The Governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde on Thursday declared open the meeting of Southwest Secretaries to the State Government (SSG) Forum hosted by Oyo State Government at the Citron hotels, Kudeti Avenue, Onireke GRA, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde, who was represented by his Deputy, Barrister Abdul-Raheem Adebayo Lawal, stressed the significance of the SSG position in the state while recalling his experiences as Oyo State’s Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice.
He emphasised that the role is crucial to the formation of government while commending the Oyo State SSG, Prof. Adeyemo for her excellent input upon her appointment.
Barr. Lawal stressed the need to concentrate on the daunting issue of security challenges, which is what prompted Governor Makinde and other Southwest Governors to establish Amotekun in order to address the issue.
He equally urged the Southwest SSGs to reengineer what had been in place in the western region of those days.
“It is important to let us know that regional operation with respect to security is Sine qua non to the tackling of security challenges,” he said.
While urging the SSGs to also focus their meeting on how to ensure that trade and commerce would be easy to transact, Barr. Lawal charged them to be really resourceful to assist their respective states and Southwest.
He said: “Let us be more resourceful. Let us add values to the administration of our states. The offcie is so critical to the administration of our state.
“So, on this note, I want to declare this meeting open and I wish you a successful deliberation.”
Earlier in her remarks, the Oyo State SSG, Professor Adeyemo hinted that the meeting is to share experience together and how to move the Southwest forward.
She noted that the theme of this year forum which is Defining The Path In Delivering Government’s Agenda: The Role of SSG is basically to assist Governors especially the first timers on successful administration.
While maintaining that the meeting will focus on ICT and digitalization, she noted that Oyo state has continued to excel in ICT innovation saying that Oyo state was best state in digitalization.
She added that the session is on the real sharing of activities and experiences to achieve a desired result.
The Deputy Governor, who equally declared open the ICAN 18th Western zonal Accountants Conference on behalf of Governor Seyi Makinde at the Jogor Centre, Ibadan, said that business tourism is one of the types of tourism Oyo government is promoting.
He noted that the theme of the conference aligns with the direction of Oyo government economic policies.
He said: “I am happy to be here with you today to officially declare open the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) 18th Western Zonal Accountants Conference themed, “Economic Resilience:
“Navigating the Bottlenecks.” We are always happy to welcome professionals who come to our State for their conferences. This is because business tourism is one of the types of tourism which we are promoting here in Oyo State. But this event is of even greater significance to us as a government.
“For one thing, the theme of the conference aligns with the direction of our economic policies. For example, our 2024 budget is tagged “Budget of Economic of Recovery”. We are looking at how to navigate the economic challenges we are facing and the budget is designed to help us do just that. And here you are at this conference talking about navigating the bottlenecks, thereby developing economic resilience.
Sccondly, the Oyo State Government has benefited from ICAN’S long-standing tradition of excellence in promoting professional growth and development. We have an array of appointees working with us who are professional accountants, about seven or eight of them including the Chief of Staff, Honourable Commissioner for Finance and both our former and present State Accountant- General.
“So, we have always maintained a good relationship with ICAN. In fact, since we assumed office, we have sponsored a sizable number of Chartered Accountants in the State Civil and Public Service to
the ICAN yearly National and Western Zonal Conferences. And for this conference, which you have brought to Ibadan, I approved the sponsorship of all fifty-seven (57) Chartered Accountants working in the State Civil and Public Service to enable them attend. This is just to say, thank you for bringing your conference to our dear State and we look forward to welcoming you
again.
“As I mentioned earlier, the theme of this knowledge sharing event resonates with us here in Oyo State. And as you deliberate on issues regarding how to maintain economic resilience given the volatile and uncertain economic times we live in; I believe there will be a lot to learn from one another. What we do know is that navigating these bottlencoks requires a comprehensive and proactive approach that addresses both immediate challenges and underlying vulnerabilities.
“So, I am hoping that over the next few days, as this conference holds, the professionals and experts gathered here will provide key insights that we can apply in governance. I would like to urge each and every one of you, especially those we sponsored from Oyo State, to actively participate, engage in fruitful discussions, and forge new connections that will benefit you as an individual and of course
spill over into how we do things here in Oyo State.
Before I conclude, let me thank the organisers of this event for their efforts in making this conference a reality.On that note, it is my pleasure to declare this Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) 18th Western Zonal Accountants Conference open. Let us embrace this opportunity to learn, grow,
and strive for excellence. Thank you, and God bless you”, he said.
