Ebedi Frontliners Presents Agenda For Iseyin Development To Tinubu, Makinde, Others

…..Bemoans Eight Years Neglect of Oke-Ogun Area By Buhari Administration

….Wants FG, Oyo Govt. To Complete Ikere Gorge Dam, Reconstruct Abeokuta-Iseyin Road

A socio-cultural group, Ebedi Frontliners, Iseyin (EFI) has congratulated Nigeria’s President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governor Seyi Makinde, Senator Fatai Buhari, Hon. Oyeshina Oyedemi (Oshine) and Hon. Dele Adeola on their victories at the last general election, urging them to prepare to key into the community’s development agenda, which they said would have positive impacts on the nation.

The group in a Press Release on Wednesday, outlined various projects, programmes and actions that they believed would have benefits for the people of the community, Oyo State and Nigeria, in the areas of food sustenance, job provision, completion of the Ikere Gorge Dam project, re-construction of federal roads around Oke-Ogun area among others.

The organization also bemoaned what it called a total neglect of the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in his eight years in office, as no physical infrastructural project was allocated to the region that consists of ten local government areas.

The statement, which was issued after an emergency meeting of the group at the Aseyin Palace in Iseyin and made available to newsmen, indicated that EFI called on Bola Tinubu to see the completion of the abandoned Ikere Gorge Dam project as a must, so as to show gratitude to the people of Oke-Ogun region for their support towards his victory and to effect a positive change in power generation by reactivating the dam.

The group’s position in the Press Release, as signed by its President, Mr. Olusegun Adeleke indicated that the duo of Bola Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde’s success to achieve the agenda would be anchored upon the legislative support from the likes of Senator Fatai Buhari of the Oyo North Senatorial District, Hon. Oyeshina Oyedemi of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Iseyin, Itesiwaju, Kajola and Iwajowa and the member of the Oyo State House of Assembly representing Iseyin and Itesiwaju State Constituency, Hon, Dele Adeola.

“We congratulate the President-elect, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu for his victory at the last Presidential election and the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, for his re-election.

“We are using this medium to also felicitate with the Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Senator Fatai Buhari for his re-election, Hon. Oyeshina Oyedemi (Oshine) of Iseyin, Itesiwaju, Kajola and Iwajowa federal constituency as well as Hon, Dele Adeola of the Iseyin-Itesiwaju State Constituency for their victory and re-election, we have come with an agenda for development that will not only develop Iseyin community, but Oke-Ogun, Oyo State and Nigeria as a whole.

“The agenda for development in our area is anchored upon sustainable agricultural development, security of lives and properties, provision of employment and public infrastructures like the federal roads in and around us.

“The Ikere Gorge Dam was inaugurated by the Shehu Shagari administration in 1979 to generate electricity and portable water for Oyo State and three other neighboring South-Western States, but has been abandoned since then while the multimillion naira equipments procured then have been outdated or left to rot, we believe that as part of the move by the incoming administration to increase power generation to meet the industrial and household needs of the people of the Southwest Nigeria, there is need to complete the project and as well put life into the water distribution aspect of the project to meet the yearnings of the people.

“This will also provide employment for the youths in the agro-allied industry, assist farmers with irrigation during dry season and create an all-year-round food production sustenance.

“Attached to this demand is the need for the federal government to urgently reconstruct the Abeokuta-Iseyin road that has been abandoned since the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo reconstructed it, the road has since been left to damage, with casualties from robbery attacks, kidnapping and traffic crash that have led to many deaths of road users.

“It is our belief that the bird will not fly with one wing, the efforts of the legislators to assist the executive to make bills and laws that will aid human development, this is where our legislators like Senator Fatai Buhari, Hon. Oyeshina Oyedemi and Hon. Dele Adeola from our area will have to show that they are capable.

“For each of our legislators that got re-elected to have such opportunity, it means that our people have seen and attested to your capabilities, we beseech you now to make the demand for these major projects your priority and we promise that the people of Iseyin will never forget your name when the success thereafter is discussed.

“If these are done, we believe it will be a complete departure from the neglect that Oke-Ogun area and Iseyin community suffered under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, during which no single federal road was reconstructed until the Seyi Makinde-led government intervened by taking up the reconstruction of the Oyo-Iseyin road that has been abandoned by successive governments in Nigeria.”

Governor Seyi Makinde had also promised during the pre-2023 electoral campaigns that the road leading to the Ikere Gorge Dam in Iseyin local government will be constructed while the water project at the dam will be looked into.