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.
Market men and women across Oyo South Senatorial District have declared support for the senatorial ambition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the district, Engr. Aderemi Oseni, and reaffirmed their backing for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The traders said their endorsement was driven by the lawmaker’s sustained grassroots interventions and what they described as his people-centred representation.
The endorsement came on Monday during an interactive engagement in Ibadan with market stakeholders drawn from the nine local government areas of the senatorial district.
At the event, Oseni supported market men and women across the district with N90 million, with each of the nine local government areas receiving N10 million to boost petty trading, expand businesses and stimulate grassroots economic activity.
In a statement by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, the lawmaker said the intervention was part of efforts to improve livelihoods and deepen economic inclusion, particularly among small-scale traders.
Oseni, who represents Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and chairs the House Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), said empowering market operators remained central to his development agenda.
He said markets remained the heartbeat of local communities, noting that traders’ resilience continues to sustain families and drive local economies.
“This intervention is aimed at strengthening their businesses, easing economic pressure and encouraging enterprise at the grassroots,” he said.
The APC chieftain added that his representation would continue to focus on practical interventions with visible impact.
“Leadership must translate into visible impact. I remain committed to initiatives that support small businesses, create opportunities for growth and complement the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
Oseni also canvassed support for President Tinubu among traders in Oyo South, saying stronger alignment between federal, state, senatorial and local government leadership would accelerate development in the state.
He listed the Tinubu administration’s initiatives to include the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND, measures to curb industrial actions in tertiary institutions, tuition-free technical colleges, construction and rehabilitation of major highways, agricultural support programmes and subsidies for cancer treatment, fuel subsidy removal, which he noted has boosted state and local government revenues.
He urged traders to mobilise support for APC candidates in the next general elections, expressing confidence that Tinubu’s re-election would further improve residents’ welfare.
Speaking on behalf of the traders, the Coordinator of Market Men and Women in Oyo South Senatorial District and Babaloja of Omi-Adio and Ido Local Government, Chief Odedele Waheed, commended the turnout and described the engagement as a demonstration of confidence in Oseni’s leadership.
He lauded the lawmaker for sustained grassroots development efforts, noting that the N90 million support would strengthen businesses across the district.
Odedele also commended the leadership of market men and women in Oyo State for granting traders approval to meet and interact with the lawmaker, saying the platform allowed them to express concerns and understand his vision for Oyo South.
The traders pledged to mobilise support across markets in the district in favour of Oseni’s electoral bid and President Tinubu’s re-election.
Those present included the Babaloja of Ibadan North East, Ibrahim Balogun; Babaloja of Ibadan South West, Rafiu Iyo; Babaloja of Ibadan North West, Alhaji Tajudeen Hammed; Alhaji Abdulraman Salawudeen; Asiwaju Oloja of Ibarapa Zone, Chief Okanlawon John Adebisi; Babaloja of Ibadan North, Chief Adewole Basirat; and Iyaloja of Ibarapa Central, Chief Ige Fausat, among others.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the Governor of Ekiti State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, announced the result at about 3:13 a.m. on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti, saying Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes to defeat his closest rivals and secure a second term in office.
According to Oladiji, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Oluwole Oluyede, garnered 40,543 votes, while the African Democratic Congress candidate, Dare Bejide, secured 12,872 votes.
She said 384,940 voters were accredited for the election, while 375,777 valid votes were recorded. The electoral umpire also announced that 6,332 votes were rejected, bringing the total number of votes cast to 382,109.
The declaration capped a governorship poll largely adjudged peaceful by observers and security agencies, despite complaints of malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines, delayed commencement of voting in some polling units and allegations of voter intimidation by opposition parties.
INEC said voting was conducted in all the 2,445 polling units across the state’s 16 local government areas, noting that 2,257 units, representing 92.31 per cent, opened before 8.30 a.m., while 188 polling units commenced accreditation and voting before 10.30 a.m. after experiencing minor delays.
The commission also commenced uploading polling unit results to its Results Viewing Portal shortly after the completion of voting and counting in several centres.
The PDP candidate, Oluyede, had expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the exercise at Ugele/Arokun Ward in Ikere Local Government Area, alleging that many prospective voters were disenfranchised due to BVAS-related challenges.
Speaking with journalists after voting at Polling Unit 006, he further alleged cases of harassment and intimidation of voters in the area.
