Click here for:The  Communique at the end of Ogun Stakeholders' Forum

Ogun State Governor ,Otunba Gbenga Daniel with the Chairman of the Ogun State Traditional Council, Oba Michael Sonariwo, the Akarigbo of Remo, Oba Michael Aremu Gbadebo the Alake of Egbaland and  Oba Yinusa Adekoya ,the Dagburewe of Idowa  after the Ogun Stakeholders Forum at the Valley View ,Government House , Abeokuta on Wednesday

.....We are forever mindful that the mandate we exercise is by the grace of the people and it is therefore   incumbent on us to constantly put the people in true picture of the State of affairs and our stewardship.  This is yet another great opportunity in the life of our Administration to interact with major stakeholders of our common patrimony in Ogun State. It is hoped, as well, that everybody here present will make history by not holding back any issue that needs attention in the interest of our dear state. Above all, we must all demonstrate a high sense  of understanding of issues we shall discuss here beyond all human emotions, personal interests and sentiments  for the good of all of us and posterity. We must all be genuinely involved positively in the sustained effort to make our dear state the envy of its peers and the pace setter in people centered good governance.

 2. It is my sincere expectation that we are here to chart a common ground for the continued
progress of our fatherland. I want to believe that the war of attrition ravaging our land may terminate and we will depart from here with renewed vigour. But if we however are not fully reconciled, at least we will have shortened the distance between our disagreement and the issues involved would have been clear to all. On my part I shall lay all cards on the table, face up,so that it would be transparent that this Administration do not have anything to hide from all stakeholders. As a people, we may have our disagreement as to the path of development to take, our consolation however, is that our disagreement has been conducted in a most civil manner, contrary to what is witnessed in other places where violence has been the language of
communication. Ours in Ogun State has been a battle of ideas, even though some of these ideas have not been parliamentary to reflect the reality of our social existence. The irony however is that despite the peace and tranquility that we have sustained, our critics encouraged on by external forces who sought to gain political mileage, at the expense of our progress as a state, continue to pour poison in the village drinking pot. We have resisted them, and will continue to keep them and their mercenaries away from our borders.

3         For some time now, Ogun State has been in the news, and, our Administration has taken some bashings, albeit,unfairly, from those whose motive is to portray us in bad light, playing
politics with the destiny of our State and the integrity of those whose duty it is to look after the welfare and minister to its health. We are accused of trying to throw the State into insolvency through a needless debt. Suddenly,taking a bond option of finance, a globally acknowledged efficient means of raising long-term loan, at minimum interest rate, becomes the equivalent of
genocide committed by a government against a people. Perhaps, it needs to be said that one of the reasons for misunderstanding us on the bond issue has been
due to the fact that our Administration, as some have actually claimed, has continued to manage, since inception, the meager resources available to us with an uncommon financial engineering and ingenuity, and has, thus, created an image of a Government that can do everything; that, which can squeeze water, literarily, out of the rock. And there are really many rocks in Abeokuta that may have afforded us the opportunity to perform such miracle. But, in all seriousness, the fact is that we have put in place a machinery to ensure prudent management of State resources and block leakages. Part of this, is the establishment of independent agencies, the Financial Investigation and Control Unit (FICU), the Due Process Office, and the Project Monitoring Office. Unlike the national Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), our own FICU is a pro-active agency preventing financial and related fraud in Government finances, while the Due process Office and the Project Monitoring Office ensure that award of Government contracts undergoes all Financial, Tender Board procedures, the Project Monitoring Office ensures that specified quantity and quality are adhered to in the execution of Government projects, respectively.

4. Here, in Ogun State, our contracts have not been that attractive because contractors often consider our profit margin of approximately 10% and sometime much lower as rather too low, considering the process they would have been made to go through while bidding for the job. Indeed, it is on record that between 2004 and now, some ten business concerns have actually thrown our contract-award papers to our face, literarily, accusing us of being stingy, misers-in-government. Yet, we are no misers, exigencies of our socio-economic condition has only made us wiser.

5. In the area of infrastructural development, for example, what we have done and still doing is to empower our professionals in the different Government agencies to put their professional skills to use. This is the rationale behind the establishment of such Government agencies as Ogun State Road Maintenance Agency (OGROMA), Ogun State Electrification Project (OGSEP), and the restructuring of the erstwhile idling-away Ministry of Works.

