Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Saturday said that those promising drastic reduction in tuition fees in the state are being deceitful.
Akeredolu said this during an interactive session with the youth and students of various associations in the state’s tertiary institutions in Akure.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Ondo State governorship election comes up on October 10.
Akeredolu said that it would be difficult for the state to operate three state universities successfully without increment of tuition fees.
The governor said that he could not afford to lie to the electorate on his achievements and the actual situation of things in the state under his administration.
He said that his focus in his second term would be job creation through entrepreneurship, skill acquisition and agriculture.
The governor stated that he had already created more than 20,000 direct jobs through the various industries operating at the Ore industrial hub.
He noted that an investor had paid the first instalment for the moribund OluwaGlass at Igbokoda, in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
Akeredolu said that he planned to ensure that more students took interest in studying agriculture.
“Very soon, the College of Agriculture will depend less on government funding.”
Akeredolu blamed his predecessors for establishing universities without getting accreditation for many courses.
“We had a Medical School without a teaching hospital.
“I am building two teaching hospitals in Akure and Ondo towns. We are turning Ondo State into a medical hub.
“We are earning less and doing much. There was a time we earned big but all the money went down the drain.
“My concern is to move ahead. We will need the best to manage the three universities.
“When I was sworn in in 2017, the first executive bill I sent to the Ondo State House of Assembly was the establishment of the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA).
“It was to see to the policy of investment promotion, business development and wealth creation in our state.
“Today, through ONDIPA, Ondo has moved from number 34 to number 16 in the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
“By the grace of Almighty God, the Ore Industrial Park is a creation of ONDIPA.”
Akinrinsola Odunayo, Chairman, Youth and Students Mobilisation Committee of the Akeredolu/Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation, said at the event that there was development in Lagos because of continuity.
“Four years is not enough; we need to come around to help the governor to consolidate on his current achievements in the state.
“Lagos State is what it is today because there is continuity.
“Akeredolu is the man to lead Ondo State to her Cannan Land, for he has given us a reason.
“Ondo State is currently on the path of transformation and renewal. Akeredolu is building us, and he is giving us a reason to be optimistic about what the future brings,” he said.
