By Akinwale Kasali
Iyabo Obasanjo, a Daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo has unveiled her Governorship ambition plan ahead of the 2027 Election.
The former Senator is vying for the Ogun State Governorship Position under the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Iyabo showered praises on President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, and stressed that President Tinubu has helped a lot to stabilize the economy and strengthen the purchasing power of Nigerians.
He further lauded President Tinubu on his foresight in embarking on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal road, saying that the massive road construction would not only help in deepening economic activities along that corridor but would also help to decongest the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
She added that her Governorship aspiration is not a fluke, neither is she out to clear the path for any other candidate, but that she is putting in every effort and commitment to succeed Governor Dapo Abiodun come 2027.
The Epidemiology Specialist made this disclosure during a media parley with journalists held on Saturday at the penthouse inside her father’s sprawling Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital.
Iyabo, who represented Ogun Central at the Senate between 2007 and 2011 affirmed that there have been a lot of positive developments with the economy in the last two and a half years.
She explained: “I think there’s a lot going on, positively. One is the stabilization of the Naira. What that does is that people can predict how much money they will spend on imports and how much income they will get. So stabilization of the Naira is a big one.
“I think that the economic stability cannot be overstated, because when people can predict income and exports, things get better — because then you are not buying something at one price due to dollar instability and having to sell it at a higher price when it changes.
“So, for economic stability, there has been progress and there has been some improvement in security, mainly because now we have a lot of collaboration going on. There is international collaboration, the President’s visits to different countries for trade, economic development is rising and that is the key to everything we do.”
Speaking further, she said there might have been a lot of negativity around the Lagos-Calabar Coastal road, but the truth is that it is a valuable move towards expanding the economy and addressing regular congestion on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
She disclosed that “although there was a lot of negativity around the Lagos-Calabar Coastal road, it is a developmental move that will help to generate income as it helps to connect the ports within the axis.
“It will also help to ease transportation on the Lagos-Ibadan corridor. Right now, to go north in Nigeria, to go east, you have to come through Ogun State on that road.
“Yes, it’s good that they go through, but if they’re going through and congesting that road, it’s also a problem, right? So that road will help us decongest Ogun State roads in ways that will actually help us with development, too.”
Iyabo however spoke extensively on her Governorship Ambition, stressing that her government will build on the recent gains of industrialisation that is fast catching up with the state, as well as the value chain in agriculture and tourism, among others, to strengthen the economy of the state.
She disclosed: “The current administration has made impressive moves with industrialisation — the number of factories we have, because with those factories come jobs, opportunity and taxation.
“But also, those resources can then be turned into products. So we are becoming the industrialisation hub of Nigeria.
“That was how China started. Factories were taken from America to China. So now China is bringing factories here. This is an opportunity for the state to become the Guangdong of Nigeria.
“Also important is agriculture. We need to do even more in that regard because we do have a lot of land and we are close to Lagos, which is a city where people need a lot of food. Since we all have to eat every day, let us do that.
“And also, we are close to the port. So if we produce food for export or industry for export, we are in a good position to send products across the world. So focusing on agriculture as we add value to agricultural products will be something for us to do.”
She also stated that her government would also invest heavily in the area of ICT and Tech education to ensure that the advantages in technology are leveraged to create jobs and advance scientific and technical development.
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