6.        Today, I stand bold before you all, and with a sense of fulfillment that, these Agencies, through their professional execution of different projects, across the length and breadth of Ogun State, has helped us to save millions of naira which could have gone into the pockets of private expatriate companies. Today, some of these agencies, which, though, at inception were established for maintenance purposes, have grown to be serious contenders in the construction industry. For example, it is no more news that OGROMA constructed the dualization of the Abeokuta-Siun- Sagamu Interchange road, and the Lalubu road, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, the bridges on Ago-Iwoye-Ilishan road and the bridge connecting the old site of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital to the new site that would host the Trauma and Diagnostic Centre. Perhaps, to inform you, here, that the bidders for this bridge were asking for about N500m, whereas OGROMA delivered the bridge for less than N50m. All of these road projects have become sign-posts of road construction in Nigeria. This is just as Ministry of Works have continued to construct kilometres of township roads through-out Ogun State. The icing on the cake for this Ministry is that, it won the contract for the completion of the abandoned Sokoto Expressway in the midst of rigorous competition from supposed giants in the business of road
construction in Nigeria.

7.        As a State we should be proud of  our trail-blazing efforts. Before, it used to be in education where we still maintain our leading role. Now, our effort at utilizing the competence and expertise of professionals within the public service in the State has become the model for other States in Nigeria. It was after our OGROMA came on board that the Federal Government of Nigeria introduced its own Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) on Nigeria roads. Today, all the States in the South-West geopolitical zone now have their respective roads maintenance agencies. And a few States in other geopolitical zones are following suites.

8. In all, we thank God that we have been able to transform the status of Ogun State from its hitherto Civil Service Status, and a backwater economy to a more commercially-viable and a potentially industrialized economy. Many a manufacturing company that could have left the shores of Nigeria now find in
Ogun State a haven. And, we are still inundated with requests from a diverse of private indigenous and international companies for either relocation, or, establishment in Ogun State. Today, our State, by the grace of God, has not only maintained its status as the Gateway to Nigeria, but is also, now, wearing the toga of the investors’ destination of choice. This, we have been to able to achieve through our concerted efforts directed at infrastructural development, thus, creating an enabling ambience for investment growth and economic
development. At the last count, there are not less than six blue chip companies that have relocated to the State in the last seven years, and many are still on the road to move to allotted sites. Obviously there must be something we are doing right, and this, definitely, cannot be a State of ‘killers’. If this is a State where killers squad is on rampage respectable companies such as WEMPCO Group, the Lee Group, Leventis, Nestle, and just last week Punch Newspaper, a veritable medium in the hands of opposition, will not feel safe here to
relocate their operations.  In the next months by God’s grace, the Ibeshe Cement Factory at 6M tonnes capacity will be commissioned.

9.        But, I must be quick in letting you know that, if something is not done, immediately, we may, sooner than expected, lose not only what we have gained over the last seven years, but also, miss future opportunities. As I speak to you, our State is bending under the burden of satisfying its immediate financial needs due to the dwindling financial resources. But, it is also shocking to see that our efforts at rescuing the situation through securing of a long-term financial instrument, popularly referred to as “Bond” is now generating uneducated arguments and bigoted criticism from quarters that one hardly expected. Some of the arguments have been why now that the Administration is almost winding-up; who and who will pay the debt to be left behind, and so on, that one gets bemused at the rate and seriousness that our people talk about the bond issue.

10.     To start with, let me state that any Secondary School Certificate holder, with ordinary level pass in economics, knows that there is a wide gap between the opportunities offered by short-term loans with high interest rates provided by commercial banks, and long-term repayment financial instrument from the capital market with low interest rates.Perhaps, we need to furnish ourselves with relevant information as to the state
of income of the State and a rough estimate of our expenditure, as it stands today.

