TOWN HALL MEETING: “WE HAVE MAINTAINED THE PRINCIPLE FAIRNESS AND EQUITY IN SHARING FEDERAL JOB APPOINTMENTS IN THE CONSTUENCY….Hon . Adepoju Says he has moved 3 motions and 2 Bills with 5 Constuency Projects in the last six months.

The lawmaker representing Ibarapa Central and North federal Constuency, Hon. Dr. Anthony Adebayo Adepoju (Ibarapa kan) has today Thursday, 21 December 2023 successfully held a general tagged first town hall meeting in the history of Ibarapa Central and North federal Constuency.

Addressing the people of the Federal Constuency which has in attendance Traditional rulers, political parties, Farners, Civil Servants, Artisans, Students and several opinion leaders which included the Oyo State Commissioner for Cooperative, Trade and Investment, Otunba Ademola Obafemi Ojo, Hon. P. G Ojedokun, representing the Ibarapa Central and North State Constuency and two Local Government Chairmen of Ibarapa Central and North, Hon. Adeoye and Hon. Akorede.

The lawmaker appreciated the people of Ibarapa Central and North federal Constuency and highlighted his efforts at the lower chamber in the last six months of representation ranging from employment opportunities for members of the Constuency, Bills, motions and petitions successfully moved as well as his proposed initiatives.

According to his speech:

“Season’s greetings to my most hardworking and prosperous constituents in Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency.  I consider it an honour and privilege to address you today in our first ever town hall meeting in the history of our beloved Federal constituency. It is a privilege because you gave us the mandate to serve you, which culminated in standing before this assemblage of diverse communities with the ultimate goal of achieving a constituency where dreams come true irrespective of family background, age, political affiliation and psychological make-up. I am aware of the weight of this moment and the responsibility I have to be transparent, honest and direct with you about the assignment we have been doing on your behalf.”

“Despite the fact that we are doing everything not to make this a political show, we want to seize this historic moment to appreciate you for coming out en masse to vote for us on February 25 this year and, of course, for standing firm that the mandate given to us by all of you was not unscrupulously taken away during the recently concluded election petition matters challenging our victory. Your continued support has brought us this far, and we ask for more as we chart a new course for our constituency and the yet-unborn generations today.”

“My desire to run for office stemmed from a firm belief that making an effort is the surest way to effect change. I threw my hat into the ring when I observed leadership failure in our communities and needed to bridge that gap. I understand that neither the private nor public sectors can do it alone, but by having a set of people in power who understand the significant impact of collaboration and good working relationships, even with the youngest constituents in our constituency, we may achieve anything, including the impossible.”

“To buttress my point, during the electioneering campaign, we maintained two significant promises, which were accessibility and accountability. We realised early enough that if we could uphold these two essential ingredients of gaining public trust in leaders and in government in our dealings, our constituency would breathe a fresh air of hope. It gives us joy that your feedback so far has reaffirmed that the constituency of our dreams is possible and that indeed our optimism has never been misplaced nor in vain.”

Addressing people at the town hall meeting, Hon. Dr Bayo Adepoju stated that one cannot make any meaningful development without fairness, equity and effective communication.

According to him, In the last six months, he has maintained the principles of fairness and equity in sharing the various federal government jobs and equally used his influence as a federal lawmaker to facilitate to the constituency. He qouted the Yoruba adage that says, “Arise l’arika,” which literally means that “Finding things to do to help another person means finding things to tell.”

According to him: “In our own case, we are not doing our constituency any favour; rather, we are committed to building a constituency that will become a force to reckon with in development and purposeful representation in the nearest future.”

Speaking on the Ibarapa power Project, the lawmaker said:

“The Project was awarded in 2009 at the sum of one billion, nine hundred and thirty-four million, one hundred and twenty-nine thousand, four hundred and twenty-one naira, and two kobo (N1,934,129,421,02). The motion was raised on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday, October 26, 2023. In the motion, I urged the Rural Electrification Agency to probe the projects, the disbursements, the completion stage and why the project had not been delivered beyond the June 2021 completion date and ensure the successful and timely delivery of the project in the Ibarapa Central, North, and East Constituencies of Oyo State.”

