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin; the Head of Service, Prof. Olubunmi Oni; commissioners, and other dignitaries.
Dominica Nwabufo
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