•Assess gov’s first term

By Daud Olatunji

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State would commence a fresh term today following his victory at the last governorship election in the state.

The governor had in 2011, contested   and won on the platform of the defunct   Action Congress of Nigeria ,ACN.

At the inception of his first term, Amosun had pledged to turn the state around within four years.

He    anchored his programmes on a   five-point agenda which are; affordable and qualitative education, efficient health care delivery,   increased agricultural production, affordable housing/ urban renewal and   employment generation.

Findings by Vanguard showed that the administration had actually achieved its goals in some key areas, while it fumbled on others.

Gov Ibikunle Amosun

That was also corroborated by some professional associations in the state, as they maintained that Amosun did not perform badly.

Groups that gave their verdict in this regard are;  Nigeria Labour Congress,NLC,  Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Nigeria Union of Teachers and All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN.

The state  Chairman of the NLC,  Mr.  Akeem Ambali, who   scored Amosun high on road infrastructure, berated his performance  in other aspects.

He however,  lamented that   rural roads  did not get the same attention as urban roads.

The NLC further advised   Amosun to revive the scrapped Ogun Road Maintenance   Agency,   OGROMA.

He also said the governor has improved tremendously in his relationship with workers in contrast to what was obtainable in the early period of his administration.

He said:  “Amosun should pay all the deduction from our salaries. He should bring the NLC closer to his government. He should also employ more workers in all the 20 local government areas of the state. We want him to also look into the cases   of Tai Solarin University of Education and Tai Solarin College of Education.

“So far, he has done averagely well within the last four years,   but  he needs to improve in other areas. We advise that he considers more technocrats and not politicians.”

On its part,  the NUT through its state chairman, Mr. Dare Ilekoya claimed that education hardly received the needed attention from the government.

He   said: “  To some extent free education   is a good policy if it is properly implemented. But we are not comfortable with the way  it is being practised   in Ogun.  As far as Ogun State is concerned, free education is not being well implemented.”

Continuing, he said “We are still expecting the balance of our    peculiar allowance. It has not been paid since October last year. We hope that the governor will fulfil his promises without any further delay this time.”

On its part, the NMA scored the government low on the health sector.

Its state chairman,  Dr. Mrs. Odewabi Adenike lauded Amosun for giving attention to the primary health sector,   even as she lamented that the tertiary sector was neglected.

Adenike said: “Many state hospitals don’t have enough personnel. Staffing was not done in line with our expectations.  The governor must make health accessible to people. Health insurance is needed. The rate of maternal mortality is high.  It is so because health insurance is not made available to everyone. It was only being practised in communities in the state.”

The AFAN on its part said the governor deserved applause for his efforts on agriculture.

The AFAN said the administration has paid the state counterpart funding for cocoa development, noting that cocoa seedlings were    available for the farmers.