Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan unveils 18-month scorecard of Aiyedatiwa administration
(18 MONTHS OF “OUR EASE”: AIYEDATIWA’S DEVELOPMENT FOOTPRINTS TRANSFORMING ONDO STATE)
Eighteen months into the administration of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, the Ondo State Government has highlighted what it described as a remarkable transformation across critical sectors of the state, with infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture, security, workers’ welfare, youth empowerment and industrialisation taking centre stage.
The achievements were unveiled by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, during the maiden edition of activities highlighting the achievements and programmes of the Ondo State Government, sponsored by the Office of the Chief Press Secretary and held at the NUJ Press Centre, Akure, on Friday, August 28, 2026.
The engagement provided an opportunity for journalists to take a closer look at the journey of the Aiyedatiwa administration since the Governor assumed office on February 24, 2025, and its central policy thrust, popularly known as “OUR EASE”, which is built around ease of living, ease of doing business and ease of governance.
According to Adeniyan, the administration’s development philosophy is anchored on putting the people first, executing projects that directly address their needs and establishing a sustainable foundation for economic growth. He explained that within 18 months, the administration had recorded significant progress across several sectors, supported by what he described as prudent financial management and responsible handling of the state’s resources.
One of the major achievements highlighted at the engagement was the reported 82.6 per cent reduction in Ondo State’s domestic debt profile, which the government described as the highest percentage reduction recorded by any state in Nigeria. The administration has also cleared inherited salary arrears owed to workers and former political office holders, as well as outstanding gratuities owed to pensioners.
Adeniyan said the government’s commitment to improving the welfare of the people was particularly evident in the health sector, where more than 2,000 health professionals have been recruited. Ondo State, he added, became the first state in the South-West to implement the enhanced CONMESS and CONHESS allowances for health workers, a development aimed at improving staff retention and motivation.
The State Executive Council has also approved a N1 billion Hospital Intervention Fund to expand and modernise healthcare facilities across the state. This is in addition to ongoing 100-bed capacity upgrade projects at hospitals in Ikare-Akoko, Ore and Okitipupa, as well as 50-bed capacity improvements at Irele and Igbokoda.
According to the government’s scorecard, more than 100 health centres have been renovated within the period under review, while the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, UNIMEDTH, has been equipped with modern medical facilities, including a 1.5 Tesla MRI machine, 160-slice CT scanner, 3D digital mammography equipment, 4D ultrasound machines and digital X-ray machines.
The completion of a pharmaceutical-grade warehouse in Akure has also strengthened the state’s capacity to store and distribute medicines, while the Orange Health Insurance Scheme, ORANGHIS, has been expanded to cover public servants, workers in the informal sector and, for the first time, retirees and pensioners free of charge.
The health sector, Adeniyan noted, has also received national recognition, with the latest Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey reportedly ranking Ondo State as the best-performing state in neonatal, infant and under-five mortality indicators and among the states with the lowest maternal mortality ratio. Governor Aiyedatiwa was consequently recognised with the Best Governor in Health Transformation Award by BusinessTimes in Lagos.
The administration’s infrastructure drive has equally become one of the most visible features of the “OUR EASE” agenda. More than 200 kilometres of roads have reportedly been completed within the last year and a half, while a further 90-kilometre statewide road rehabilitation programme is ongoing, with five kilometres allocated to each of the 18 Local Government Areas.
The newly commenced construction of the Akure Flyover Bridge along the Oyemekun–Oba Adesida Road represents another major infrastructure intervention. The project is expected to address the perennial traffic congestion around one of the busiest areas of the state capital while improving movement and stimulating economic activities.
Major urban roads in Akure, Ondo, Owo, Ikare and Ore have also been rehabilitated, with drainage works and solar streetlights incorporated into several of the projects. At the same time, three major intercity dualisation projects are ongoing simultaneously across the three senatorial districts—Akungba–Ikare-Akoko in the North, Akure–Idanre in the Central District and Okitipupa–Igbokoda in the South.
The administration has also completed and commissioned the inherited Onyearugbulem–Irese Road Flyover Project in Akure, alongside other inherited road projects.
In rural areas, interventions through the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, RAAMP, and state-funded programmes have opened up farming communities and improved access to markets. In riverine communities, concrete jetties and walkways are being constructed to ease transportation, with the first phase already commissioned and the second phase ongoing.
Education has similarly received considerable attention under the administration. More than 2,000 teachers have been recruited, comprising 1,010 teachers for public secondary schools and 1,100 for primary schools, while the free school shuttle initiative has been revived with buses and boats conveying pupils to and from school.
For parents, the continued payment of WAEC examination fees for students in public secondary schools has reduced the financial burden of secondary education, while scholarships and bursaries for tertiary institution students have been expanded. Books, tablets and sporting equipment have also been distributed to public primary and junior secondary schools across the 18 Local Government Areas.
The administration has further increased subventions to tertiary institutions by 60 per cent, approved the salary agreement between the Federal Government and university staff unions, cleared inherited salary arrears owed to staff of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, and committed more than N1 billion to the construction of a new Senate Building at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.
According to Adeniyan, the government’s urban renewal efforts are also changing the physical appearance of major towns. The rehabilitation and upgrade of Fasoranti Park in Akure, including landscaping, walkways, lighting and supporting facilities, is restoring the park as a civic and recreational centre.
The Light-Up projects have equally transformed the night-time landscape of the state, with approximately 5,000 complete units of solar streetlights reportedly installed under the first and second phases of the initiative.