“Lack of electricity supply is one of the major problems confronting our constituency, this informed my decision to push for a motion on the floor of the House to address the issue of non-completed power projects in the region with a view to finding solution and I am happy that this investigative motion is resulting into the process to making the project a reality. As a follow-up effort to the investigative motion, on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, during the 2024 Budget Defense of the Ministry of Power, I asked the leadership of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to provide an explanation to Nigerians as to why the power line project has not been completed more than ten years after it was awarded.”

“The hearing on the Ministry of Power’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year was held at the Senate building of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, where the leadership of TCN, stakeholders in the power sector and House Committee Members of Power both at the Red and Green Chambers of the Nigerian National Assembly were in attendance.”

“In my led debate, I expressed the level of untold hardship that the lack of power supply in the Ibarapa region of Oyo State has posed to the residents of our seven communities. I emphasised that the socioeconomic development of Ibarapa Land has been stifled, expressing worry that quality of life has also drastically declined as a result of the non-availability of power supply. The Managing Director, during the budget defense, assured us that the project will soon be completed. I felt glad the Managing Director also confirmed that he got a call from the honourable minister of power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, courtesy of our relentless efforts to address the issue of power failure in the region. We believe there will be light at the end of the tunnel in Ibarapa Land.”

Currently also, the lawmaker said the two Bills in his name are at the National Assembly of Nigeria, they include:

“A Bill for an Act to Establish the Institute of Economits of Nigeria 2023. (PASSED)
Federal Medical Centres Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (HB.799), first reading, November 1, 2023.”

Hon. Adepoju confirm that Bill for an Act to Establish the Institute of Economists of Nigeria 2023 was passed and sent to the Senate for concurrent early this month, he joyfully informed constituents in Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North that the Bill on Federal Medical Centre Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (HB.799), was also passed and sent to the Senate for concurrent on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

The lawmaker stated that it is regrettable that the Bill by the former lawmaker with the title Federal Medical Centre Igboora, Oyo State (Establishment) Bill, 2021 (HB.347), was read on the floor of the Senate for the third time and passed on May 10, 2022, but failed to receive the presidential assent of the ex-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.

Petitions initiated by the law maker according to him include an appeal to the Honourable House to intervene to right the continuing injustice against employees of the University College (UCH) Ibadan, Oyo State. The petition was signed by 10 members of staff, representing about 70 employees who have not been paid for more than 33 months. The goal of the appeal, was to ensure that the employees are paid for their service and that they are treated fairly and with maximum respect.

Hon. Adepoju stated that in the last six months, he has been able to come up with various initiatives aimed at transforming the federal constituency in every facet of life and they include:

“Introduction of Ibarapakan Free Holiday Lesson for Senior Secondary School students in the five communities comprising Ibarapa Central and North Federal Constituency. This initiative is put together to improve the academic performance of secondary school students in the constituency in various internal and external examinations. The first phase of the initiatives started on Monday, August 21, 2023 with over one thousand students across the constituency. Thirty-eight (38) experienced teachers including three supervisors were hired to achieve the goal of the initiative. Each of the teachers including the supervisors were given our token of appreciation for the priceless service rendered. Not just that, customised exercise books were distributed to each of the over 1000 students who registered for the lesson as well as schoolbags for the fifteen best students in the exercise.”

“Launching of Hon. (Dr.) Adebayo Adepoju Scholarship Offer for the Best Students in SSCE and UTME. This initiative was launched on Saturday, September 2, 2023. The Annual scholarship is strictly for students seeking admission to study any course of their choice in Federal Universities or Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria or any Oyo State-owned University or Polytechnic. Three students in each of the two Local Government Areas that make up Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency will benefit from the scholarship offer. The scholarship covers only the tuition fees of the awardees throughout the constitutional duration of 4 years per tenure.”

