Aregbesola, Ajimobi advocate regional integration
Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
| credits: File copy
| credits: File copy
Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, and his Oyo State counterpart, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, have described socio-economic integration of the South-West as critical to the development of the region.
Both governors spoke in Osun State, on Wednesday, during the opening of a four-day South-West grassroots business and investment forum in Osogbo, Osun State.
Specifically, Aregbesola urged the Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, to collaborate with other South-West states in order for the masses to benefit from regional integration of the region.
He said, “I want to use this forum to call on Governor Olusegun Mimiko to join other governors in working for the collective interest of the South-West zone through the integration of the region for our collective development.”
He contended that the crusade for regional integration by other governors of the South-West was aimed at accelerating economic development of the entire region.
Former Minister of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola, recommended that the South-West, as an agrarian region, should revamp agriculture.
Ajimobi said the region stood to gain if the regional integration agenda received support from leaders and people of the region.
Ajimobi said, “We must leave room for the aspiration of individual states. The primary reason for this regional integration effort is to achieve economic development. I also like to state that regional integration should serve as a pillar of protection to all member-states, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
He explained that the integration would make all the states in the region to be balance and effective.
“To achieve this therefore, we must see ourselves as one; we must ensure fiscal discipline in our individual states; we must appreciate the importance of non-politicization of our efforts and there must be mutual respect amongst us,’’ he said.
Former Governor of Oyo State, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, stressed that the idea behind regional integration was to improve what had gone wrong in the country and correct perceived ill feelings.
He said before regional integration could be achieved, all politicians from the age of 65 years should be discouraged from active partisan politics to allow people with fresh ideas to participate in politics.
culled from: THE PUNCH NEWSPAPERS
February 7, 2013 by Tunde Odesola and Sodiq Oyeleke
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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