No comeback for PDP in Osun, says Aregbesola

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has ruled out the possibility of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) coming back to power in the state.

He said the all-round development witnessed in the state during his administration has shamed the opposition.

Aregbesola spoke at the kick-off of the distribution of over 15,000 health incentives to expectant mothers at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo, the state capital.

The governor, who said the residents had compared the “wasteful reign of the PDP and that of the progressives”, added that the people would not vote for the PDP in the coming elections.

Also, Aregbesola hailed traditional rulers in the state for supporting his administration and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor said over 15,000 health incentives would be given to expectant mothers in a programme, tagged: Saving One Million Lives Programme For Results (SOML PforR), Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Mama Kits Distribution, an initiative supported by the World Bank.

He said his administration would continue to pursue health policies and programmes with commitment.

Aregbesola reminded the residents that his major campaign promise was the restoration of healthy living among the people.

The governor recalled that since inception, his administration had embarked on the renovation, rehabilitation and upgrading of the nine state hospitals.

The effort, he added, was geared towards providing increased accessibility to qualitative healthcare services in all parts of the state.

The governor also recalled the Public Private Partnership (PPP) which entails the outsourcing of the pharmacy units of all State Hospitals in order to have regular availability of effective and safe drugs.

On the giant strides of the Osun Ambulance scheme, Aregbesola said it had saved thousands of lives since the programme started in 2013.

He said: “With all we have done to develop the state, it is highly impossible for the PDP to ever have a say in the governance of this state. With their wasteful seven and a half years the people of the state have totally rejected them.

“As we promised the good people of Osun during our campaign, restoration of healthy living among our people is one of the six integral action plan of our administration and I am proud to say that we have delivered on our promise and will continue to pursue this policy with all doggedness and commitment.

“Our administration has since inception recorded remarkable achievements in the health sector. We have put in place an enduring healthcare delivery system capable and has been protecting all residents of Osun from avoidable deaths due to emergencies, disease conditions or nutritional deficiencies.

“Also, we have been providing and will continue to provide essential drugs and medical consumables in all our hospitals. A new concept we also introduced is Public Private Partnership (PPP) which entails the outsourcing of the pharmacy units of all State Hospitals in order to have regular availability of effective and safe drugs. This has kick-started and is faring well.

“O’Ambulance is another success story. The scheme was introduced in 2013 when 50 state of the art ambulance vehicles were put on the road for medical emergencies, a scheme which has been used to save a lot of lives in situations of emergency in the state. In 2016 alone, O’Ambulance saved 1774 lives. Between January and March this year, it has also saved 630 lives.”