By Bukola Hameed
Oyo state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Professor Musibau Tunji Babatunde has assured people of the state of massive infrastructure activities and unprecedented development.
He gave this hint on Saturday at the end of a Summit organised by Itesiwaju Forum in Oyo town, which conferred on him Exemplary Leadership Award.
“Expect massive infrastructure that will generate adequate and positive spillovers to the economy, that will bring about value addition, generate jobs, and expand our economic base.
“We are trying to increase the production rate of the state in terms of infrastructure facilities – the Moniya-Iseyin road has been completed, Oyo-Iseyin and Ogbomoso-Iseyin roads are on. The government is trying to link up the geo-political zones in order to create viable economic hubs.
“The dry port that’s coming up will link all these economic hubs to the rail corridor which is actually linked to the outside world. The gas infrastructure, airport remodeling and expansion, industrial park, the circular road – all of these will serve as catalyst for impressive transformation of the state economy”.
On the fate of the youth in the state, the commissioner restated the Seyi Makinde government resolve at making the youth main drivers of the economic activities.
He said, “We are trying to look at a situation whereby the youth are brought in to drive most of the economic activities. The comparative advantage of Oyo state lies in agricultural production. So, we are moving from agric production to AgriBusiness, and the youth are actually the fulcrum of what we do.
The commissioner noted that the State’s Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP) training of 10,000 youths by the CSS Integrated Farms Limited, Gora, Nasarawa State has the capacity to turn the economy of Oyo State into a multi-billion Naira economy.
“By January 2022, we are starting them up with cash and kind so that they can be employers of labour and contribute their quota to the economy of the state as well”, he concluded.