A former military governor of the old Oyo State, Major General Oladayo Popoola (rtd), has showered encomium on Governor ‘Seyi Makinde for bringing to life his dreams about the Fasola Farm Estate.
The retired General who was military governor in the state from January 1984 to August 1985, said this during an interview with The People’s Verdict.
According to Popoola, Fasola Farm Settlement was a project that was dear to his heart and he had wanted to turn the place around, but he couldn’t do much before his redeployment to Ogun State as a military governor.
“We tried our best then to turn around Fasola, but it just didn’t work. Even some of the things we took there were destroyed. Now, Makinde has resuscitated it. Everybody is now talking about Fasola. I am quite happy about that,” General Popoola said.
Recall that shortly after his assumption of office, Governor Makinde picked the moribund Fasola Farm Settlement as the pilot of three farm settlements (along with Eruwa and Akufo) to be reconstructed into agribusiness industrial hubs.
The Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub now has about a dozen medium to large scale agribusinesses operating on the premises. These companies are into crop production, livestock production, mechanisation and processing enterprises.
Sequel to its string of successes, Fasola Industrial Hub was recently designated the first Agribusiness Transformation Centre in Nigeria by the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone.
General Popoola also lauded Makinde for his intervention that brought an end to the imbroglio which had crippled Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, and frustrated both students and lecturers for many years.
The former military governor said: “We all know what happened to LAUTECH some years back. We all know how the school was always being closed down and nothing was happening.
“When he became the governor, Makinde set up a committee which mid-wifed the process of Oyo State becoming the sole owner of LAUTECH.”
Giving his impression about Governor Makinde, Popoola said, “One will have to go into a good dictionary for a good description of the governor.
“He is a very quiet achiever. He is somebody who respects others. He is very hardworking. He has done a lot to improve the situation in the state better than he met it.”
He added: “He has made a lot of impact, I must say. Talk about agriculture, he has done a lot. Look at infrastructure; virtually all the roads in Ibadan have had a facelift.
“Look at education; he is doing a lot. If I continue to list, I will not stop. Honestly, he has done a lot. He is a great achiever and Oyo State has benefitted a lot from him.”
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