Return To Farm, Oil Is Drying Up, Aregbesola Advises

The Governor of Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has advised his people and Nigerians to go back to farms immediately as the oil that has sustained the nation’s economy for a long time is now drying up and attracting less market across the world.
“I want to use this opportunity to admonish us to return to the farms. What we used to rely on as a country and state is no longer there. Oil has now dipped seriously. Even at about 41 Dollars per barrel from a price of over 100 Dollars, Nigeria still cannot sell her oil in the international market.”
The ‎Governor who spoke today during the official commissioning of the new Ife/Orile-Owu 33KV feeder line at Orile-Owu in Ayedaade Local Government Area further warned: “anyone who does not want to be wired by hunger must return to the farms.”
According to the governor, with what is happening to the nation’s oil, “we can no longer depend on it.
“I want to assure you that more people will be coming from the cities to this place. Please try and get enough place for them to stay. Everybody must return to agriculture to survive.”
Aregbesola said that his government recently gave some hectares of land to IITA for farming and that with the electrification of Orile-Owu and other farm settlements, there would be great improvement in agriculture around the areas.
He asked the people to take this advantage of the opportunities being made available to take to massive farming for the growth of the state.
The governor made it clear that he is committed to making life meaningful and abundant to the people of Osun hence the infrastructural development in the nooks and crannies of the state.
The Governor commended the people of Orile-Owu and its environs for their patience over the years before electricity was restored to the communities with a total cost of N225 million.
He said that his administration decided to assist the service providers by rehabilitating the Gbongan-Ikire 33KV feeder line, ending at Araromi-Owu, Odeyinka and three farm settlements of Mokore, Oyere-Aborisade and Ago-Owu.
Aregbesola said that the new 33KV relief feeder line will ensure stable power supply to the farm settlements thus stemming rural/urban drift by encouraging the teeming populace to return to farming in the farm settlement.
“There is no town or village in Osun that has not been touched in terms of infrastructural development by our administration.
The governor appealed to the people to pay their taxes for them to continue to enjoy government.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the state ministry of water resources, rural development and community affairs, Engineer Oriolowo said that the age long isolation of some settlements from the National electricity grid is now being addressed with the construction of the new 33KV outdoor bay at 132/33KV transformer stations in Ajebandele in Ile-Ife.
He put the cost of the project at N225, 065, 749.92, adding that it was constructed with fibre cross arms and conductor size of 150mm2 on reinforced concrete poles with shorts pannage of 60m.
“I want to thank Mr. Governor for his strong support for our ministry which has enabled us to complete a total of 193 electrification projects at the cost of N1,487, 015, 127. 18.
“Currently, three other feeder lines namely: Gbogan/Ikire, Osogbo/Ila, Ibokun/Osunjela and Iwo/Ejigbo are being rehabilitated while another new one is being constructed to link the 132/33KV transformer statations at Ilesa to Fadahunsi injection station in Ilesa.” [myad]