Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, on Wednesday, said that the second year of his administration would witness the transformation of the Ibadan Airport to a Cargo Airport to complement the Erunmu Dry Port and the new development corridors along the proposed 110-kilometre circular road in the state capital.

Besides, the governor also promised to partner private investors in the supply of natural gas to the state, so as to attract local and foreign investors.

Governor Ajimobi stated these while presenting his State of the State Address at the floor of the state House of Assembly as part of the activities marking the first anniversary of his administration in office.

The occasion was witnessed by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, the Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, members of the state executive council, top government officials, party stalwarts and other stakeholders.

The governor also said that his administration had been working on the expansion of rail transport facility to the state, stressing that the combination of the three facilities would add fillip to his government’s quest for private sector investment to enhance the rapid development of the state.

“We have embarked on discussions with agencies and parties concerned with these initiatives and we are confident that the projects will soon leave the drawing boards for the world of reality,” he said.

The governor, who recalled the recent listing of Ibadan as one of the top 10 destinations of choice for investments in Africa by the prestigious Financial Times of London, said that this was a further confirmation that his administration’s efforts had been yielding fruits.

Ajimobi reflected on his journey in the last one year, saying he had successfully laid the foundation upon which his administration’s vision of repositioning, transforming and reforming the state was based.

He recalled that at the time his administration came on board, the state had become a classic case of the Hobbesian State of Nature, adding “a state where no one who went to work in the morning could be rest assured that he would not fall prey to political thugs or miscreants or that his/her property would not be vandalized or his estate forcefully appropriated by some political godfathers”.

The governor, however, expressed happiness that the situation had been changed and that peace had finally returned to the state.

He also said that the frontiers of democracy and good governance had been broadened, even as he congratulated the Assembly for partnering with the executive arm of government in all ramifications without jeopardizing the principle of separation of powers.

Gov. Ajimobi noted that his administration had either rehabilitated or constructed a total of 199 roads and eight bridges across the nooks and crannies of the state, aside the flyover currently being constructed at the Mokola area of the state capital, the first by any civilian administration since the creation of the state.

He also said that his administration had commenced the preliminary works on the construction of a 110-kilometre Ibadan Circular Road which would serve as the epicenter of the development of the state.

“We are not only constructing a road, we are delineating the 110-kilometre stretch as the new corridor of development with areas like ICT Park, Industrial Estates, education section, media centres and so on to drive our vision for the rapid social and economic development of Oyo State,” he said.

The governor congratulated the lawmakers for doing the state proud, stressing “hardly in the history of the parliament in Oyo State, not even when a single party was in clear majority, have we had a year-long peaceful, mature and patriotic conduct of legislative business as we have had.

“You have truly lived up to the tradition of service which previous occupiers of this hallowed chamber have been known by. It is in this hallowed chamber that the motion for the independence of our dear country, Nigeria, was first moved in 1953,” he remarked.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu, in her address, commended the governor for the feat he had achieved within one year, saying “all the members of the House, in spite of our different political party affiliations, are one in their support for Project Oyo State. We believe in the synergy for the good of our people”.

Other lawmakers, who spoke on the floor of the chambers, also hailed Gov. Ajimobi for his ingenuity and administrative sagacity which he had brought to bear in the running of the affair of the state.

The Minority Leader, Hon Rafiu Odekunle of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) particularly acknowledged the fact that Oyo State was difficult to govern but scored the governor 65 per cent for moving the state forward in spite of daunting challenges.

Hon. Joshua Kolade Olagunju, an Accord Party lawmaker representing Akinyele Constituency I, commended the governor for his quick response to urgent state matters.

“Personally, even as an opposition member in this Assembly, you have done me proud,” he remarked.

Another legislator, Hon. Adedina Adeyemo representing Ibarapa East Constituency, said that the state was lucky to have somebody like Sen. Ajimobi as governor as he had brought sanity into governance and set the state on the path of development.