Akinterinwa promises to make Ondo like Lagos as he submits forms for guber race

Akinterinwa promises to make Ondo like Lagos as he submits forms for guber race

As the race to Alagbaka Government house gathers momentum, one of the leading aspirants in the state, Chief Wale Akinterinwa has promised to make Ondo State compete favourably with Lagos economically.

The immediate past Commissioner for Finance under the Late Rotimi Akeredolu stated that the state is blessed enough to be self reliant without waiting for federal allocation.

He noted that to change development narrative in the country, states must look inward on how to boost their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). 

“During the administration of the Late Akeredolu, when that administration came into being the IGR of Ondo State was hovering around N600 million but by the time I was leaving, over 3 billion per month and I can tell you that for any state to have serious meaningful development today they must be ready to grow their internally generated revenue. 

“The era when it depends solely on the federation account, whereby you come every month to just pick your allocation and go home will not change the development narrative of this country. And I’m fully poised to ensure that that narrative is changed in Ondo State. 

“One of the ways to do that is that first and foremost, I’m going to be the Chief Marketing Officer of that state, not just the governor. It is my intention to take Ondo State to the outside world. And market its huge potentials to the whole world. 

“Today we have a lot in common with Lagos State and I’ve said it over and over, that we must create another state that has a similar economy with that of Lagos state. By that I mean a state that is self-sufficient without the center, that fully utilizes potential and is able to grow its internally generated revenue astronomically,” he said.

Speaking about Marine economy, Akinterinwa said Ondo State boasts of the longest coastline in the country and promised to explore the opportunity to the advantage of the State.

He added that another thing Ondo State is blessed with is a large land mass which according to him, Lagos can not boast of.

“Ondo, I believe, has the longest coastline in the country today. It is our intention that by the time the Port Ondo comes into full existence, it will become the game changer. But beyond the activities of the port, the tourism that awaits implementation on that coastline is something that we’re going to take full advantage of. 

“Well, I’ve seen it happen in a lot of other countries. Ondo State intends to go that way as well. We will try tourism, massively using our coastal front. We will ensure that every opportunity that has to do with the marine economy is fully engaged, you know those things.

“But beyond that, we also have something that Lagos State doesn’t have that I believe will also help us to move faster. And one of them is a huge landmass. So we’re going to be very intentional about the development of agriculture. And by development of agriculture, I’m not talking about just planting and raising crops. I’m talking about the fully integrated food chain. The integrated line of agriculture would be talking about processing of what we plant and harvest. We’ll be looking at export opportunities.

“The intention is to ensure that within the first four years Ondo State is able to feed the whole of southwestern Nigeria. We have the capacity. We have what it takes, I will give it what it takes so that this becomes a reality. We cannot afford to continue to allow the young people to roam the streets. We have a high rate of unemployment in Ondo State, and that is why I’m focusing seriously on industrialization and one of the sectors I will use to drive that is agriculture,” Akinterinwa promised.

On security, he commended the Late Akeredolu for initiating the South-West Security Outfit, also known as Amotekun, promising to leverage on it as he’s going to prioritize security of lives and property.

“Without peace, there can be no development. It is to the credit of my Late boss, Akeredolu, the formation of Amotekun, which is the Southwest Security Outfit. We will ensure that we follow on this pattern and ensure that we provide adequate security in our states by ensuring that the right kind of funding is  plowed in that area. So that there will be security for you either in your home on the farm and for all the intending investors. 

“We will make sure that the last thing that will be a challenge for you to want to come to Ondo State will be the issue of security. Anyway, my primary responsibility is to protect lives and property of the people in my state. But I will not pay lip service to this. I will be very intentional about it. So security is something that will also be on the front burner. 

“When security is properly tackled, then people will not be afraid of coming to invest in our state. I want to believe that these are some of the major issues we tend to address and ensure that the economy of Ondo State is transformed,” he said.