Hot SourceOlanrewaju Fatunmbi
Holding town hall meetings where stakeholders gather to share ideas on governance issues has become a regular feature of our evolving democracy. It’s now so crucial that every concerned citizen looks up to it as an avenue for participation in the decision-making process. It is not only that the growing trend has promoted grassroots participation, but it has also engendered the essential social capital. Social capital is the trust that exists between the government and the governed. Allowing people to make inputs into decisions that affect their lives enables them to take ownership of projects in their communities and jealously guide them to successful completion.
In Ogun West Senatorial District, where the practice has assumed collective interest, having regular consultations with the grassroots people have become a reassuring spectacle. The distinguished lawmaker representing the district, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (aka Yayi), in his statement of reassurance at the recent Town Hall Meeting and empowerment programme held on Friday April 25, 2025, at AUD Primary School, Imeko, Imeko-Afon LGA, made an inspiring declaration, saying “My best is yet to come.”
Apart from empowering over 4000 artisans, including youths and market women, who had been trained in various vocations, Senator Adeola also used the occasion to present his scorecard in the last two years of his service in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly. The event, in turn, served as a feedback report on his legislative activities.
Leveraging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Adeola has facilitated several life-changing projects, cutting across the five local governments that make up Ogun West. Friday’s empowerment programme is, therefore, just one among a series of empowerment initiatives that have transformed the lives of beneficiaries.
Speaking at the event, he disclosed that 20, 000 select individuals had benefitted from various skill acquisition and vocation training programmes he had facilitated in collaboration with such relevant agencies as Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Micheal Imodu Labour Centre, Federal College of Fishery and Marine Technology, SMEDAN, NCAM and National Productive Centre. “As happened during the last empowerment exercise, I have facilitated the requisite training of over 20,000 youths, men and women in the area of ICT and in various skills acquisition and entrepreneurship preparatory to some of their empowerment today,” he said.
To achieve the objectives of the training and empowerment programme, each beneficiary went home with relevant equipment and start-up grants. Some of the items distributed included 10 Mini Buses, 37 Tricycles, 50 Motor Cycles,
60 Welding Machines, 80 Deep Freezers
28 Generators, 61 Vulcanizing Machines, 107 Grinding Machines, 399 Sewing Machines, 12 Embroidery Machines, 85 Hair Dressing, 100 Entrepreneurship (Cash Grant),
239 Bricklaying (Cash Grant),
28 Barbing Equipment, 542 School Bags, 1,428 Exercise Books, 4,285 Textbooks, 28 Makeup Kits and 168 Catering Equipment, among others.
While commending President Tinubu for the faithful implementation of his Renewed Hope Agenda, he assured that he would continue to prioritize the interest of his constituents and also ensure effective representation.
His words: “As it is today, a solid foundation for the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR administration has been laid and we are beginning to see the first fruits of its faithful, albeit sometimes discomforting implementation of some of its reforms. I was fully involved in the foundation laying, particularly at the legislative arm of the government. As it is, my constituents can attest to the benefit of the Renewed Hope Agenda in our senatorial district and beyond in the projects I have been able to facilitate in less than 2 years.
“As a legislator of over 22 years at state and federal level, I have made it of paramount importance to ensure that as many youths and women as possible are given requisite skills and empowered to establish them in gainful self-employment.
“I will continue to deliver effective representation as a legislator in this era of Renewed Hope Agenda as I look forward to further service for the benefit of my people, my state and nation at large.”
Apart from the mega empowerment initiatives, Senator Adeola has also achieved significant milestone in the delivery of infrastructure projects. According to him, 272 projects including the completed and ongoing ones have been facilitated across the five local governments in Ogun West. “As at present, 272 infrastructure projects have been completed or ongoing with majority of these put to use across the length and breadth of Ogun West Senatorial District LGAs. This number excludes those I have assisted in facilitating in the two other senatorial districts of Ogun State,” he states.
