Ahead of the November date for the governorship election in Ondo State, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Akin Akingbade, has declared that the state is in dire need of a governor who would be pragmatic enough to deal with the challenges facing the masses in reasonable and logical ways.
Akingbade, who spoke with newsmen shortly after meeting some prominent leaders of his party in Akure, the state capital, lamented that the economic woes confronting the state were as a result of mismanagement o the state funds by the Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s administration.
Akingbade wondered why Mimiko based the financing of the state N118billion 2016 budget on oil money despite the challenges facing the sector.
“The idea of relying on oil for financing the budget would only push the state into more debt, because when oil money is not enough, the government would resort to loans to finance some of its projects. Don’t forget that the state is still servicing a debt of about $52million.”
The governorship hopeful noted that the state should start thinking of diversifying the economy by focusing on the agricultural sector, saying the sector remains the only way of survival for the state.
“Ondo State should stop relying on oil. Let us have a government that is not oil-based at all. You know that before oil came, Ondo State was into agriculture.
“In 1976, former President Olusegun Obasanjo started a programme called Operation Feed the Nation. During that time, there was so much food in the country.
“Why can’t we start a similar programme in Ondo State? We are supposed to be the food basket of the nation. We have so many products that can be showcased. We have farm produce like cashew, yam, cassava, cocoa-yam and several others. It is unfortunate that we are living in the midst of plenty, but at the same time we are suffering.”
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