Politics
2023: Ogbomoso PDP stakeholders endorse Makinde for second term
Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ogbomosoland on Saturday declared that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State remains PDP’s best choice to fly its flag in the 2023 governorship election.
The stakeholders, who rose from a two-hour meeting at the Lagbami Osekun Hall, Ogbomoso South Local Government Secretariat, Arowomole, said that Makinde has been fair to Ogbomoso zone with the delivery of democracy dividends.
They thereafter resolved that the governor should be backed to seek re-election in office.
After the two-hour deliberation, stakeholders including political appointees of Ogbomoso origin, ward chairmen of the PDP, the party’s chairmen in Ogbomoso zone, local government chairpersons, and their counterparts at the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), the gathering resolved to back Makinde for a second term in office.
Director-General of the Oyo State Public, Private Partnership Agency (OYSIPA), Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi moved for the endorsement of Governor Makinde for second term, while the Executive Chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State(BCOS), Prince Dotun Oyelade presided over the voice vote session, where the ‘ayes’ had it.
While speaking, Hon. Ogunwuyi told the gathering that even though human beings are naturally Oliver Twist, the people of Ogbomoso are ready to express appreciation to the governor for what he has done in the area thus far, adding that Makinde has been fair to the area in terms of appointments.
“I can tell this gathering that we have witnessed a tremendous increase and need to keep striving hard. He has proved that he loves the people of Ogbomoso so dearly by doing some certain things for us. He encouraged us by giving us Attorney-General of the state and I can tell you there are only a few things the Attorney-General may not know in government.
“Today, over 40 per cent of the allocation of the state resides within Education and Works Ministry and we also have the DG Signage Agency, which is a revenue-generating agency. The Governor has done a lot for us but we will still ask for more. As far as I am concerned, on the issue of appointment, I believe Ogbomoso is well represented”, he said.
Hon. George Ogunlade, who spoke on behalf all the PDP local government chairmen in Ogbomoso zone said that the governor has shown tremendous respect to the party structure, adding that the PDP has been growing since Makinde’s inauguration as governor.
He said: “The governor believes there is a party and there is a government and he has not stopped giving reverence to the party which gave birth to the government. Everyone is seeing the good things, which the governor is doing in Oyo State. I can tell you that there is no party that has more members than us in Ogbomoso zone. We have received defectors from the ZLP, ADP, ADC and even APC and we have not seen a single member leave the party.”
Caretaker Chairman of Ogo Oluwa Local Government, Hon. Seun Ojo, who spoke for chairpersons of local governments and local council development areas said that the councils have been busy opening drainages and fixing infrastructure.
He said that all the 12 caretaker chairmen were in support of another four years for Governor Makinde.
He said: “God has used the Governor to achieve many things in the party in Ogbomoso in terms of infrastructure. In this Ogbomoso South Local Government, some places are now motorable and we are making it look as though PDP is the only party in this place. People are happy with the government of PDP. Some culverts have been fixed and we are opening up more roads across all the five local governments and seven LCDAs.”
Another stakeholder, a former Commissioner for Finance in the state, Hon. Bayo Bankole said that even though regular payment of salaries is intangible, it means a lot to the economy of the state. “We really need to support him. I want to urge us to continue with the good works,” he said.
The Commissioner for Education, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye said that Makinde has worked conscientiously for the people of Ogbomoso, adding that all the abandoned model schools in the zone have been fixed by the governor.
He also said that with the sole ownership of LAUTECH, Ogbomoso by Oyo State, and the push to make it a conventional university, the spate of development in the institution and Ogbomosoland would more than double.
According to him, the addition of Faculties such as Law, Education, Arts, and Social Sciences would neutralize the decision to move the Faculty of Agriculture outside Ogbomoso.
“We are happy that we are now the sole owner of LAUTECH. So, we urge you to always support this administration,” Olaleye said.
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo, who also spoke, said that he was happy to serve on the committee that resolved LAUTECH’s lingering issue with Osun state.
He added that Oyo state has since discovered that the large expanse of land remaining in the institution would be put to best use if the school is made a conventional University with the addition of new faculties that would be based in Ogbomoso.
He said that the governor has cleared pension areas of Judicial workers from 2009 to date adding that the governor has also taken up significant roads like the Iseyin/Ogbomoso road and the Iseyin/ Oyo road.
“The governor has paid the pension of all judicial workers since 2009. Right now we are not owing any pension,” Oyewo said.
Majority Leader of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Sanjo Adedoyin, who was also at the meeting said that the House would continue to support Governor Makinde because he has been taking decisions in the best interest of the people.
He said of Makinde: “Those who are speaking ill of him are only trying to play politics. Sincerely, whoever tells you he does not love us is feeding you with lies. He is personally determined and after the progress of this state. There is nothing that will stop LAUTECH from doing very well as a conventional university.
“I am happy to be one of the team that worked towards achieving the sole ownership of LAUTECH. During the negotiation for sole ownership, we discovered that we have just used just 10 per cent of the portion of landmass belonging to LAUTECH. Very soon, I can assure you that LAITECH will not just be producing educated but learned people. In Oyo State, God has won for the PDP.
“On security, we have to cooperate with Amotekun on what they are doing. We also have to know the truth about security because there are a lot of fake news out there. I want you to take this away, that there is no party that is as unique as PDP in Oyo State.”
