Faro Promises Quarterly Town Hall Meetings, Constituency Offices for Akure Residents
…Says 200,000 Children Could Return to School Through Free Education Policy
By Olusegun HOSEA, Akure
Babatunde Faro, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Akure South and North Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives, has promised to establish constituency offices, introduce quarterly town hall meetings and deploy technology to improve communication with residents if elected.
Faro made the pledge while presenting his manifesto to journalists in Ondo State, where he outlined his plans for accessible representation, improved infrastructure and educational development in Akure.
He said his proposed approach to representation would prioritise regular engagement with constituents, transparency and accountability, assuring residents that they would have access to their representatives through physical offices and digital platforms.
According to him, quarterly town hall meetings would provide opportunities for elected representatives to account for their activities, explain their plans and receive feedback from the people.
“Our doors will be open, our offices will be open, and our homes will be open so that the press and everybody in Akure can reach us,” he said.
Faro noted that Akure’s growing population had increased pressure on infrastructure and political representation, stressing the need for elected officials to adopt a more responsive approach to addressing the needs of their constituents.
He said the PDP had undertaken a process of rebuilding its structure in the constituency despite the challenges it had faced in recent years, expressing confidence in the party’s readiness to provide what he described as a different kind of representation.
The PDP candidate identified four major responsibilities of legislators as representing the interests and concerns of their constituents, making laws and sponsoring motions, conducting oversight of government agencies, and attracting development projects, empowerment programmes and other opportunities.
He argued that legislative performance should not be measured solely by the number of bills and motions sponsored but also by the tangible benefits delivered to the people through projects, employment opportunities and empowerment initiatives.
Faro, however, acknowledged that the challenges facing the constituency could not be resolved at once, assuring residents that their concerns would receive attention from the beginning of his tenure if elected.
Faro Advocates Free Education, Renovation of Schools
Addressing questions from journalists, Faro identified education as a major priority, calling for a review of the state’s primary education funding policy to ensure that financial constraints did not prevent children from attending school.
He disclosed that his team had visited 34 primary schools over four days as part of a Back-to-School Initiative aimed at providing educational materials and assessing the condition of schools across the constituency.
According to him, the initiative also involved the production of about 50,000 education materials (exercise books) and other educational materials for distribution to pupils.
Faro said the visits had exposed significant infrastructure challenges in some schools, including the absence of windows, ceilings, water supply and toilet facilities.
He argued that rather than concentrating solely on building new schools, the government should prioritise renovating existing facilities and ensuring that they were adequately equipped to provide a conducive learning environment.
He also raised concerns about the financial burden faced by parents despite the state’s free education policy, claiming that some primary schools required payments ranging from ₦8,000 to ₦11,500 to support their operations.
According to him, some parents who could not afford the payments had been unable to send their children to school.
He called for engagement with the state government to address the funding challenges, expressing optimism that a policy review could significantly increase enrolment.
“We believe we can easily double enrolment numbers and take more than 200,000 children out of their homes and back to school if we can influence the state government to address these fees,” he said.
Faro also advocated completely free education at both primary and secondary school levels, saying collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, donor agencies, the World Bank and other funding partners could help mobilise resources to improve access to education.
He cited dilapidated school buildings and inadequate facilities as some of the challenges discovered during the visits, adding that some structures had reportedly been marked for demolition.
The PDP candidate further disclosed that his team had supported more than 70 pupils at St. Anthony Primary School through scholarship payments, while the Back-to-School Initiative was intended to extend educational support to other schools in need.
He also highlighted the lack of toilet facilities at St. William’s School in Odaiba, noting that pupils had reportedly resorted to using nearby bushes to defecate.
Faro said his team was documenting the challenges identified during the visits and pledged to give priority to primary and secondary education if elected.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ondo State, Leke Adegbite, welcomed Faro and wished him success in his political ambition.
Adegbite said journalists would report political activities professionally, assuring the candidate that his statements would be communicated to the public as presented.
