March 2018-March 2021
Immediate Past Executive Chairman, Oredo Local Government Area
In consistency with his renowned commitment to engendering progressive paradigm shift in societal affairs, Governor Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki charged the fresh 2018 class of Local Government leaders with the obligation to change the despicable narratives of third tier administration in Edo State; the Governor’s visionary trajectory was that Local Governments should be transformed into dependable channels for the actualization of the hopes and aspirations of the citizenry at the democratic grassroots’ strata.
For Oredo Local Government, the uncommon political philosophy and people-oriented policy direction of the Governor fittingly synchronized with the essential nature of the quiet but, result-targeted private sector- management model, of which the Council Chairman, Hon. Evbareke Jenkins Osunde was very familiar.
Hence from the onset, such quintessential values and policy direction of the Governor regarding the priority of unfailing and timely payment of salaries and pensions , the call for the third tier administration to key into the state government transformative education agenda, the rapid construction of roads as part of the larger component for urban and rural development in tandem with increased access to water and electricity in various communities ,the building of new and refurbishment of existing Primary Health Centers (PHCs) were enthusiastically embraced by the Council.
Additionally, the Local Government took frontline positions in such areas as enhancement of peace and security, the re-engineering of strategies for boosting its internally generated revenue, the building of markets and facilitating efforts for the empowerment of women entrepreneurs, environmental sanitation and the promotion of arts and culture.
It is remarkable that even in the face the Coronavirus pandemic and the #Endsars protest, two conditions which corrosively affected revenue generation by the Council, the Osunde –led local government met its obligations for payment of salaries and pensions to everyone under its jurisdiction. But beyond that, following the inspiration of Governor Obaseki, the local government had offset huge percentage (approximating several millions) of various debts owed to Oredo teachers by the previous administration.
Particularly at the primary level of learning, Hon. Osunde’s administration has left brightening contours on the education map of Oredo Local Government Area. From donation of blocks of classrooms, the reactivation of school physical structures, the donation of furniture to the regular environmental exercises before resumption of new terms, the synergy of the Oredo Local Government with Governor Obaseki’s national leadership in education is, indeed, deeply manifested at the Council level.
During his tenure, Hon. Osunde executed healthcare projects and programs with unmatched dedication and gusto. Today, residents of such communities as Umegbe and Uholor can testify that they have been rescued from the stress and danger of travelling long distances for their primary healthcare needs. Hon. Osunde has always embraced the vital proposition that access to basic healthcare is one of the most crucial determinants of the standard of living for the citizenry hence the Chairman envisioned the establishment of Primary Health Centers within the shortest distance from every constituent in the Council area. It must be equally chronicled that the Osunde-led Council performed remarkably well in the various public awareness campaigns especially against childhood diseases like measles and poliomyelitis the same way that the Local Government blazed the trail when it tirelessly conducted sensitization outreach on Covid-19 prevention protocols.
Of premium policy consideration was the agenda of urban and rural development boldly nurtured with road infrastructure and expansion of access to electricity and clean water. Specifically on roads, the Council executed economically and overall life -uplifting projects with remarkable sand-filled and graded 60 Earth roads across the 12 Wards of Oredo Local Government Area. Irrepressible even in the face of the economic challenges of the times, Hon. Osunde’s leadership stayed the course in shaping enviable pathways to self-employment and skills acquisition in wide-range of marketable skills like basic computer programming, photography, ‘auto-gele’ and tailoring.
It was the determination of Hon. Osunde, from the genesis of the administration that the Council will change the narrative of the third tier management from being derogatively perceived as mere glorified political contraption and financial cesspool; that Oredo Local Government was going to justifiably ascend to new heights as a responsive and respectable agency for the galvanization of the cherished hopes and aspirations of its constituents. As Hon. Ebvareke Jenkins Osunde remarked in recent public message to Oredo people, ‘’we can humbly declare that we have done our duty as much as humanly possible in the face of various unprecedented economic and health challenges -but we were also fortunate to have served under the leadership of a Governor with the inspirational civics of progressive people-oriented administration.’’
Consequent on the phenomenal strides in the areas of infrastructure development, enhancement of education, healthcare as well as improved access to electricity, clean water and sanitized environments in addition to prioritizing the welfare of teachers and highly regarded as a workers-friendly administration, it will be incontestably chronicled that the Osunde-led Council responded enviably and remarkably to the obligations of history and the yearnings of the good people of Oredo.
(AN EDITORIAL OF THE MEDIA TEAM IN OSUNDE-LED OREDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL)
A serialization of the 64-page Compendium containing the achievements of Hon. Osunde begins on Wednesday, 10th March.
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