11.     On a monthly basis, the State gross-in an average of Two Billion (N2b) Naira from Federation Account. And through some financial ingenuity, we have been able to push the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base to a region of One Billion (N1b) from a paltry sum of One Hundred and Fifty Million (N150m) which we met in 2003. Our expenditure profile, as at June, 2010, stands as follows:

           (i).     Salary bill to core Civil Servants, political appointees,  including subvention to Agencies,
Parastatals, Tertiary   Institutions and Pension to pensioners -N2.2b;

           (ii).     Regular overheads on electricity- N30m;

           (iii).    Maintenance and fuelling of vehicles and Generators –   N30m.

           (iv).    Commitments on contract-financed projects such as Four-  Blocks of the new Secretariat
Complex, the 3 stadia at   Ilaro,  Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode, the reactivation of the entire water  projects  in the State, the 47 megawatts mini-power    plant, the  heavy-duty   equipments with Plantgate Limited     for the use of all  the Ministries, Department and Agencies    in the State, most especially OGROMA  N1.5 billion   through Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPO).

           (v).    Subsidy to Federal Agencies in the State concerned with   nationally-shared benefits like
security and development- driven agencies like Nigeria Police, State Security   Service, Federal Road Safety Corp, Civil Defence,  National Youth Service Corps and others- N40m.

12.     I make bold to say, on my honour, and as an Engineer of some 30 odd years experience in the industry, that there are few Engineering companies, in both private and public sector, that has quality and quantity of equipment. It is not for political reason that the Senate committee on road pleaded with us to take over the ‘abandoned’ Otta road bridge. It is a testimony to the quantity and quality of network of roads constructed
across the length and breadth of Ogun State.  But we all know the story; the company connected with it threatened to take us to court. At that juncture we had to abandon it, to enable the company and the Federal Government sought out lingering contractual (dis)agreement between them. However, whatever the issues involved, both parties should think of the inconveniencies being daily experienced by commuters on that axis of the State.

13.     The picture of the dire-straight in which we are, as a State, becomes clearer if we all realize that the
expenditure profile is inspite of the various cuts in salaries and allowances of all political appointees and Permanent Secretaries grade in Civil Service, since the advent of the global meltdown in 2009, in which Nigeria economy was also implicated, and from which we are yet to extricate ourself as a nation. To
be sure, all political appointees lost 12% of their gross salary, 50% of their office maintenance allowance and forfeiture of their outfit allowance which is a statutory entitlement.

14.     On the other hand, all Permanent Secretaries had 8% on their salary removed. And, I must say that this
expenditure profile is without prejudice to the various increased in salary claims, as being put forward by various Trade Unions like Academic Staff Union of universities, most especially. Yet, the newly approved minimum wage of Eighteen Thousand Naira (N18,000), recently approved by the Federal Government
has not even appeared on our expenditure radar screen. Let me, however, say this, no matter how unpalatable, it may be, Ogun State, under the economic crunch it is presently experiencing, will not be in any position to implement any of these increments. Except a financial miracle occur very soon.  The only salary adjustment we are in better position to accommodate, under the present income regime, is the one that will
relieve us through reduction of salary of our workforce put at 44,500, including that of primary and secondary school teachers. Except  if you the Stakeholders ask us to invoke the ‘final  solution’ of massive shedding of ‘excess’ load so that the State may breathe, and money may be available for some other expenditure, long abandoned at the juncture of financial destitution. It is the language of economist and management.

15.     To do this, however, may send wrong signal to the people and institutions whose interest in the viability of our State for economic partnership and business remains robust. To be sure, a guaranteed job security is a window through which people can view the financial and trading ability and capability of an economic entity. This has aptly been demonstrated by the incursion of commercial banks, including stock exchange
into the State, since the inception of this Administration. And this is without prejudice to the relocation of industries into the safer zone of Ogun State. I am not unaware of allegation that our wage bill is much because of what is considered to be over-bloated political appointees, also known as big government. This is no more than a myth, a myth carelessly thrown up to; again, portray our Administration in bad light as not purposeful in its spending behavioural pattern. For the records, political office holders whose salary, including allowances, largely unpaid, since January 2009, does not go beyond 5% of the entire payroll of core Civil Servants, and  less than 10% of what is paid to teachers in the State public Secondary Schools who go home with some tidy some of N634 million monthly.

