PRESS STATEMENT AND UNVEILING OF ACTION PLANS BY COM. TAYO MARCUS OLUBODUN, A LEADING ASPIRANT FOR A SEAT IN ONDO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY TO REPRESENT ONDO WEST CONSTITUENCY 1.
DATE: Saturday, 7th May, 2022.
VENUE: Polak Hotel Banquet Hall, Wole Ayo Street, Off Brigadier Ademulegun Road, Ondo City, Ondo State, Nigeria.
TIME: 10 am Prompt
Protocols:
My aspiration to represent the good people of Ondo West Constituency 1 in the State House of Assembly come 2023, is not borne out of frivolities, crass opportunism, sheer lust for power, or political exuberance but out of sheer patriotism and altruism matched with experience to showcase leadership, responsive and responsible representation to the admiration and satisfaction of our people at home and in the Diaspora.
Permit me at this point to express my sincere appreciation to our esteemed critical stakeholders, traditional leaders, religious leaders, political leaders, organized private sector, youth leaders, the academic community, electorates, and other leaders of thoughts whose words of encouragement and wise counsel in the course of my consultation has given me a high level of optimism and strong determination to move thus far, believing your support at the APC primaries and votes as the flag bearer of the party will afford me the grace to hold the winning baton after the general elections.
The people determine the type of leader and leadership they want. Why should I be your preferred candidate is a striking question that begs answers. Firstly, no one knows about a community more than he or she that has lived with them. I was born in Ondo town over forty years ago at Ondo General Hospital (now University of Medical Sciences, UNIMED Teaching Hospital Annex). I attended St. Peter’s (FAC) Primary School, Ayelabola, Esso, Ondo. I proceeded to the prestigious St. Joseph’s College, Ondo, and sat for the Senior School Certificate Examination at ACE Demonstration Secondary School, Ondo. I obtained my NCE, Nigerian Certificate in Education, and B.A. Ed, Bachelor of Art in French/Education from the famous premier and foremost teacher training institution in Nigeria, Adeyemi College of Education (now the Adeyemi Federal University of Education), Ondo, Ondo State. I have also attended Leadership and Management courses in Nigeria and outside the shores of the country. I cut my teeth in leadership and public service as Coordinator, Students’ Union Transition Committee (SUTC), and later as elected President, Students Union (of over 30,000 members both part-time and full-time students).
As a true son of the soil who has lived over forty years of his life among his people, and without sounding immodest too, I am sufficiently aware of the socio-economic challenges facing our people and our community. My focus, therefore, is to collaborate, synergize and mobilize all critical stakeholders and relevant institutions, both governmental and nongovernmental towards finding lasting solutions to some of these challenges especially, youth restiveness and joblessness, a time bomb waiting to explode anytime.
Without any equivocation, needless distractions, or pedestrian politicking in the garb of political activism, my mission is to make Ondo West Constituency 1 a cynosure of all eyes. A Constituency that can compete favourably with other Constituencies by making legislation that will improve the socio-economic life of our people in the next four years and beyond. I won’t be a “Siddon look Honourable”, “I support the motion Honourable” or “an absentee lawmaker”. At all times and in all seasons, I will stand up to speak for my people. I will sponsor bills that will stimulate, promote and protect investments in critical areas of our economy. I will lobby and woo honorable colleagues to support motions that will promote entrepreneurship, youth engagement, and wealth creation. I am resolute and determined in this regard.
MY ACTION PLANS:
A. Entrepreneurship, Youth Engagement, and Wealth Creation through:
* Sport Development
* ICT and Digital Economy.
* Tourism, Culture, and Hospitality.
* Agriculture and Value Chain.
* Arts and Entertainment
2. Job Placement and Career Development For Young Graduates.
3. Safety Net/ Relevant Social Policy For the Vulnerable Weaker Members of the Society.
* The Physically Challenged.
* Old Citizens.
* Widows and Widowers
* Orphans and Abandoned Kids.
* Single Parents.
* Sexually Abused and Victims of Domestic Violence.
4. Inclusive and Participatory Representation through regular Townhall Meetings and Consultation with the traditional institution and other critical stakeholders.
5. Promotion of Peaceful Coexistence through healthy community base activities, activations, and initiatives.
6 Security of life and property by strengthening the existing laws on community policing.
7. Infrastructural Development and Strategic Interventions through Lobbying and Budgetary Allocations.
B. ACTIONS REQUIRED:
1. I will sponsor or co-sponsor a bill on the creation of Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation Funds to be domiciled in all the 18 Local Government Areas.