Water supply has not been left out. The Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project, a component of the $223 million Nigeria Urban Water Sector Reform Programme, is focused on rehabilitating waterworks, expanding distribution networks and improving sanitation infrastructure.
The long-neglected Owena Dam Project is also receiving renewed attention, while new water pipelines are being laid across the state. The Omi Irorun Water Scheme has further delivered more than 50 boreholes to rural communities.
In the power sector, the administration has adopted a combination of alternative energy initiatives, mass metering, consumer protection and infrastructure development. The Light-Up initiative, Lucky Light Solar Programme and O’Datiwa Mass Metering Programme are among the measures being implemented to improve electricity reliability and reduce the burden on households and businesses.
The State Executive Council recently approved a US$1.6 million, 350-kilowatt hydropower project and a 7.5-megawatt gas-fired turbine to power government facilities across the state, while transformers are also being distributed to communities.
Agriculture has remained another major pillar of the administration’s economic strategy, with more than N10 billion reportedly committed to agricultural development. The government is opening up farmland, attracting private investors, supporting farmers, developing rural roads and promoting value-chain development.
More than 500 young people have been trained and empowered in modern agriculture, while the Ondo State Cocoa Revolution and Management Board has been inaugurated to strengthen the state’s position as Nigeria’s leading cocoa-producing state.
The government has also inaugurated the State Strategic Committee on EU Deforestation Free Regulation Compliance, while 14,000 smallholder cocoa and oil palm farmers have been profiled under the FAO GEF-7 programme across eight Local Government Areas.
The industrialisation drive of the administration is equally ambitious. Government continues to pursue investments around the Ondo Deep Sea Port, refinery, Free Trade Zone and fertiliser plant, while moribund industries are being targeted for revival through Public-Private Partnership arrangements.
The return of the Dangote Group to the state, with plans reportedly underway for a major industrial zone, is being presented as a significant development in the state’s investment drive. The government has also signed several Memoranda of Understanding with investors, including agreements involving Backbone Infrastructure Nigeria Limited and Sunshine Infrastructure.
Among the major projects being pursued are a proposed 500,000-barrel-per-day refinery, a 1,471-hectare Free Trade Zone in Ilaje, and a multibillion-dollar petrochemical, fertiliser and cement project, developments that could substantially expand employment opportunities and strengthen the state’s revenue base if successfully implemented.
Employment and empowerment have also featured prominently in the government’s scorecard. More than 6,000 workers have reportedly been recruited into critical sectors such as education, healthcare, security and agriculture.
Through the O’Datiwa Skill-Up a Woman Initiative, about 1,000 women have been trained in tailoring, catering, ICT and other vocational skills and provided with start-up kits. The One Youth, One Skill Programme has similarly trained young people in different trades, while market women, artisans and small-business owners have benefited from interest-free loans and grants under the Ondo Ease Fund.
The administration has also increased the participation of young people in governance through appointments into various positions.
For workers and pensioners, the administration has placed emphasis on regular salary and pension payments. Workers reportedly receive their salaries on or before the 25th day of every month, while inherited salary arrears owed to civil servants and former political appointees have been cleared.
The beneficiaries of the latter include former political appointees who served under the administration of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko between 2009 and 2017. Pensioners continue to receive their monthly pensions, while government makes deliberate monthly provisions towards clearing outstanding gratuities. The administration reports that about 10 years of outstanding gratuities have been cleared.
Other workers’ welfare measures include the upward review and payment of hazard allowances to health workers, review of salaries and entry points for medical doctors, extension of tutors’ service from 35 to 40 years, increase in retirement age from 60 to 65 years and full implementation of the workers’ contributory health insurance scheme.
Security, which remains fundamental to the success of every development programme, has also received significant attention. More than 100 operational vehicles have been distributed to security agencies to strengthen surveillance and response capabilities, while 500 additional personnel have been recruited into the Amotekun Corps.
The establishment and equipping of a modern Command and Control Centre has further strengthened the state’s security architecture, with government insisting that the measures are helping to keep Ondo among the peaceful states in Nigeria.
Looking back at the first 18 months, the administration’s story is therefore one of a government attempting to combine infrastructure with social investment, fiscal discipline with development and immediate interventions with long-term economic planning.
Yet, as the administration moves into the next phase of its tenure, expectations from the people will naturally rise. The ultimate test of “OUR EASE” will not simply be the number of projects announced or commissioned, but how deeply these interventions translate into improved living conditions for ordinary citizens.
For a trader seeking better access to her market, a farmer transporting produce from a rural community, a student whose examination fees have been paid, a patient accessing modern healthcare, a worker receiving his salary on time, or an entrepreneur looking for an enabling environment to grow a business, the success of the agenda will be measured in practical terms.
Eighteen months after Governor Aiyedatiwa took the reins of government, the signs of an administration determined to leave its imprint on Ondo State are visible in roads, hospitals, Sports, schools, farms, public spaces and emerging investment projects.
The journey, however, is still ongoing. With several projects at various stages of completion and more initiatives in the pipeline, the next phase will determine whether the foundation being laid today will mature into a lasting development legacy for generations of Ondo people.
For Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa and his team, “OUR EASE” remains the guiding promise. For the people, the expectation is simple: that government should continue to work, deliver and make life genuinely easier.
DEMОCRAT NEWS MAGAZINE
Special Feature | August 31, 2026