AfCFTA: My Government Will Be Remembered For Oyo’s Smooth Transition Into Future – Makinde

*Says, “we’re unlocking prosperity, saving for tomorrow”

By; lBAYO AKAMO, Ibadan

Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde on Thursday, said that his government would like to be remembered as one that put in place institutions and structures that will enable the state’s smooth transition into the future.

The governor stated this at a post-engagement meeting on the AfCFTA implementation, held at the Local Government Service Commission Training School, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.

Gov Makinde pointed out that his administration has not only been investing in rebuilding infrastructure and implementing policies that improve the standard of living of Oyo State residents for today, it has also saved about 6 million US Dollars in the Sovereign Wealth Fund it floated some months ago with a focus on the future of the state.

” We want to be remembered as an administration for the institutions that we are building, which will ensure good governance and sustainable development in Oyo State well beyond the tenure of this administration. That is what I would like to be remembered for, and that is where all our efforts will be concentrated,” he said

Gov Makinde added,” Our infrastructure is becoming top-notch; we are upgrading the airport and we have put facilities for storage and dispensing of aviation fuel in there. Wide-bodied aircraft can now land at the airport”.

“Well, those are good efforts but, as an administration, we don’t want to be remembered for putting infrastructure and all of these things in place. Those things should come naturally”.

The governor noted “I want to situate the efforts of Oyo State placing itself right in the middle of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. We have seen things happen here. We know that in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Nigeria missed out, but for the AfCFTA, thankfully, sub-nationals are able to run their own course”.

Speaking further, Gov Makinde
stressed that already, the
state’s vision of unlocking prosperity, creating employment and boosting trade volume is well on course with the launch of the Oyo State African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) sub-national implementation strategy and that
the launch of the strategy would enhance the administration’s agenda for the sustainable development of the state.

He maintained that his administration became emboldened to engage in the agreement given the sheer size and population of the state and the huge investments it has made on infrastructure development, noting that the agreement would culminate into massive employment creation, opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners and boosting of trade volumes.

” I have had people say to me, ‘oh, thank you, we have seen that the roads within Ibadan are quite better now. We have also seen the road between Moniya and Iseyin; Oyo and Iseyin and all over the state and all that.’l”. Some people will come to me and say, ‘ah, thank you, our schools are getting facilities. People will say, oh, look, we have employed about 15,000 teachers, you know.’ They say we have employed a lot of health workers. And that the people that were sent out of the civil service, we reviewed their cases and they have been brought back”.

Emphasizing that knowledge and productivity must be combined with natural resources to take any state or country out of poverty, he lauded hailed the state’s venture into AfCFTA as the first sub-national, saying it formed part of institutional initiatives that will shape the future of the state, adding that the building of several landmark infrastructure, including the ongoing upgrading of the Ibadan Airport to international standard and the implementation of key policies, which encourage economic expansion, meant that his administration’s vision for sustainable development is on its way to fruition.

Appreciating the AfCFTA technical working group led by his Special Adviser on AfCFTA and International Trade, Ms Neo Theodore Tlhaselo, Gov Makinde said “Let me say thank you to the team and the AfCFTA. You have done really well on behalf of our state and your thoughts and diligence, dedication will not go unrewarded.

“I have had people say to me, ‘oh, thank you, we have seen that the roads within Ibadan are quite better now. We have also seen the road between Moniya and Iseyin; Oyo and Iseyin and all over the state and all that.’

The Special Adviser to Gov Makinde on AfCFTA and International Trade, Ms Neo Theodore Tlhaselo while speaking
appreciated Gov Makinde for his effort in making Oyo State the first sub-national, not just in Nigeria, but in the entire African continent, to sign on to the agreement.

Theodore Tlhaselo maintained that
Gov Makinde’s visionary leadership has led to massive economic development in the state and that the post-launch engagement is a statutory administrative process that follows the launch of the implementation strategy, which pronounced Oyo State as a party to the AfCFTA to engage within the African continent on the agreement’s framework.

She noted that the implementation strategy is a legal instrument that would allow Oyo State to engage with other states globally in trading with access to bilateral relations and international trade agreements, thereby positioning it as an able partner to many African