By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi
Ondo State Government has highlighted what it described as significant achievements recorded by the administration of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa in the first 18 months of his tenure, saying its “Our Ease” agenda has continued to impact infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture, security, employment and other critical sectors of the state.
The administration, which assumed office on February 24, 2025, said its policy thrust had been centred on “ease of living, ease of doing business and ease of governance”, with emphasis on projects and programmes capable of improving the welfare of residents and laying the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
According to a statement read at a media engagement on Friday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, one of the administration’s major achievements has been the reduction of the state’s domestic debt profile by 82.6 per cent, which the government described as the highest percentage recorded by any state in the country.
At the media interactive session held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, Alagbaka Akure, the government attributed the feat to what it called prudent financial management and effective debt management strategies, adding that the administration had also cleared outstanding salary arrears owed to workers and former political office holders as well as gratuities owed to pensioners.
In the health sector, the administration said it had prioritised the welfare of medical personnel, expansion of health insurance coverage and upgrading of healthcare infrastructure and equipment across the state.
It said more than 2,000 health professionals had been recruited, while Ondo became the first state in the South-West to implement enhanced CONMESS and CONHESS allowances for health workers.
The State Executive Council also approved a N1 billion Hospital Intervention Fund to expand and modernise healthcare facilities, while 100-bed capacity upgrades are ongoing at hospitals in Ikare-Akoko, Ore and Okitipupa, with 50-bed capacity improvements being undertaken at Irele and Igbokoda.
The government said more than 100 health centres had been renovated within the period under review, while the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital had been equipped with a 1.5 Tesla MRI machine, 160-slice CT scanner, 3D digital mammography equipment, 4D ultrasound machines, digital X-ray machines and other modern facilities.
It added that a pharmaceutical-grade warehouse in Akure had been completed to improve the supply of medicines, while the Orange Health Insurance Scheme had been expanded to cover public servants, informal sector workers and, for the first time, retirees and pensioners at no cost.
The government further claimed that Ondo State was ranked the best-performing state in neonatal, infant and under-five mortality indicators in the latest Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey and was also among the states with the lowest maternal mortality ratio.
It said the development contributed to the recent recognition of Governor Aiyedatiwa as Best Governor in Health Transformation by BusinessTimes.
On road infrastructure, the government said more than 200 kilometres of roads had been completed within the last 18 months, while a 90-kilometre statewide road rehabilitation programme was ongoing, with five kilometres allocated to each of the 18 local government areas.
The administration recently flagged off the construction of a new flyover bridge along Oyemekun-Oba Adesida Road in Akure, which it said was aimed at addressing persistent traffic congestion along the busy route.
Major urban roads in Akure, Ondo, Owo, Ikare and Ore have also been rehabilitated and fitted with solar streetlights and drainage infrastructure, according to the statement.
The government said three major intercity dualisation projects were currently ongoing simultaneously across the three senatorial districts, namely Akungba-Ikare Akoko in the North, Akure-Idanre in the Central and Okitipupa-Igbokoda in the South.
It added that the inherited Onyearugbulem-Irese road flyover project in Akure had been completed and commissioned, alongside other road projects inherited by the administration.
Through the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project and state-funded initiatives, several rural roads linking farming communities to markets have also been constructed or upgraded, with the government saying the projects had reduced transportation costs and post-harvest losses.
In riverine communities, the administration said it had commenced the construction of concrete jetties and walkways to ease transportation, adding that the first phase had been commissioned while work on the second phase was ongoing.
The education sector, according to the government, has also received attention through teacher recruitment, infrastructure development, student support, technical and vocational education and digital learning.
It said more than 2,000 teachers had been recruited, comprising 1,010 for public secondary schools and 1,100 for primary schools.
The government also said it had revived and strengthened the free school shuttle initiative, with buses and boats transporting pupils to and from school daily.
It added that scholarships and bursaries to students in tertiary institutions had been increased and paid regularly, while the state government had also undertaken payment of WAEC examination fees for students in public secondary schools.
Books, tablets and sports equipment have also been distributed to public primary and junior secondary schools across the 18 local government areas, according to the statement.
The government said the governor recently approved a 60 per cent increase in subventions to all tertiary institutions in the state, while also approving the salary agreement between the Federal Government and university staff unions.
It added that inherited salary arrears owed to staff of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, had been cleared and more than N1 billion committed to the construction of a new Senate Building at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.