Those in attendance include the Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Oyewo Oyelowo; Commissioner for Education, Olasunkanmi Olaleye; Chairman, BCOS Prince Dotun Oyelade, DG OYSIPA, Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi; House of Assembly Leader, Hon. Sanjo Adedoyin, the 12 chairmen of Ogbomoso councils and LCDA chairpersons; Ward Chairmen of the party in the 50 wards of Ogbomoso; PDP Chairmen in the five local governments; former Chairman of Ogbomoso South Local government, Hon Felix Akande; former Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Alao-Akala, Hon Razak Gbadegesin; former Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Bayo Bankole and the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa.
Others are the State Organising Secretary, Hon. Taiwo Alagbe; a member of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs. Folashade Ajala; a Commissioner of the Local Government Service Commission, Hon John Adisa Oke; the Chief of Staff to the Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Leke Gabriel, Hon. Oladoja Agbejinmi; Hon Banji Folaranmi, Elder Abioye Mathew Adegboyega and a host of other party members.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday held a high-level strategic meeting with the Oyo State chapter of the party as part of efforts to reposition the APC for victory and prevent internal crisis ahead of the polls.
The development was first scooped by OYOINSIGHT.COM which quoted multiple party sources familiar with the closed-door deliberations.
Sources disclosed that the meeting, held in Abuja, focused largely on a consensus arrangement being considered by stakeholders of the party in Oyo State, in line with political templates reportedly being adopted in Lagos and Ogun states ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Party insiders said the move was aimed at strengthening unity within the fold of the opposition party in the state, minimising rancour during the primaries and presenting a formidable front against rival parties in 2027.
It was further gathered that some members of the state executive committee may have been subtly informed about preferred consensus candidates being considered for elective positions across the state.
Though details of the deliberations were still sketchy as of press time, sources hinted that the national leadership stressed the need for cohesion, discipline and strategic alignment among stakeholders to improve the party’s electoral fortunes in Oyo.
Those at the meeting included the Oyo APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo; the state secretary, Fatai Adesina Adeniyi; the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare; the Organising Secretary, Aderemi Adepoju; and the Legal Adviser, Sunday Aborisade.
Others were the Women Leader, Adekemi Opatunde; the Youth Leader, Olalekan Oladejo; Joshua Oyebamiji; Tunde Oloyede; Sunday Babalola; Joseph Omoniyi; and Mojeed Adebayo.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the meeting.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Monday assured aspirants and party members that the party would conduct transparent, peaceful and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo declared that no aspirant would be victimised or denied a level playing field, stressing that the party leadership remained committed to internal democracy and progressive ideals.
The former deputy governor spoke while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committees deployed from the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He disclosed that although the party initially explored consensus arrangements across elective positions, prevailing realities indicated that direct primaries would be conducted in some areas, including the governorship contest.
Adeyemo said the party had already put necessary structures in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise capable of strengthening unity within the APC.
He said: “We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option which is direct primary in certain cases including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement as necessary.
“Where we have more than an aspirant, Abuja would send people to conduct primaries and we at the state level would provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.”
The APC chairman explained that all registered party members would participate fully in the exercise at their respective wards on dates to be announced by the National Secretariat.
According to him, affirmation would be adopted in areas where consensus candidates emerge, while voting would be conducted wherever direct primaries become necessary.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation while voting will be done in the cases of direct primary,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Screening Committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured party faithful that the committee would carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased screening process.
He said only eligible aspirants would be cleared to participate in the primaries and eventually fly the APC flag in the forthcoming elections.
Other members of the Screening Committee are Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye.
Members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress on Saturday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, declaring that the party’s candidate would serve a single four-year term if elected.
The decision was reached during the party’s national convention held in Abuja amid growing momentum within the opposition platform following a wave of high-profile defections from other political parties.
Announcing the development on its official social media handle, the party stated, “NDC presidential ticket is zoned to the South!!”
The party also resolved that its 2031 presidential ticket would be ceded to Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to maintain regional balance and internal equity.
The convention comes as key opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined party leaders and delegates at the Abuja gathering.
Saturday’s convention is expected to ratify several recent decisions taken by the party’s National Executive Committee, including zoning arrangements, amendments to the party constitution, and the election of new national executives.
According to the convention agenda obtained by journalists, discussions centred on zoning, ratification of the amended constitution, and leadership restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in defections from rival opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, no fewer than 17 members of the House of Representatives defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Their defections were formally announced during plenary at the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande and Munachim Umezuruike.
Others are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi and Abdulhakeem Ado.
The defections came barely two days after Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC from the ADC.
The duo were presented with the party’s membership cards last Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, officially welcomed the opposition figures into the party.
Obi had attributed his exit from the ADC to worsening internal crises, external interference and what he described as increasing hostility within party structures.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s political environment had become increasingly toxic, marked by intimidation, insecurity and sustained scrutiny of opposition figures.
He also lamented that institutions meant to protect citizens were now often deployed against them, while individuals committed to genuine public service faced mounting pressure both publicly and privately.
-
Politics1 day ago2027: Oyo APC Set for Credible Direct Primaries, Says Alake Adeyemo
-
News1 week agoTCN plans power outage in Ibadan over substation maintenance
-
News5 days agoTegbe clarifies: No 3-month promise on power grid, outlines realistic reform timeline
-
News5 days agoYoruba Heritage Festival Honouring Ogedengbe Begins July 29