Aregbesola: ‘I Have Fulfilled Essence of Development in Governance’

Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has expressed the conviction that his administration has performed excellently to the benefit of the generality of the people of the state, stressing that he has fulfill the essence of development in governance.

According to Aregbesola, the entire people of the state are directly enjoying and benefiting from his projects, policies and programmes, saying that his administration has lived up to the expectation of the majority of people in the state.

Speaking at the Press Week lecture programme of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalist, Osun state Council in Osogbo on Thursday, Aregbesola challenged the media to set agenda for government and properly enlighten and inform the people about development.

Aregbesola said: “Media must set agenda for the government. It is unfortunate that media has painfully refused to set agenda for the government in a way that will aid development and wellbeing of the people.

“Development should be for all citizens and not about few people. It is not about a section of the people but that which will positively affect all, civil servants who are important, significant and germane in the society.

“If government lives for only those in government alone, then government must have lost its value hence the reason why our government prefers to make projects that benefits majority of the people of Osun.

The governor maintained that the essence of government is compassion, adding that the primary role of government is to be compassionate and be concerned on the welfare and wellbeing of the people.

“The roads that government built will be used by all, including the civil servants, the drainages we are building will save the civil servants from flood, the security we are improving upon to make sure that life is lived well will equally affect the civil servants. That’s development for all of us.

‘But what media report is that we don’t pay salary; we pay half salary. Nobody genuinely will deliberately want to make life miserable for anybody; no responsible government will go out of its way to make things difficult for its own people.

“The essence of government is compassion. Government must be for all and government must be compassionate to the people, not to the few but all. If government’s primary role is to be concerned on the welfare and wellbeing of the people, then there can’t be any question as whether government can guaranty minimum living condition and salary to all or not”, he said.