‘Dr Akinola Intellectually Prepared To Lead SWDC’ – Fayemi

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

The former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has applauded President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi and Dr Charles Akinola as Chairman and Managing Director of South West Development Commission (SWDC), saying they are primed for success.

In a chat with Journalists, Dr Fayemi said Dr Adetumbi and Dr Akinola are both intellectually prepared for the appointments and stated further that the President’s decision was synonymous with putting a round peg in a round hole.

Dr Fayemi who is also a former Minister of Mines and Steel, said both had been involved in the development trajectory that started at the Afenifere Renewal Group through the Yoruba Academy to the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN).

“The appointment of Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi and Dr Charles Akinola as Chairman and Managing Director was an inspired decision worthy of commendation. It’s clearly a round peg-in-a-round-hole decision.

“They are intellectually prepared both as Development Economists, Policy advocates and operations experts. Both had been involved in the development trajectory that we started at the Afenifere Renewal Group through the Yoruba Academy to the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria – DAWN which commenced activities in 2013 with all the governments of the SW fully subscribed to it.

“When we included the establishment of Regional Development Commissions in the APC manifesto in 2015 as APC Director of Policy and Strategy, the vision was to provide alternative but complementary vehicles for accelerating sustainable development without undermining sub-national and national vehicles. Unfortunately, President Buhari’s government was only able to achieve the North East Development Commission and the North West Development Commission signed into law before his exit. President Tinubu has accelerated that vision by signing into law and establishing the remaining four commissions,” Dr Fayemi stated.

Speaking further, the former Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum expressed optimism that the SWDC wouldn’t be another layer of bureaucracy without tangible developmental outcomes, saying the South West Governors Forum had set up a technical committee in 2020 to focus on initiatives that will deepen regional integration.

“It is hoped, though, that the commissions, particularly in the South West, will resist the temptation of being yet another layer of bureaucracy without tangible developmental outcomes. To ensure that, the South West Governors Forum in setting up the technical committee chaired by Dr Akinola in 2020, directed that the Commission should only focus on initiatives that will deepen regional integration such as regional energy and transportation infrastructure projects, as well as regional digital economy initiatives and not cosmetic initiatives called empowerments or constituency projects that will not produce tangible benefits to the population.

“So, with the right enabling environment and his institutional memory on where this laudable initiative came from, I have no doubt that Senator Adetunmbi, Dr Akinola and the team are primed for success and I wish them well,” he stated.