Oyo State to Collaborate with Federal Government for Infrastructural Development 

The Governor of Oyo State in Southwest Nigeria, Seyi Makinde, has declared that his administration would collaborate with the Federal Government more than ever before to achieve infrastructural development in the state.

Governor Makinde stated this, at the weekend, when he inspected several ongoing projects including the Ibadan Inland Dry Port; the College of Agriculture and Renewable Energy, Iseyin, a campus of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso; the Engr. Lere Adigun Housing Estate, Basorun; as well as the Ibadan Circular Road.

He declared that the Ibadan Dry Port Project may likely come on stream quicker than expected because the present leadership of the country, under President Bola Tinubu, understands “the benefits of developing the economic value chain,“ noting that the recent change of governments at the federal level would not affect the project negatively.

The governor affirmed that the state had made good progress on the projects, though there is still a lot of work to be done, saying his administration had been creating wonderful opportunities through infrastructure building and other key developments, which are of great benefit and had begun to attract investors.

While fielding questions from newsmen shortly after inspecting the Ibadan Circular Road Interchange at the Egbeda Local Government Area, Makinde said: “We were on that campus (LAUTECH Campus, Iseyin) before the election and we have seen between then and now that a lot of progress has been made. And even here (Ibadan Circular Road), we have interested investors coming around to say, look, what exactly are we projecting in terms of the opportunities in Oyo State?

“To the people, we have many opportunities around here, especially for our young folks. They should not japa (travel abroad)because if they are hardworking, they can contribute and get their rewards. So, I will say we are creating opportunities across the spectrum and people are paying attention to what we are doing,” he posited.

Governor Makinde, while responding to a question on how the change of government at the federal level might stall the Ibadan Inland Dry Port project, reassured residents of the state that the project would come on stream quicker than expected.

He stated: “I think the change of government is even positive for Oyo State because we have a new administration at the federal level that understands what it is to develop the economic value chain. So, I think we will even cooperate more with the federal government and that project will come on stream quicker than we were expecting.”