Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State seems to have scored a strategic point in the Ijesa home of his former principal-turned bitter rival, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as he has upgraded the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, to a university.
Observers would say the move is capabe of winning more hearts for him, especilly towards the upcoming governorship election.
Oyetola on Thursday announced the upgrade while inaugurating and handing over Ijesaland Geriatric Centre to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital.
The newly-inaugurated Geriatric Centre was funded and built by prominent Ijesa sons and daughters.
The governor said the decision to upgrade the college was arrived at after painstakingly and carefully examining the request made by prominent sons and daughters of Ijesaland to that effect..
“Let me say that, having looked into and examined carefully the request made by prominent sons and daughters of Ijesa Land, and the highly-revered Royal Father, His Imperial Majesty, Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland, Oba (Dr.) Gabriel Aromolaran.
“Government has decided to upgrade the Osun College of Education, Ilesa, to a full-fledged university..
“We have also engaged one of the nation’s best corporate consultants, KPMG, to work out the sustainability plan of the upgrade”, he said.
Oyetola, however, expressed gratitude to the sons and daughters of Ijesaland for their unflinching support in general and for contributing significantly to the development of the state.
The governor noted that the Geriatric Centre was another testament to the generosity and abiding passion of the great Ijesa people to add value to the lives of the people.
He said the gesture would go a long way to complement his administration’s sustained investment in the health sector as government had devoted unprecedented attention to revitalizing the health sector in the last three years.
Earlier in his remarks, the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Aromolaran, thanked all eminent Ijesa people for contributing to the development of Ijesa people.
Oba Aromolaran, who commended the governor for his tremendous achievements in the various sectors of the economy, said it was a thing of joy that the new health facility in the town was constructed to complement his monumental strides in the health sector.