16.     Again, I confess that Ogun State is not only the political entity in Nigeria that is undergoing a process of what the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called ‘suffering and smiling’. Given our skewed ‘Federal’ arrangement, where a unit i.e the Federal  Government  with the least of responsibilities ascribe to itself the lion chunk of our common-wealth, leaving some 36 States and 774 Local Government Areas to claw between themselves less than half of the limit, most, if not all of the States, must be in the position Ogun State finds
itself, today. A situation whereby the Federal Government, with no land of its own, legislates on Agriculture and allocates substantial money for fertilizer cannot be healthy for even-development. It is precisely this unwholesome relationship, in fiscal matters, between the central authority and other federating units that should attract the attention of our distinguished and honourable members in the National Assembly. The time is ripe to take a look at our Federal structure, lest other tiers of government are rendered prostrate, in a state of suspended animation.  It is, however, an irony that while other States, with better financial fortune
than ours are taking advantage of the bond-option to remain on the developmental ladder, our legislative arm of government is busy shooting down the executive efforts and the entire State and its people at re-engineering the State for optimal progress. Yet, many of us enjoy the role of cheer leaders, applauding, indeed, actively working in concert with those whose motive is to render our State prostrate and by extension indirectly shooting ourselves in the foot. Alas, our progress has been showed down in a manner that is unimaginable and
incalculable.

17.     Today, a neighbouring State with an average monthly Federal allocation of N6.4 billion, which include a share of income from Value Added Tax (VAT), and an average monthly income from Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) of N18 billion i.e a total average of N24.4b per month has accessed the market to the tune of N275 billion. Yet, Bayelsa with a monthly Federal allocation, averaging N4.5 billion, together  with a share of another N4.5 billion from the 13% derivation fund to oil producing States i.e an average of N9b per month
went to the capital market for N50 billion. At the last count about 20 states including Imo State, Kaduna State, Niger State, Kwara State, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu etc, etc are all in the bond market.  Even the Federal Government has accessed the bond-option in the region of N1.3 trillion. All within the last few months.

18.     We must be clear about this; the inability to access the market has not been the operator’s assessment of our State in the negative. Indeed, our  offer bid has been confirmed by Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigeria Stock Exchange having passed through Due Diligence since 2009. This aptly put a lie to efforts of misinformed detractors who sought to portray us as asking for the bond in less than a year to our departure from office. For the record, the bond process commenced in 2008, and was actually canvassed in 2008 for the 2009 appropriation bill to the Ogun State House of Assembly. And the same exercise was repeated in 2009 for the 2010 budget proposal. My dear people of Ogun State, while we will not foreclose further discussion on the issue, as we shall continue to bridge the gulf of misunderstanding, not only on the bond issue, we , as a responsible government, will not succumb to any unfair dealings because it is unacceptable that one arm of government should hold the entire people of Ogun State to ransom 
for whatever reason, be it on account of economic consideration or for selfish political interest. Though the immediate cash crunch may suggest a desperate prudential approach to end the lock jam around the bond issue, but we will not travel a path which destination can only lead us , as a government to an inglorious end. Personally, I am still optimistic that our compatriots in the legislative chamber will come to realize it that we must all come together, as a people, in whose hand the good people of Ogun State has entrusted a
mandate to lead them aright. Yet no one can love Ogun State more than we the free born indigenes of Ogun State because this is where the bones of our ancestors are interned.

19.     By the way, if I may ask, rather rhetorically, is there a time when a government should stop incurring
expenditure? In other words, should a government stop meeting its obligation, both capital and recurrent, just because it has less than a year in authority? If all of these negative claims were from sundry sources, as beer parlour joints, among men and women of easy virtue, it would have been amusing, and the best response to it would have been a hearty laugh. But, surprisingly, and with a great pity, some of those who elected, as public commentators, to contribute to the bond debate were certified educated people from the hallowed chambers of our universities, who were supposed to be the prelate and custodians of our collective knowledge. At that juncture, where ignorance strutte about, with swagger, as knowledge, we must look elsewhere for the harbinger of needed vision for our collective salvation.