Some elderly voters at the polling unit also lamented difficulties encountered during accreditation and urged INEC to urgently rectify the technical glitches.
The ADC candidate, Bejide, similarly alleged irregularities during the exercise.
However, Oyebanji dismissed the claims, insisting that those making allegations of electoral misconduct should provide credible evidence to support them.
The governor, who voted at Polling Unit 003, Okelele, Ikogosi-Ekiti, in Ekiti West Local Government Area, described the election as satisfactory and urged eligible voters yet to cast their ballots to do so peacefully.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of election security, Abayomi Shogunle, said no case of vote-buying was reported to security agencies throughout the exercise.
Election observers commended the peaceful atmosphere that characterised the poll but raised concerns over procedural inconsistencies.
The First Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Sebastian Anyia, described the process as orderly and peaceful, saying voter turnout was encouraging.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Brenda Anugwom, lauded the resilience of female voters, many of whom remained at polling units for several hours with their children to exercise their franchise.
Yiaga Africa, however, expressed concern over discrepancies involving ballot papers, result sheets and INEC’s published list of candidates, warning that such inconsistencies could create challenges during collation and reconciliation of results.
The election observer group urged INEC to provide further clarification on the final list of participating parties and candidates and issue clear guidance to electoral officials handling result documentation.
Ahead of the poll, INEC and security agencies had repeatedly assured residents of their preparedness to deliver a peaceful, credible and transparent election, deploying personnel and restricting vehicular movement to forestall electoral violence and other offences.
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has rejected plans by the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde to conduct another local government election on December 26, 2026, describing the proposed exercise as illegal, premature and a calculated move to retain political influence at the grassroots beyond the governor’s tenure.
The party declared that it would neither participate in the election nor remain silent over what it termed an attempt to squander public resources on a process allegedly designed to install loyalists in the 33 local government councils and 351 wards across the state.
The controversy followed the decision of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to shift the date earlier fixed for January 2027 to December 26, 2026, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The move has continued to generate debate among political observers, many of whom have questioned the urgency of conducting another council poll barely six months before the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent chairmen and councillors elected in the 2024 local government elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, the APC said it would not stop at boycotting the election but would also collaborate with “patriots and rational minds” to resist what it called an unnecessary expenditure of taxpayers’ money.
The party accused Governor Makinde of lacking commitment to local government autonomy, alleging that the administration had exercised undue control over council resources for more than seven years.
“The whole world knows that Governor Makinde does not believe in local government autonomy and, when it comes to democracy at the grassroots, he cannot be trusted for anything,” the statement said.
The APC alleged that the proposed poll was aimed at positioning individuals loyal to the governor in local councils before his exit from office on May 29, 2027, arguing that such a move would enable him to sustain political influence after leaving the Agodi Government House.
According to the opposition party, expectations among many residents are centred on ongoing efforts by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to strengthen local government autonomy and ensure that councils enjoy direct access to their statutory allocations without interference from state governments.
The APC also linked what it described as poor development outcomes in some rural communities to the operation of the state-local government joint account system. It cited communities such as Ahoro Esiele and Yawota in Oriire Local Government Area, which have reportedly faced security challenges, as examples of areas where local government resources should have translated into visible improvements.
“It is sad that Governor Makinde appears determined to sustain a system that has left many rural communities vulnerable despite huge allocations accruing to local governments monthly,” the party said.
The opposition further dismissed the local government elections conducted in 2020 and 2024 as lacking credibility, alleging that winners emerged through predetermined outcomes rather than a transparent electoral process.
“The fraud called local government polls in 2020 and 2024 should be the last the people of Oyo State would witness. Governor Makinde and his supporters should bury any thought of staging another charade in which results are announced without genuine voting and public offices become tools for the diversion of public funds,” the statement added.
The APC consequently urged officials of OYSIEC to halt preparations for the proposed December election, warning against actions capable of undermining democratic values and public confidence in the electoral process.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Oyo State Government nor OYSIEC had issued an official response to the allegations raised by the opposition party.
-
News5 days agoKola Oyewo’s family to Adeleke, Ooni, Atiku: Your condolences are our pillar of strength
-
Opinion1 week ago
The Silent Thief in Nigeria’s Petrol Stations | By Solomon Oroge
-
Politics7 days ago
Oyo APC rejects Makinde’s planned December LG poll, vows boycott
-
News6 days ago
Govs Back State Police, Power Reform, Nutrition Drive, World Bank Partnership