“Data collection of constituents who graduated in the last five years (2018-2023) and are currently not gainfully employed in Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency. The tool for data collection was deployed on Sunday, September 3, 2023. This initiative is aimed at making data-driven decision through the statistics of unemployed graduates in the constituency, and this has helped us in selecting candidates for our various job opportunities in the last six months.”

“Construction of a Cold Room in the federal constituency, this will enable us to have long term, stable storage of perishable foods there by reducing the level of waste in food regularly experienced as a result of a lack of good storage facilities in our constituency. This project is billed to be commissioned soon in our constituency.”

“Construction of a Lawn Tennis and Volley Ball Courts at the Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSCATECH), Igbo-Ora; the project will enhance sport activities on the school campus of the only tertiary institution in the federal constituency. This project is also billed for commissioning next year.”

In the area of health and human/capital development, the law maker said:

“I have made a series of donations to the tune of millions of naira since our election in February this year, including the donation of the sum of four million naira (N4,000,000) to a patient, name withheld, who had a kidney transplant in the federal constituency. The torrential nature of requests regarding medical treatment informed my decision to sponsor a fresh Bill on having a federal medical centre in the constituency so as to address this issue, as no amount of financial donations can give our people the kind of medical health care service they need. It is with a strong hope that the Bill will scale through the third reading so that our amiable President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, can put his assent into making this dream a reality.”

“While giving account of my 100 days in office, I highlighted some activities that would take place in the next six months in the constituency and part of it is this Town Hall Meeting we are holding today. ”

According to Dr. Adepoju, efforts are also in the works to carry out the following initiatives in the constituency:

(i) Free Medical Health Care Services for 500 selected constituents in the two local government areas comprising the federal constituency: The beneficiaries of this initiative will have the opportunity to access free-fund medical health care services for a period of one year in any private or public hospital in Oyo State. In our in-house deliberations, we observed that a lot of people are dying of curable diseases on a daily basis, and the majority of these diseases are what a little amount of money can cure. Early detection is often key in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. Beneficiaries of these free medical health care services will have a card to tender at any hospital they approach for medical treatment. Services covered by this insurance scheme are:

Maternity Care Initiative will include:

Antenatal Care, Normal Delivery, Postnatal Care, Induction of Labour and Assistive Delivery, C/S (Emergency and Medically Indicated Electives), Routine Immunisation (NPI), Incubator and Intensive Care, Phototherapy, and Circumcision

Surgeries proposed include:
Myomectomy, Cervical Cerclage, Ovarian Biopsy, Ureterovaginal Fistula Repair, General Anaesthesia, Spinal Anaesthesia, Appendectomy, Simple Congenital Talipes Repair, Closed Reduction Of Fracture, Repair Of Third Degree Tear, Herniorrahaphy, Repair Of Episiotomy, Suturing Of Lacerations, Herniotomy, D&C/ Evacuation Of Retained Product Of Conception, Pap Smear Procedure, Incision & Drainage Of Abscess, Ganglion Excision, Gaglion Excision, Plain X-Rays & Ultrasound Scans, Advanced Investigation Including Ct-Scan & MRI.

•EYE CARE: Routine examination, infection treatment, LENSES/OPTOMETRIC CARE
Optical lens limit
Fertility Services: Infertility consultation.
ANNUAL MEDICAL CHECK-UP

•DENTAL CARE: Preventive Oral Health Counselling, Simple Extraction, DENTAL FILLINGS, SCALING & POLISHING, Pain Relief Therapy. The demography of our target audience for this proposed initiative will be communicated soon, and its kick-off date will also be announced. Without any iota of doubt, this initiative will enable us achieve our set health goals as promised during our campaign.

(ii) A One-Day Ibarapa Central/North Federal House of Representatives Member: A One-Day Ibarapa Central/North Federal House of Representatives Member is an annual initiative for the younger generation in Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency with the ultimate goal of birthing informed future parliamentarians in the constituency. This initiative is scheduled to come up annually in February. The selection process will be based on the Annual Ibarapakan Essay Competition for teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19. Aside from producing the One-Day House of Representatives Member, the essay competition will help in enhancing the writing prowess of teenagers from the constituency.

