The dusty grounds of an abandoned 45-bedroom hostel at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, once a beehive of construction activity, are gradually stirring again.
On Thursday, the Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), Prince Olabiyi Olaleye Poroye walked the site with his team, inspecting the decaying blocks and overgrown lawns.
The visit, also extended to the 60-bedroom hostel project at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), is part of a renewed push by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration to ensure that no project in the State dies unfinished.
Speaking to our reporter during the tour, the OSOPADEC Chairman explained that the Commission had already opened discussions with the contractors handling the projects as instructed by Mr. Governor.
“The Governor is interested in completing all abandoned projects both within our mandate areas and outside them. We must therefore encourage him, and we must not let him down,” he said, adding that although resources are meagre, “when you have a leader who is showing interest in what you are doing, he must be supported.”
He urged the contractors to clear the environment and maintain a positive attitude to ensure timely delivery, stressing that “students urgently need these hostels.”
According to the Chairman, Governor Aiyedatiwa has given clear directives that all uncompleted projects must be worked on and completed within specified timeframes.
“Yes, resources are limited, but we have to prioritise our spending, focus on key projects and see how we can assist the universities to complete them in good time,” he said.
He noted that while many factors often delay public projects, the present administration is determined to complete all inherited projects, regardless of who conceived them.
“The Governor is not interested in who started the project, but in ensuring that the people of Ondo State benefit from them. He’s therefore ready to give express approval where needed,” he added.
The OSOPADEC boss also underscored the Commission’s dual role as a development agency and an investor.
“At OSOPADEC we have our mandate areas, but we also do business as a Commission. All our hostels in the universities and polytechnic are not just to be given away as charity; they are our investments.
“The facilities are structured as investments that will generate revenue to support future interventions, maintain the facilities, and reinvest in other developmental projects. In doing so, we ensure that OSOPADEC’s resources continue to multiply their impact, while students enjoy decent, affordable accommodation and the institutions gain infrastructure that enhances learning and living conditions, ” Poroye reflected.
Representing the Vice-Chancellor of AAUA, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Olusegun Akinwumi, praised OSOPADEC’s renewed attention to the hostel projects.
In his words: “This development reflects the passion and concern of the Commission and our dear Governor to address accommodation and other related challenges in our university. We see a genuine desire to ensure that uncompleted projects are duly completed.”
As the inspection team moved on, there was a sense that the long-stalled buildings could soon be transformed into living spaces for students and that a new policy of “no abandoned projects” may finally be taking root in Ondo State.