It will enable young entrepreneurs to access funds to fuel their creative abilities and ideas.
2. I will sponsor or co-sponsor a bill that will make it mandatory for all the Local Government Areas to have at least a Recreational Centre, a Tech Hub, and Industrial Park to keep our young people productively engaged.
It will boost entrepreneurship, youth engagement, and wealth creation.
3. I will champion the domestication of the Nigeria Start Up Bill in Ondo State to make our state a choice destination for tech investments in Nigeria and Africa.
I will lobby and persuade the government to invest in STEM Education to equip our young people with the right skills to be relevant in the Digital Economy.
4. As a Tourism Professional, I will leverage my experience and also collaborate with the Ondo State Ministry of Culture and Tourism to review existing tourism policy as well as create an aligned “Sustainable Tourism Masterplan” for Ondo State to o bring order to the industry through new legislations, to improve coordination of the sector, to stimulate investment, to increase private sector involvement, to increase revenue figures, to contribute to the sustainable economic growth and equitable distribution of wealth for the benefit of all and finally to promote conservation of the environment for society and culture.
5. I will sponsor, co-sponsor, or activate existing laws to make Corporate Bodies operating within the boundary of Ondo State to be alive to their Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR.
I will collaborate with relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and MDAs to attract and encourage private sector players to invest massively in grass-roots Sportport Development, Arts and Entertainment, ICT, Tourism, Culture, and Hospitality.
6. I will collaborate with the Ministry of Justice and other relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations to protect victims of rape and domestic violence. We shall ensure that perpetrators of such heinous crimes are brought to the book to serve as a deterrent to others.
I will sponsor, co-sponsor, or activate existing laws to make the “Office of The Public Offender” more functional, accessible, and pro-people.
Awareness and sensitization programs to be sponsored to keep our teens informed.
7. As an Honourary Ambassador of DROMI (Dr. Rhoda Makinde Initiative), I am sufficiently informed that: “no chain is stronger than its weakest link. Our society must not only care for the “haves”, the strong and the affluent but also the weak and vulnerable members of the society i.e the Physically Challenged, Old Citizens, Widows, Widowers, Orphans and Abandoned Kids, Single Parents, Sexually Abused and Victims of Domestic Violence. It is for such people the government exists.
Therefore, I will collaborate with relevant governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations to strengthen advocacy for the inclusion of the Vulnerable and Weaker Members of our society in governance, policies, programs, and projects.
I will also sponsor, co-sponsor, or activate existing laws to democratize access to opportunities, facilities, and other dividends of democracy.
Moving forward, permit me to commend His Excellency, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, the Executive Governor of Ondo State for his modest achievements in the Energy Sector (through the……), ONDYPA, Tourism and Culture Industry to mention but a few.
We must sustain the momentum in the best interest of our people and the local economy.
Do I have the capacity to actualize all these lofty ideas? The answer is YES.
I am not an accidental public servant. With my varied experience in both public and private sectors as elected President of Students’ Union, Personal Assistant to Former Special Adviser on Political Matters Chief Segun Frank Adegoke, (the Doyen of Ondo Kingdom Politics) Special Assistant on Political Affairs and Youth Mobilization to Former Governor of Ondo State (Dr. Olusegun Mimiko), Legislative Aide to the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum, Downstream (Comrade Dr. Itanla Akinlaja), House of Representatives, National Assembly, Abuja, Marketing Officer, and Deputy Chairman, Ondo State Football Development Agency, Akure, Confidential Secretary to Otunba Dr. Wanle Akinboboye, Founder! President, La Campagne Tropicana Forest, Rivers Beach, Hills, and Caves Resort and Visioner, Destination Ondo, Executive Secretary, Centre For Sustainable Grassroots Development, CEO, Eki Royal Park, Chief Creative Officer, CCO, X-Touch Global Concept and Proprietor, Enitan Goat Farms, I am not only capable but passionate to provide responsive and responsible representation for the good people of Ondo West Constituency 1.
For the record, this contest is not a do or die for me. It is about service and legacy. If I win, I will offer selfless service to my constituency, my nativity, and my people. But if God decides otherwise, my children will read about my exploits as a man who loved his people and his community. A community-conscious public servant. And possibly do the same.
May God lead our political leaders and delegates right as we approach the party primary.
Thank you all for your time. It is time for action. Let’s walk the talk.
