By Precious Oluwole

Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to tackling criminal activities by strengthening collaboration with security agencies.

Speaking at the March edition of the night of praise with Mr Governor held at the Dome on Friday, he noted that measures are being taken to collaborate with all the security architectures in the State not just to restore normalcy, but to also prevent a reoccurrence.

He added that the commendable collaborative security measures, including improved intelligence gathering and faster response time to distress calls, undertaken by his administration and the security agencies against this new wave of insecurity are already yielding results.

He urged the residents the State not to panic and to refrain from unfounded alarm, adding that Government will continue to prioritise security of lives and property as this is the constitutional primary responsibility of every government.

“The Sunshine State, under God, shall remain safe and secure only for law-abiding citizens. We shall smoke out all criminal elements in our State.

“We are fully aware of the evil agenda of some criminal elements disguising as farmers and herdsmen in our forests to rob our dear State of its enviable place in history as one of the most peaceful and secure States in the Country. This will never happen under my watch as Governor.

“Our 7-point developmental agenda, “OUR EASE” is a covenant with God and the people of Ondo State. This is why we have hit the ground running immediately after our official inauguration on 24th February, 2025. Apart from appointing some Executive Council Members, we are vigorously pursuing the completion of on-going infrastructural projects, especially roads construction and embarking on new ones.

“We have kept faith with our promise to strengthen the education sector by appointing over two thousand teachers for both public primary and secondary schools in the State. Besides, we have approved the payment of WAEC fees for public secondary schools and NABTEB fees for our Technical Colleges in the State for year 2025. Similarly, we have increased the subventions to the State-owned Tertiary Institutions to enable them run efficiently and effectively.

“The Rufus Giwa Polytechnic has been upgraded to University of Agriculture and Agro-business and we are pursuing its actualisation. All put together is a testament to our unwavering commitment to enhancing teaching and learning, to minimise the burden of parents of the affected students and ultimately to improve on the standard of education in our dear State.

“We have concluded arrangements to digitalize revenue collections for easy collection, blocking of leakages and increasing revenue available for infrastructural development of the State. Efforts are also on top gear to train the youths and create employment opportunities in the Information Technology sector as exemplified by our recent understanding with the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), Nigeria’s leading satellite service provider and others.

The Governor assured that in the days ahead, his administration shall roll out more programmes, policies and projects under “OUR EASE” agenda.

He appreciated the clergymen and the people of the State for their support, prayers, resilience and steadfastness. “As we progress in our collective resolve to build a better State, let us continue to walk in faith, to trust in God’s goodness and to seek His guidance and wisdom. Let us remain together, to support one another and to lift up one another”, he concluded.