2027: Faro Flags Off Campaign, Promises New Deal For Akure As PDP Candidates Vow Open-Door Representation

By our correspondent

Hon. Babatunde Faro, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for the House of Representatives for Akure South and Akure North Federal Constituency, and other PDP candidates in Akure South for the State House of Assembly in the 2027 elections, have promised a new approach to representation in Ondo State.

Faro, who will flag off his campaign tomorrow,27th October stated this on Monday at Meet-the-Press programme with members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Akure.

He said the PDP candidates were determined to offer a different kind of representation that would prioritize the needs, challenges and aspirations of constituents in Akure South and Akure North.

According to him, the engagement with journalists provided an opportunity to understand the people better, noting that elected representatives cannot adequately address the needs of their constituents without listening to them.

“I am going to hear you. Then we are going to look at how we are going to do it. Having this kind of meeting gives us a lot of privilege to understand our people and know their challenges.

“I cannot know everything. If you don’t tell me, I won’t know,” Faro said.

He explained that under the mandate of the PDP, the aspirants were committing to accessible and responsive representation, assuring that their offices would remain open to constituents, journalists and members of the public.

Faro disclosed that the new representation model would include functional constituency offices in all wards, deployment of technology to improve communication, and quarterly town hall meetings to give account of stewardship, explain plans and receive feedback.

He said the meetings would also provide an opportunity for the press and other stakeholders to assess their performance from day one, identify what is working and highlight areas requiring improvement.

“Our doors will be open, our offices will be open, our houses will be open, so that the press and everybody in Akure can reach us,” he assured.

Speaking on legislative duties, Faro said representation had evolved beyond lawmaking, motions and advocacy to include tangible contributions to the development and welfare of constituents.

He noted that while legislative activities remained important, the ability to attract projects, facilitate empowerment, create opportunities and support the people had become a major expectation.

“We might not be able to fix all the problems at once. We might not be able to solve all the problems for our people at once. But from day one, people will be rest assured that there is motion and our people are doing well,” he said.

Faro, who disclosed that he had worked in the healthcare and financial sectors, said his business experience had prepared him for public service. He also said he would prioritize educational support systems.

He identified the deplorable state of public primary and secondary schools in the constituency as a major area requiring urgent attention, arguing that the immediate priority should not be construction of new schools but rehabilitation of existing ones.

Faro said he had documented over 1,000 photographs showing the condition of schools, including buildings without windows, ceilings, water supply and functional toilet facilities.

He described the situation as a serious challenge to quality education, especially for children from disadvantaged communities.

He also flagged the financial burden associated with school charges as a policy concern affecting enrolment and attendance.

According to him, despite the free primary education policy, some schools reportedly require parents to pay between N8,000 and N11,500 to support operations — a burden many families cannot afford, forcing children to stay at home.

He called for engagement with the state government to review the policy to ensure financial constraints do not prevent access to education.

“We believe we can easily double enrolment numbers and take more than 200,000 pupils out of their homes,” he said, stressing the need for collaboration between federal and state governments.

He added that similar infrastructural deficits exist in secondary schools.

Faro highlighted some interventions he had undertaken, citing Isolo Primary School where a block renovated about four years ago had remained the only functional block, and St. Antony Primary School where over 70 pupils are benefiting from scholarships supported by him.

He recalled a back-to-school campaign where he discovered incomplete water infrastructure at St. William’s School and committed to providing water reticulation within three days to benefit both pupils and the community. He noted that other challenges, like absence of toilet facilities, were being documented.

Also speaking, Hon. Kehinde Olorunyemi, popularly known as Africa, a PDP House of Assembly aspirant, expressed commitment to ensuring a more accessible and responsive Assembly, insisting that representation must not be based on empty promises.

Another aspirant, Hon. Oluwaseyi Adekanmbi, said Ondo State needed a legislature that would demonstrate independence, accountability and commitment to development, expressing concern that the legislature had been perceived as a rubber-stamp.

He said the next House of Assembly would be different, arguing that the state requires comprehensive rebuilding and development.