Abiola Ajimobi, the outgoing Governor of Oyo State, has said he wish he had been in politics 20 years ago
The lame duck governor said this on Friday while addressing state house correspondents in Abuja.
He said he regrets spending 8 years in office because the impatience of the people inhibited him from executing all his plans.
However, he did not give details of the things or projects that he wanted to do but couldn’t because the people did not show enough understanding.
He said: “I think I regret the fact that I have not been able to do everything I wanted to do. I wish our people could be more understanding, could be more patient, but they feel that any time you try to make a change, people resist change even if it is good for them.
“I wish I had been in politics 20 years ago.”
On why he came to thank Buhari, the governor replied that due to the President’s several financial interventions in form of bailouts, he would exit office without leaving behind any unpaid salaries.
He also admitted that the bailouts helped his administration to complete a number of projects and made the state a lot more peaceful.
Ajimobi said, “I want to thank President Buhari for the support he has given all the states, particularly during the period of scarcity of funds to execute our projects, to pay salaries, to meet the socio-economic development demands.
“I am going to Umrah to thank God. When I came in, I pleaded with God to give me the opportunity to serve peacefully and that He did.
“I also want to thank the people of Oyo State for allowing me to be the first governor to do two terms of eight years; it has never happened in Oyo State.’’
As of February, the Federal Government disclosed that the total bailouts it gave to the 36 states and Paris Club Refund since 2015, stood at N1.19tn.
The governor also said that Oyo State became more peaceful under him.