Ondo 2024: I will drive Ondo IGR for the good of the people— Akinterinwa 

By David Lawani, Abuja

 The Governorship aspirant under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC)  election in Ondo State, Chief Wale Akinterinwa has promised to drive the state’s Internally Generated Revenue IGR to a better state than it is now.

Addressing journalists shortly after collecting his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms, Chief Akinterinwa noted that the if given a chance to govern the state, he will work towards increasing IGR, which according to him is the only way for any state to achieve meaningful development, as the days of state depending on Federal allocation are over.

According to him: ” During the administration of the Late Akeredolu, when that administration came into being, the IGR of Ondo State was hovering around N600 million but by the time I was leaving, over 3 billion per month and I can tell you that for any state to have serious meaningful development today they must be ready to grow their internally generated revenue.

“The era when it depends solely on the federation account, whereby you come every month to just pick your allocation and go home will not change the development narrative of this country. And I’m fully poised to ensure that that narrative is changed in Ondo State”.

He added that In order to achieve this, he stressed that he will become the Chief marketing officer to market the rich potentials of the state to the outside world because the state is more than endowed with enough resources that should be of benefits to the people.

He noted: “One of the ways to do that is that first and foremost, I’m going to be the Chief Marketing Officer of that state, not just the governor. It is my intention to take Ondo State to the outside world. And market its huge potentials to the whole world.

“Today we have a lot in common with Lagos State and I’ve said it over and over, that we must create another state that has a similar economy with that of Lagos state. By that I mean a state that is self-sufficient without the center, that fully utilizes potential and is able to grow its internally generated revenue astronomically.

 “We must find a solution to how to move these (jobless) boys from the streets and give them good employment. We must now think outside the box. We must think in a manner that there are no limitations.

“We will make our lands available at a cost. Ondo must be the next Lagos State. We have a coastline and a deep seaport.

“We must bring all these to life, and it will be the game changer. Ondo State needs to move to the next level. Previous governments have made their bid. We need to move to the level of industrialisation”, he stated.