• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Independence: Nigeria is not stagnant but moving forward – Oyetola

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Gboyega Oyetola, Governor of Osun State has said at 61 years of its independence, Nigeria is not stagnant but moving forward despite challenges, particularly the rising insecurity in the country.

Oyetola, whose birthday is two days away from the October 1 Nigeria’s independence anniversary made this assertion while speaking to select journalists in Abuja on Thursday.

He observed that though the country may not be at the level that is expected, it is making progress, especially with the efforts that have been put into running its affairs by the present administration of President Muhamadu Buhari.

“I think by any standard we have moved, we may not have achieved the level that we are thinking of as a nation, I think we are moving. Comparing us with other nations that had attained the same independence as ours may not necessarily be too good because you are not too sure of what they have.

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“We could do better given the level that we are now. I think we are moving. We are not stagnant. We are challenged. For instance, the issue of security is a big challenge but that is not only peculiar to Nigeria, we have the challenges in other parts of the world. But what is important is for you not to give up”, the Governor said.

Oyetola also attributed his ability to pay the salary of workers in Osun up to date to creativity, setting of right priority, and private sector background which empowered him to tackle other issues of governance.

“There is no magic. It is a question of defining your priority, getting them right. I also believe that workers deserve their pay. Don’t forget that I came from a private sector background. I employed people in my company. As a matter of policy, there was no time I didn’t pay their monthly salary.

“So, I decided that moving forward, I must make the payment of workers’ salaries a priority. God has been quite kind. I look at my cash flow and define my priority right. There is no magic in finance. It is nothing extraordinary but my background has helped me to be able to look at some of these issues and define what I need to do at any point in time”, he stated.

The Osun Governor while thanking God for sparing his life to attain the age of 67 said: “I must thank my family too for taking good care of me. I think it is the grace of God, we should give the almighty God the glory for being able to attain 67. I am very healthy. I have no problem with my health. So I thank God”.