Objectives of the Initiative according to Hon. Adepoju will be:

“To produce informed future legislators from the federal constituency.”

“To raise the hope of children of commoners that their backgrounds should not be a barrier to aiming high in life.”

“To catch the teenagers in the constituency young by instilling in them the rudiments of parliamentary paraphernalia.”

“To produce intellectually minded young leaders for the future development of the constituency.”

“To advance the goal of the Not Too Young to Rule Bill.”

“To incorporate youth-driven initiatives among the list of our never-before-seen programmes in the constituency.”

Selection process for the initiative will be an extension of the Annual Ibarapakan Essay Competition for teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 in both the private and public schools in the constituency. The essay competition will be handled by seasoned professionals.
Topic to be selected each year will have a modicum of legislation to equip the leaders of tomorrow with basic legislative knowledge.

The lawmaker stated that topic for each year’s essay competition will be made available through several media platforms on December 5th of the previous year, with January 15th of the following year as the submission deadline. By January 31st, the five best teenagers in the essay will be shortlisted for a physical presentation, in which the overall best teenager will be selected by the panel. The winner of the essay competition will act as a one-day member representing Ibarapa Central/North Federal Constituency, aside from receiving gifts. Furthermore, the second and third runner-ups will be compensated with gifts.

According to Hon. Adepoju, any Teenager who emerged as winner of the competition will enjoy enormous benefits. He said:

“The teenager will enjoy free return flights from Ibadan to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”

” A two-day free accommodation and feeding in the FCT”

” Certificate indicating one-day lawmaker status as a teenager”

“Sitting on the official chair of the House of Representatives member representing Ibarapa Central/North Federal Constituency for one day with access to a green pen to decide for constituents in Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North.”

“Witnessing the plenary of the House of Representatives live”

” Having practical knowledge of legislation through the Senior Legislative Aide (SLA) to Hon. (Dr.) Anthony Adebayo Adepoju”

Others include:

(iii) Construction of a 3 block classroom at Oke-Odo Community Secondary School, Igboora: In the next six months, we will start the construction of a 3 block classroom in the aforementioned school. The need is as a result of a lack of adequate classrooms to accommodate pupils in the newly established school. Not just that, some school buildings, due to a lack of maintenance, are in a state of dilapidation. The construction of the classrooms will be a fulfilment of one of my promises during the campaign period and a testament to all that our words are bounds and as a steward I should be held accountable.

(iv) Empowerment Training/Capacity Building: Our plan is to support our people in diverse fields by training and motivating them in the areas of agricultural farming, photography, sewing and fashion designing, bead making, tie and dye, soap making, hairmaking, leather works (shoes and handbags), animal husbandry, among others. On this, we are not going to follow the archaic way of empowering people with cutlass, freezers, buckets, and others. We will facilitate interventions that will teach people and then empower the graduates of these trainings with excellent products that can help them continue on the path to prosperity and self-independence. We are not going to stop at that; we will also help them have access to funds for tools of the trade.”

He concluded by stating that problems are not insurmountable was why he called for the meeting so that minds are brought to highlight pressing issues in the constituency so as to solve them collectively and chart a new course for the future. According to him: “We don’t want us to assume that we know all the problems and we also don’t want to impose on you anything, we want us to list out those things we need to attend to urgently so as to find solution together. I strongly believe that this avenue will afford us the chance to ask questions, voice concerns and share your ideas about how to go about some issues in our communities.”

Hon Adepoju expressed his appreciation to the Executive Governor of Oyo State, his Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde, whose Omituntun 2.0 agenda for sustainable development has been instrumental to the success of most of his constituency initiatives. According to him, the Governor’s relentless efforts have really brought great transformative developments to Oyo State in all spheres and there is no better time to be alive than now, he concluded.