As indicated in his address, the most notable completed projects specifically dedicated to Imeko Afon LGA among those he facilitated included the construction and Asphalting of Afon Township Road, Imeko Afon, construction and Asphalting of Area 5 to Immigration Junction Road, Imeko,
construction and Asphalting of Aitedo Road Ilara, Imeko-Afon, construction and Asphalting of Sabo Babalawo Road, Owode, Imeko-Afon, construction and Asphalting of Igbo Ifa Road, Imeko, construction and Asphalting of Idofa Township Road, Imeko Afon, and construction and Asphalting of Imeko Iwoye Road, Section 1, (6km) Imeko Afon.
The ongoing project which are currently at various stages of completion are the Construction and Asphalting of Oke Irepodun, Abule Aje Road Babalawo, Owode Afon, Imeko-Afon, Construction and Asphalting of Onimeko Palace Road, Imeko, Construction and Asphalting of Obalabi Street, Afon, Imeko Afon, and
Construction and Asphalting of Imeko Iwoye Road, Section 2 (2km) Imeko Afon, among others.
Additionally, Adeola has facilitated and installed several all-in-one solar street lights in some strategic places within Imeko, including Owode Obada, Imeko Township Road, Afon Township Road, Area 5/ Immigration Junction, Iwoye Township, Ilara Ultra-Modern Market, Babalawo Road, Owode. Afon, Idofa, Iwoye Road, Ilara Township Road, to mention but a few.
His rural electrification project has also seen many communities befitting from the procurement and energization of several 500kva Transformers. In this regard, some of concerned beneficiaries include Ilara Ogudo Central CDC, Imeko Afon, Oke Ola Area CDC, Imeko Afon, Wasimi Okuta CDA, Imeko Afon, Afintedo Community, Imeko Afon, Iyana Jide Owode Afon Development Association Imeko Afon, Oju Ilu CDA, Imeko Afon, Aseleke CDA, Imeko Afon, Idofa, Kessan Community, Owode Afon, Olateju Community, Oyekan Street Adeun Adeoti, and Oke Elefun CDA Abule Fulani Imeko.
On top of it all is the construction of new block of classrooms and Ultramodern ICT centres in some select schools to facilitate learning as well as digital empowerment.
Adeola’s commitment to affordable healthcare service delivery has also been demonstrated through the facilitation of construction of several Primary Healthcare Centres across Ogun West.
In the same way, his concern for crime prevention and containment has motivated the construction of Police Stations is some communities to curb crime and criminality at the grassroots level.
This is without necessarily losing focusing on his effective representation. Adeola, while addressing his enthusiastic audience at the event, gave a long list of bills he had sponsored in the Senate. The most notable of these are the Bill proposing the establishment of “Federal College of Geological and Cement Studies, Iselu, Yewa North, and the Bill for an Act to Establish Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, 2023. According to him, the bill for the upgrade of Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro to University of Technology, Ilaro, has been passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is awaiting presidential assent to make the university a reality.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Kunle Salako, who represented President Tinubu at the Second Edition of his Town Hall Meeting, Mega Empowerment, and Thank You Tour of Ogun West Senatorial District, commended Senator Adeola for his dedication to delivering tangible dividends of democracy to the people of Ogun West as well as his effective representation, promising the the administration’s continued support for his efforts.
At the event, another batch of trained constituents was also empowered with equipment and cash grants, further demonstrating the senator’s commitment to grassroots development under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.
There and then, Senator Adeola announced the plan to reconstruct the Rounder (Abeokuta)-Olorunda Road to
further boost infrastructure development of Ogun West. According to him, the reconstruction project-long clamored for by residents-will officially commence within the next three weeks. He emphasized that improving infrastructure remains a key priority of his legislative agenda, assuring of continued efforts to attract more developmental projects to the area.
*Fatunmbi writes from Okeagbede, Imeko-Afon LGA of Ogun State
