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IBADAN — Governor Olusegun Mimiko, of Ondo State, yesterday, boycotted the commissioning of the office of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission which other governors in the South West zone attended.
Governors Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Raji Fashola (Lagos), and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) attended the meeting.
The Director General, Dawn Commission, Dipo Famakinwa, said all the governors were invited, saying that he could not say what prevented Mimiko from attending.
Governor Ajimobi said “all the governors in the South-West belong to the council of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN Commission.
“All the governors were invited, but you can’t really say why a particular governor was absent. “Some of those who came must have made a lot of sacrifices. We expect that the Ondo State governor would be at the next meeting slated for August.
“I don’t want us to look at it as a Yoruba thing, but as a development taking place in the western part of Nigeria because we need the strength of everybody. The development of our states is not going to be by the Yoruba alone.”
While speaking after a brief closed door meeting, Ajimobi said: ”What we have done today is first of all the inauguration of the Dawn Commission office. We are having sub-committees that will go deeper into all the areas of development.
“In the end, our objective is to turn our region to a hub for development in terms of being the first area of call for investors visiting Nigeria.
“Primarily, the Yoruba people inhabit the place called western Nigeria, but we are trying to annex the strength and capability of everybody, including foreign investors to enjoy the development framework that we put together.
“Also, we want to build regional cooperation in cultural development, education, health, rail transportation, governance and institution, security and all facets of development that are critical to the region.”
The Director General, DAWN Commission, Dipo Famakinwa, said: “What the governors have done today is to inaugurate the Dawn Commission which will midwife the process of ensuring that the regional integration agenda of the South-West states begins to get attraction.
“You will begin to see a lot more activities on the regional integration agenda. The governors have made a formal declaration on the commencement of the process of integration. We will now begin to see development along the line.”
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