The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2027 Oyo State election, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has unveiled his development blueprint, tagged ‘Oyo AHEAD’, describing it as his pact with the people.
At the unveiling in Ibadan, Alli said the blueprint was built on seven pillars represented by the acronym Oyo AHEAD: local government autonomy, advancement of infrastructure, health reform, education and employment, agriculture and export, digital economy, and security.
He promised to grant local government autonomy from his first day in office, make Oyo State one of Nigeria’s three largest state economies, establish a N10 billion fund for youths, and increase the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) to N150 billion without imposing additional burdens on residents and businesses, if elected.
Alli said: “Last year, this state raised less than N100 billion as IGR. Ogun, our neighbour, raised nearly three times that figure. Nearly half of our people, about 3.8 million, live in poverty, by the measure of our own national statistics office.
“So here is where we are going. We will make Oyo one of the top three state economies in Nigeria. Our first target on the way is N150 billion a year of our own revenue, and the market woman will pay no more than she pays today.”
He promised to complete ongoing road projects and construct access roads to farmlands to facilitate the movement of people and agricultural produce. He also pledged that every new road would carry a 20-year warranty.
The candidate said he would establish a state electricity regulator to oversee power generation for industrial and agricultural corridors and ensure faulty transformers were replaced every six months.
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“In every one of our 351 wards, there will be a clinic that works, a school that teaches, and a road that leads somewhere. The path there is simple. Power brings the factory. The factory brings the job. The job brings money into the home and the market, and that revenue builds the school and the clinic,” he said.
Alli also promised to increase the number of commercial buses, modernise the Pacesetter Transport Company and work with the Nigeria Government and local and foreign investors to provide affordable housing for working families.
Healthcare
On healthcare, he pledged to build general hospitals in the six local government areas yet to have them and recruit more doctors and other health workers to address staff shortages in public hospitals.
He also promised free health insurance for infants, pregnant women and adults aged 70 and above, with a target of increasing enrolment from the current 271,000 to 500,000 within his first two years in office.
“Today, barely one person in 75 in this state drinks water from a public pipe. Nine in 10 of our families depend on boreholes, wells and sachet water. We will restore potable water in 100 communities and connect at least 100 rural communities to power for the first time,” he said.
Education
On education, the governorship candidate promised to reduce class sizes to 30 pupils, recruit more teachers, provide additional school facilities, establish skills centres in every zone and enact an apprenticeship law.
He further pledged to establish industrial parks, revive the Oluyole Free Trade Zone and create a guarantee fund to enable small businesses to access loans.
He said the proposed Oyo Youth Fund would commence with N10 billion, while digital hubs would be established in each of the state’s five geopolitical zones.
Agriculture
On agriculture, Alli promised to revive farm settlements, provide insurance for 10,000 farmers and establish a produce board through the Oyo Export Council to support farmers.
He also pledged to restructure the state’s security architecture to ensure the safety of lives and property.
Alli assured civil servants that their salaries and entitlements would be paid as and when due, while promising to provide them with necessary work tools and a better working environment to improve productivity.
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