The administration also listed urban renewal among its areas of focus, citing the upgrade of Fasoranti Park through landscaping, walkways, lighting and other facilities as part of efforts to improve public spaces in Akure.
It said about 5,000 complete units of solar streetlights had been installed under the first and second phases of its Light-Up project, illuminating major roads in the state capital and other towns.
The government said the Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project, being implemented under the $223 million Nigeria Urban Water Sector Reform Programme, was expected to improve water supply and sanitation through rehabilitation of waterworks, expansion of distribution networks and modern sanitation systems.
It added that the Owena Dam project had received renewed attention, while new water pipelines were being laid across the state and the Omi Irorun Water Scheme had provided more than 50 boreholes to rural communities.
In the power sector, the administration said it was combining alternative energy, consumer protection, infrastructure development and regulatory measures as part of efforts to improve electricity supply and lay the foundation for state-level power generation.
It said the State Executive Council had approved a $1.6 million, 350-kilowatt hydropower project and a 7.5-megawatt gas-fired turbine to power government facilities.
The government also said it had commenced distribution of transformers to communities, while programmes such as Light-Up, Lucky Light Solar Programme and O’Datiwa Mass Metering Programme were providing relief to businesses and households.
Agriculture, it said, had received more than N10 billion in investments under a strategy focused on food security, value-chain development, farmer support and attracting private investors.
The administration said it had opened up large areas of farmland, supported modern agricultural practices and worked towards ensuring EU-compliant cocoa production for international markets.
More than 500 young people have also been trained and empowered in modern agriculture, while the governor recently inaugurated the Ondo State Cocoa Revolution and Management Board to sustain the state’s position as Nigeria’s leading cocoa-producing state.
The State Strategic Committee on EU Deforestation-Free Regulation Compliance has also been inaugurated, while 14,000 smallholder cocoa and oil palm farmers have been profiled under the FAO GEF-7 programme across eight local government areas.
On industrialisation, the government said it was attracting investments into the Ondo Deep Sea Port, refinery, Free Trade Zone and fertiliser plant, while supporting small and medium-scale enterprises and agro-processing industries.
It said its investment policies had contributed to the return of the Dangote Group to the state, with plans to establish what it described as Nigeria’s largest industrial zone in Ondo State.
The administration also said several moribund industries were being revived through public-private partnership concessions and that Memoranda of Understanding had been signed with investors, including a reported $50 billion investment agreement involving Backbone Infrastructure Nigeria Limited and Sunshine Infrastructure JV.
Other projects listed included a proposed 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery, a 1,471-hectare Free Trade Zone in Ilaje and a $4 billion petrochemical, fertiliser and cement project.
On employment and empowerment, the government claimed that more than 6,000 workers had been recruited into critical sectors including education, healthcare, security and agriculture within the period under review.
It said the O’Datiwa Skill-Up a Woman Initiative had trained and empowered 1,000 women in tailoring, catering, ICT and other vocational skills, with start-up kits provided to beneficiaries.
The One Youth, One Skill Programme, according to the government, had also trained hundreds of young people in various trades, while interest-free loans and grants had been provided to market women, artisans and small business owners through the Ondo Ease Fund.
The administration further said it had appointed more young people into government than previous administrations.
On workers’ welfare, the government said civil servants now received their salaries on or before the 25th of every month, while all inherited salary arrears owed serving workers had been cleared.
It also said outstanding salary arrears owed former political appointees who served under the administration of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko between 2009 and 2017 had been cleared.
The administration said pensioners had continued to receive their monthly pensions alongside workers’ salary payments, while deliberate monthly savings were being made towards the payment of outstanding gratuities.
According to the government, about 10 years of outstanding gratuities had been cleared under the arrangement.
Other workers’ welfare measures listed included the upward review and payment of hazard allowance to health workers, review of salaries and entry points for medical doctors, extension of tutors’ service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years, as well as full implementation of the workers’ Contributory Health Insurance Scheme.
In the security sector, the administration said it had adopted a multi-dimensional approach involving recruitment, improved welfare and operational facilities for the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun, as well as closer collaboration with conventional security agencies.
The government said more than 100 operational vehicles had been distributed to security agencies to strengthen surveillance and improve response across identified flashpoints.
It added that 500 new personnel had been recruited into the Amotekun Corps and a modern Command and Control Centre established and fully equipped.
The government consequently maintained that Ondo State remained one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria.
