63rd Anniversary: We have no excuse not to be great – Akeredolu

Former Ondo State Governor, late Rotimi Akeredolu

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has said that Nigeria at 63 has no excuse not to be great, calling on all Nigerians to rise up and tackle the myriads of challenges facing them.

Governor Akeredolu stated this on Friday at a Jumat Service in commemoration of Nigeria’s 63rd independence anniversary at the Central Mosque, Akure.

Represented by Hon. Raimi Aminu, the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, the Governor said that though the country’s challenges looked insurmountable, Nigerians should cooperate with the current administration of President Bola Tinubu to solve all the problems and bring succour to the entire citizenry.

He explained that the Tinubu-led administration was putting in place some frantic efforts to ensure that it puts smiles on the faces of Nigerians and that the country becomes a place of pride.

According to him, all that is needed is patience, cooperation and double efforts by the citizens.

“The task before us is to build a viable and strong economy that would generate a prosperous, progressive and dignified country.

“We can only attain this by more hard work, enterprise, peace, creativity and defence of our country,” he said.

Akeredolu noted that his administration had put in place some palliative measures to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal by the Federal government.

He added that the state government had decided to give out farm inputs to farmers to boost food production in the state, saying that payment of registration and consultancy fees had been put on hold in all government hospitals in the state.

The Governor promised that the state government would not spare efforts at improving the lots of the people of the state, and asked citizens to eschew evil and defend the state.

Earlier, the Chief Imam of the state, Sheikh Abdulhakeem Yayi Akorede, asked the Tinubu-led government to fix the country’s economy and infrastructure quickly so that Nigerians’ suffering would not linger.

Akorede said that it was pitiable that Nigerians were going through excruciating pains as a result of unbearable cost of living and decayed infrastructure.

He stated that he had confidence in Tinubu’s agenda in putting an end to multifaceted problems of the country, and described the president as a listening person.

The Chief Imam urged those challenging the victory of the president to withdraw their suits so that the government could squarely face the mandate of providing security and enabling environment for Nigerians to thrive.

He commended the state government for the various palliative measures put in place and the return of free school shuttle scheme, saying it would go a long way in cushioning the effects of high transportation fares by students in the state. (NAN)