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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The National Vice Chairman (South West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Isaac Kekemeke, has said that his decision to contest the governorship seat in Ondo State is to genuinely and committedly utilise the people’s resources to directly impact their lives in a visible and sustainable manner.
Kekemeke, who stated this during an interactive session with the Association of Retired Permanent Secretaries and Retired Senior Civil Servants in the state, said he decided to run because God has anointed him to turn around the fortunes of the state through developmental programmes and policies.
The former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) said his vision is to work with all patriots to create a prosperous and peaceful Ondo State, where citizens are productively engaged, enabling them to live meaningful, comfortable and decent lives.
Kekemeke, drawing on his experience as the former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, former Commissioner for Works, former member of the State House of Assembly, and pioneer Chairman of the National Examination Council (NECO), said he is in the best position to turn around the fortunes of the state.
“While we aim to make government in Ondo State seeable, touchable, and feel-able, our objectives are to use the entire governmental powers to fight hunger, poverty, joblessness, insecurity, and rescue our decayed basic infrastructure,” he said.
Speaking on his plans for the development of education, Kekemeke pledged to deliver free and compulsory primary and secondary education for the ultimate benefit of the state.
He promised that his government would subsidise tertiary education, especially for indigent students, and reinstate scholarships for hardworking students, as well as provide quality and affordable healthcare.
“On education, there would be free education for primary and secondary school students, compulsory primary schooling for all children in Ondo State. We are going to encourage our students to attend technical school to learn more about entrepreneurship.
“The tertiary institution would experience a new dimension in such a way that indigene payment would be lesser than people coming from other states,” the former SSG said.
He also assured that his government would invest heavily in Agriculture, similar to the days of the Farm Settlements by Obafemi Awolowo, through an innovative civil farmer programme to ensure self-sufficiency in food production, meaningful income, and the provision of raw materials for agro-based industries.
“We are going to cover education, entrepreneurship, industry management, agriculture, and all sectors of human resources development.
“My little time in governance has given me knowledge of many things; we should be talking about government for the people, and all money generated must remain the money of the people.
“For retirees in the state, there would be establishment of a knowledge bank. Retired senior civil servants who are still strong and mentally stable would be engaged to add value to the government,” Kekemeke added.
Earlier, the President of the Association of Retired Civil Servants in Ondo State, Prince Enouch Bajowa, said the group, as elder statesmen and women, decided to identify the capability of all aspirants who want to lead the state.
“Having observed what has been happening in recent times in Ondo State, lots of people have shown concern, and people have said there is no governance.
“Besides, a lot of problems within the political space have emerged, and we took a decision as elder statesmen and women who have seen it all, to make sure in a little way, as a way of giving back to our people for making us what we are today, to serve as facilitators trying to identify the capability of aspirants.
“We are satisfied with what the aspirant (Kekemeke) said, but words can be different from deeds. When politicians get to office, some of them do change. But we’ve advised him to live according to his promise and do the right thing in the interest of the people and the state,” he said.