Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has spelt out plans by his administration to respond to the demands of protesters who decried bad governance and hardship in the country. In a statement on Thursday, the governor issued a directive on his plans to address the hardship.
The statement signed by his spokesperson Olawale Rasheed, said Governor Adeleke charged the relevant state agencies to expedite the implementation of programmes and policies on food security, internal security, minimum wage, fuel affordability, and more.
He said, “I am committed to implementing our commitments, especially those arising from the recent national protests, as they relate to issues within our mandate. We are passionate about advancing our welfare agenda, which remains the top priority in our governance programs.
“It is in that vein that I hereby direct the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Security Action Committee to commence the implementation process without further delay. We must roll out action plans with specific timelines to achieve the goals of food access, farm security, and food affordability.”
He did not stop at issuing a directive, he gave time for action on the plans indicated. He said, “Next week, I will flag off the distribution of farm equipment, seedlings, and farm inputs, including fertilisers and tractors, among other resources. We must hit the ground running.”
He noted that the ministry is further directed to finalise plans for the cultivation of hundreds of hectares across local governments under the Young Agropreneurs Incubation Program. We must implement a comprehensive ‘Back to Farm’ project, including state assistance for farm preparation, tractorisation, and off-taking mechanisms.
Speaking further he promised broader consultations with stakeholders to produce an implementation plan for the recently amended and approved State ICT Policy and State Innovation Policy to expand opportunities for youth engagement.
Adeleke expressed optimism that the ongoing actions of the Food Security Action Committee will ease the harsh impact of food inflation.