The Minister of National Planning and Chairman, National Planning Commission, Dr. Samsudeen Usman, has commended the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi for the transformation which the state has witnessed within the spate of two years.

The minister, who gave the commendation while speaking during a courtesy call on the governor in his office, yesterday acknowledged the cordial relationship existing between his ministry and the Ajimobi administration, saying this was commendable.

``Since I have got to Oyo State, I have seen the visible signs of transformation. No doubt, Oyo State has changed in terms of aesthetics and urban renewal. I want to congratulate you on the efforts you are putting in to change the face of the state,’’ he said.

Dr. Usman, who said he was in the state to attend the annual conference of Directors of Planning, Research and Statistics holding in Ibadan, the state capital, said that they had not made mistakes coming to the state for the programme.

He said that the state had been chosen as one of the pilot states for the measurement of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) at the state level, given its age and size.

The minister also hailed the governor for his passion for the development and growth of the state, a situation which he said had led to the governor visiting his ministry on several occasions to ensure the betterment of the state.

He congratulated the state House of Assembly for passing into law a bill establishing the state Bureau of Statistics and the state government for setting in motion the process of recruiting the Chief Statistician for the state.

Dr. Usman, while expressing the regret for the relegation of planning to the background during the military era, said that the conference was aimed at developing planning and ensuring capacity building among the participants.

In his remarks, Governor Ajimobi appreciated the importance of the National Planning Commission in the socio-economic development of the country, adding ``planning is the critical success factor of any organization, state or country.”

The governor assured the minister of the continued support of his administration to his ministry.