1 YEAR IN OFFICE: REFLECTING ON THE JOURNEY, STEWARDSHIP AND IMPACTS OF ONDO STATE DEPUTY SPEAKER, AKINRUNTAN
By: Oki Isaiah Omosuyi
One of the benchmarks of leadership and quality representation is impacting the lives of the people positively, thereby shaping a brighter, prosperous future for them. This is what Ondo State Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abayomi Akinruntan has practically expressed in diverse capacities since his legislative engagement in the 10th Assembly.
Reflecting on his unique leadership and service to his people in his one(1) year in office as Ondo Deputy Speaker, it has been a whirlwind of impacts, triumphs, solidarity and utility. As a servant leader who prioritizes the welfare of his constituents, he has continuously displayed committment to his constituents and the entire Ondo State populace which are echoed through various people-centred policies, projects and programmes.
In the face of the economic challenges in the country, the Deputy Speaker has been responsible and responsive to his people in diverse dimensions. With intentionality, he perpetually shows empathy and compassion towards the plights of his constituents by bringing succour to them through several empowerments for youths and students, provision of tuition fees for constituents, facilitation of admission into different varsities,provisions of palliatives for aged, widows, physically challenged and other vulnerable groups.
Navigating this path is not without daunting odds, but his zeal and strong will for the advancement of his constituency keep making him surmount them and consequently pave way for his triumphs. As one would expect, Rt. Hon. Akinruntan never fails to leverage his influence and uncommon legislative experience to improve the lot of his great constituents.
In the pursuit of this, he has facilitated employment for his people, in the most recent instance, into several governmental agencies and parastatals, such as ODIRS, Amotekun, Teaching, Health sector, etc. As much as these strides always earn him accolades from his constituents, the Deputy Speaker would never allow those praises to distract him or stall him from performing even more exceptionally.
Leveraging in his office, Rt. Hon. Akinruntan continues to articulate the needs, yearnings, concern and aspirations of his constituents which invariably informed several development-driven bills in the House; being an instrument to the creation of Ilaje LCDAs (Central and East) as a follow-up memo presented during the 9th Assembly and finally created in 10th Assembly.
He presented reports for confirmation and ensured smooth screening of all government nominees particularly from Ilaje and Ondo South, sent to the House by late Gov. Akeredolu and Incumbent Governor, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa for consideration and approval.
As a crown prince in Ugbo kingdom with omoluabi ethics, Rt. Hon. Akinruntan has demonstrated transparency, honesty and commitment to his colleagues and Ondo State Assembly being Chairman, House Committee on cash allocation. He also ensured peace and stability in Ugbo kingdom(the oil-producing kingdom) by engaging relevant stakeholders at all time which has earned Ondo State the most peaceful Niger-Delta region in Nigeria. This is evident in his uncommon penchant for peace and developmental initiatives, which is demonstrated through his actionable steps.
As today marks a significant milestone in his legislative journey as Ondo Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Akinruntan has commenced distribution of class room furniture (chairs and tables) and flag-off the construction of 1000M walkway in Erunna community; a project facilitated under the Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme(A World Bank assisted programme).
Lastly, I urge all well-meaning constituents to remain optimistic as Akinruntan is set to bring more goodies of democracy, unleash diverse financial support scheme for small scale businesses with other people-driven projects subsequently.
Oki Isaiah Omosuyi,
Special Adviser to Ondo Deputy Speaker,
Youth and Students Affairs
3rd Monday, June, 2024
