By Blessing Chinagorom
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has recalled his journey to power despite all odds, attributing his victory to God Almighty, adding that the process through which he emerged as Governor was a very unusual one.
Speaking during his 64th Birthday and 5th Year Thanksgiving Service held in his honour at the Government House Chapel, Abeokuta in Ogun on Sunday, Abiodun described the 5 years of his administration as challenging, but admitted his faith in God brought the victory he desired.
According to him, “The process through which I emerged as Governor was a very unusual one; one in which my predecessor who was in the same party with me was fighting me and campaigning for another person in another party.
“And I will sit down and ask myself, ‘Baba God, this is very unusual, why do I have to go through so much to assume this office?’ And then I will answer myself that it is because God wants to take that glory”.
The Governor revealed that the last five years of governance over the state of Ogun for him has been one of the most beautiful experiences of his life.
He said, “It’s been extremely turbulent, it’s been very challenging, particularly, it has been rancorous. But the most important thing is that in all of this, God has given us victory”.
Abiodun added that his government was taking giant steps to reshape the economy of the state and that the steps were yielding results. One of such steps, according to him, is the plan to make Ogun an oil producing State, as Ministry of Petroleum Resources would soon begin oil exploration in the state.
“Only on Friday, the leadership of the Ministry of Petroleum led by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, was here with three others and the chairman of Shell to make an announcement that they would soon begin to drill oil in Ogun State,” he said.
Responding to the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 general election, Ladi Adebutu, who criticised the 8-kilometer Sagamu-Iperu road project of the state govt, the Governor said he had learnt not to respond to people who had developed the habit of barking whenever they are no longer in the spotlight.
He noted that his focus was to continue the positive trajectory of the Gateway State and not to dwell on the submission of a man who could not see over 600km of roads across the length and breadth of Ogun State done by his administration.
Abiodun said, “I read on one of the papers that someone was saying that he was embarrassed that I was commissioning an 8-kilometre road, and a counterpart of mine was commissioning a 77-kilometer road”.
The Governor wondered that despite the stupendous wealth of the Adebutu family, the road that runs through their house was in a deplorable state for a long time and the family could not deploy a fraction of their wealth to repair it.
Abiodun promised that his administration would continue to make life comfortable for the people of the state by embarking on the provision of more infrastructure that would, in turn, improve their well-being.
Earlier in his message, the Shepherd in charge of Grace Baptist Church, Abeokuta, Rev (Dr) Emmanuel Ajayi, who took his sermon from Psalm 92 verse 1, said that it was a good thing to praise the Lord because of who He is.
Rev. Ajayi, giving thanks to God brings more blessings to those who praise Him. While calling on the people of God to imbibe the culture of giving thanks to God in their closet, Rev. Ajayi said that praises help Christians to show their gratitude to God Almighty.