20.     Again, on the issue of who will pay the debt after the expiration of our Administration in 2011, one wonders if such arguments can stand the test of any intelligence, especially when considered against the fact that, Government business starts the first day and ends on the last day of tenure. This is not forgetting that, anywhere, Government is a continuum. Some of the ongoing projects for which the bond is to be expended such as the Olokola LNG, Deep Sea-Port and Free Trade Zone; Gateway International Airport, Light Rail System, Kajola Free Trade Zone; and the Igbesa (Guangdong) Free Trade Zone are to be there till eternity. The fact is that even these projects are to be financed by private investors; our concern is to provide the infrastructure for accessing the sites and other services by government to enable investors explore the opportunities provided by these investments, and the State its benefits in terms of employment for our
citizens in the areas where these projects are sited.

21. The straight answer is that projected income from these projects will not  only pay but there will be extra income to fund future developmental projects. This, I think, is the power of visioning.     Meanwhile,
at the recurrent expenditure front, we are now burdened with the weight of the cost of meeting our overhead costs. Now, with the new talk in town of salary increase, we do not need to be under any illusion that we cannot meet the cost of the new wage increase when it begins in August. Thus, I see a rash of attendant labour unrest in the horizon. This, on its own is a bad signal to the business world and investors. The reality, on ground, now is that Government is still grappling with monthly running cost to Agencies which was last paid in
January. And this is in spite of the fact that, it has been sharply slashed since January, 2009. It is that bad that a major utility Agency like The Ministry of Water Resources has been able to access no more than N10m for capital project since January, 2009. Ever since then, the Ministry, like many other Ministries and
Departments, have been adept at managing poverty. OGROMA which is a flagship of our Administration, and a signpost to our State developmental agenda cannot pay for asphalt to fix many of our roads destroyed by the rains. So, if the road leading to your towns and villages is calling for attention, or new transformer are slow to come, please bear with us, but speak to your ward in the House of Assembly.

22.     We are in this dire-straight, as a State, because we lack the political will to muster the needed courage to stand for the truth. Instead, we stand the truth on its head, and, because of our inability to collectively chart a course for our economic development programme, we are discouraging both local and foreign investors who could have, through either direct or indirect investment into our economy, which is expected to boost our triple programme of employment generation, poverty alleviation and food security. While the State grapple with inadequate resources to meet its expanding expenditure profile, we are being inundated with accusation of financial graft; allegation that are, at best, unnecessary distraction and pure fiction a.k.a James Hardley Chase.  Instead of being able to concentrate our physical and mental resourcefulness into grappling with the challenges of statecraft we are being made to answer to allegations which motive is to tarnish some targeted individuals for political reasons.

23.     Till date, from 2004, the total revenue from land sale management is N12 billion and this is a feat. Yet,
income from excess crude oil, in 2009, amounted to only N13.5 billion, and this was for both the State government and all of the 26 Local Government Areas in Ogun State. So, my dear people, pray, where does N30billion from land sales and another N30billion from excess crude oil, which was said to have been stolen,
and for which some officials of the States are being made to endure personal inconveniencies. We must fight corruption, at all levels. But reacting to politically-motivated petitions may be a disservice to our collective resolve against the cankerworm which, we must all admit, has eaten deep into our national fabric. We are forgetting that, our own generation, if it has anything at stake, is not beyond the little time we have left to spend on mother earth. But because of our self-indulgent political differences, we have continued to put
the future of generations, yet, unborn in jeopardy. Posterity, as they say, will ask. And, we all better begin to prepare our answers for that time.

24.     Before I am done and take my seat, let me salute the courage of our kinsmen and women, in and out of the State, who refused to be cowed by the noise of the market place. Those who summoned the needed courage to stand up for the truth by speaking up, we will not name names, but they numbered among all of the segments of our State, form traditional rulers to the common man on the street. We will surely remember them. Yet, those men and women of privileges, who possess the clout and the voice to mount
podium and say the truth, but who would rather echo words that discourage, shout falsehood that disunite, and are more comfortable playing to the gallery we will not forget you, either.

25.     Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Stakeholders in the polity, this is our story, as we now take your
questions, all questions no hold barred.  I wish you all an eventful discussion, I thank you all for your attention.


Being the text of an address delivered by the Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency, Otunba
Gbenga Daniel, at the Stakeholders’ Forum, held at the Valley-view Auditorium,
Government House, Oke-Igbein, Abeokuta, on Wednesday, 14th July,
2010.