Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke praised former Governor Rauf Aregbesola for his service to the Nation as Minister of the Interior. According to Adeleke, the people of Osun state love his Aregbesola and he is free to enter the state freely.
He added that he will finish up unfinished projects from Aregbesola’s government. Adeleke spoke at the inauguration of the Ilesa Passport Front Office and Production Centre of the Nigeria Immigration Service on Tuesday in Ilesa, Osun State.
Adeleke said-
“No matter the party you are if you are a progressive, you are a progressive if you are doing what the people want. When he (Aregbesola) was governor, he loved the people and the people loved him. All the projects Ogbeni left, it was abandoned for years. I promised the people during my campaign that I was going to continue the projects, and that is what I am doing.
“As a civilised person, no matter the party you are, you will always love progress. That is why I will always continue to ensure that all developmental projects are continued. As a federal minister from the state, we are proud of your achievements and we will continue to be proud of you.
“Mr Minister, I am assuring you that this is your state, nobody can chase you away. This is your state, you are welcome at anytime. Even, you can come around to the Government House. When I complete all of the structures I am currently working on at the Government House, I will invite you to inaugurate it.”
Speaking at the event, the former governor explained that the surge in the number of passport applications made the establishment of more passport front offices across the country a necessity.
He said many such centres would still be needed to accommodate the vast number of those applying for passports and to reduce the waiting time before data capture to the barest minimum.
“Our target is to reduce the waiting period for biometric data capture to not more than one week, after application. The Passport Front Office we are commissioning today is one of the ways we are responding to increased demand for passport, especially to reduce the waiting time for biometric data capture.
“We have opened this front office in Alimosho, Katsina, Zaria, Daura and in several Nigerian missions abroad in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, where the enhanced passport is being rolled out,” Aregbesola said.
cc: Punch Ng
