As early as 8am in the morning, party members mainly from the other four Mainland Local Governments converged at the market, . The temperature changed when the State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi accompanied by his wife, Mrs Florence Ajimobi and the party flag bearer, Chief Adebayo Adelabu as well as his wife, Mrs Seyi Adelabu arrived at the venue.

Addressing the mammoth crowd, Governor Ajimobi spotting a blue Guinea Brocade admonished the people to remain loyal to the party by voting massively for all its candidates in the coming elections. He stated that he met the state in a very parlous status and succeeded in raising the bar of governance.

Governor Ajimobi thanked the entire people of the state for their love and support to the party over the years.The Governor stressed that he is happy because he is going to handover to a “competent, resourceful, intelligent, kind and young man who is versatile in management of men and resources”.

He ,thus, urged them to vote massively for Chief Adebayo Adelabu saying ” he is more than capable to deliver”.

Other speakers at the much attended campaign include, Wife of the State Governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, Chief Akin Oke while candidates of the party for the Ibadan North Federal Constituency , Prince Musliu Akinremi Jagaban and those of the State House of Assembly. The Campaign train moved to Yemetu area of the local government .

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As early as 9am, no fewer than 20 different branches of the various banks had been shut with sealed notices placed at the property.

Some of the areas the enforcement team carried out their activities include, Dugbe, Mokola, Idi-Ape, Agodi Gate, Secretariat Road, Challenge, Jericho, Bodija, UI among others.

Some of the affected banks also include, Diamond, Stanbic IBTC, Skye, FCMB, Heritage.

Immediately the officials of the affected banks were seen running around to tidy up their papers to save losing the whole days business.

While some succeeded in making the necessary payment as fast as they could to resume operations, some others were seen still trying to reach out to superior authority for further directive.

A source within the government enforcement team said the affected banks defaulted in the payment of the annual environmental development levy.

The tax, which is paid to the coffers of the state government is said to be payment for the impact of the various business and corporate entities on the environment across the state.

The affected banks were also said to have been found guilty for various duration ranging from 2015 to 2018, despite series of official communications and reminders to the management at different times.

It would be recalled that the Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue (OYBIR), the coordinating agency for collecting all government revenues had last month issued a 14 day ultimate to all tax payers in the state to pay up all outstanding dues and levies to the coffers of government.

The Chairman of the Board, Mr Bicci Alli had warned in the paid advertorial that the agency would embark on massive enforcement to seal up all erring corporate organisations on the expiration of the ultimatum.

But a source hinted that about two weeks after the expiration of the 14 days, the OYBIR had also written series of reminder letters to the affected banks, to which no response was gotten until the enforcement.

Many people who were within the affected bank premises when the enforcement team sealed up were seen with shock on the faces and expressing disappointment that cooperate organizations like banks could default in tax payment.

Alli said, the enforcement team decided to focus on banks to serve as deterrent to other defaulting corporate organisations, adding that the exercise is continuous.

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15 months ago, after many years of service in Lagos, I was promoted and transferred to head the branch of my company in Ibadan. I declined it immediately. In fact, I was ready to resign. The major reason, was my experience with the high rate of insecurity in the city of Ibadan and Oyo state as a whole, while I was growing up as a young adult. Robbery and crime were always reported in droves; hardly a week went by without reports of thugs and hooligans unleashing terror on residents, or engaging in needless wars that claimed lives and destroyed properties; mayhem was a staple at major city centers.

I was a happy man when I left 10 years ago and there was no way I would move my family back there for work’s sake, or so I thought. Still, I decided to discuss with some friends who still lived in Ibadan and other parts of Oyo state. Thus, partly out of curiosity, and a need to preserve my means of livelihood in order to be able to continue putting food on the table, after so many quiet prayers were said, I decided to take the plunge.

While I was considering this move, I had made up my mind to be security conscious, and to do whatever it will take to protect my family, even to the extent of hiring private security, if need be; having lost a close friend, who was president of the Nigerian Medical Association at the time, to one of such violent outbursts in Iwo road some years ago, I was determined to leave nothing to chance.

My perception about insecurity in Oyo state was steeply rooted in that nasty experience and other sentiments that I couldn’t just shrug off. It was that bad.

However, I couldn’t have been more wrong! Months down the line, my paranoia about the security situation in Oyo state and Ibadan in particular has been impressively doused. I am proud to say that, not only have things improved, it is largely compelling and almost unbelievable.

Driving through Molete could now be hitch free? I coild now be around Iwo road past 7pm? Bere-Oje axis now rid of crime and marauding urchins? Incredible! I shared my surprise with a few of my colleagues, and they laughed at how paranoid I was.

They unanimously conceded that the present Abiola Ajimobi-led administration seemed to understand the challenges when it came in, judging by the pragmatic way it chose to tackle the menace of insecurity, a feat past administrations had unsuccessfully struggled with. In fact, I came across this comment attributed to the Commissioner Of Police in Oyo State, where he too was profuse in appreciation of the new and secure state of Oyo.

Hear him: “There are peculiarities of each state but basically one state is not much different from another; we work for the environment to work and Oyo state, since I came in here, has been very peaceful; it is one of the most peaceful states in the country”.

This comment above further cemented my new found thoughts about the security of Oyo state, and totally quelled my fears. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with Ibadan and Oyo state, will admit that this is indeed a great achievement, especially considering the crime-infested past.

I have always insisted that governance in Nigeria is not rocket-science, and that, when an administration is serious about getting something done, it would only take deploying the right strategy with the right intent, executed most importantly, by the right people; I am happy to say that the Ajimobi administration has proved me right.

Without a shadow of doubt, this is what the Ajimobi administration has achieved so obviously in Oyo state, and we must all give kudos to whom it is due.

Olusoji Akinloye, a Banker from Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo state writes.

The post How did Ibadan and Oyo state become this peaceful? – Olusoji Akinloye. first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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