The Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta States, Alhaji Dahud Makanjuola Akinola, has insisted that Governor Seyi Makinde’s successor in 2027 should be a Muslim, throwing his weight behind the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli.

Akinola said the governorship ticket should go to a popular Muslim candidate, citing an alleged understanding reached between Muslim and Christian leaders in Oyo State ahead of the 2023 governorship election.

He stated this on Thursday at a special empowerment programme organised by the Asiwaju Musulumi of Oyo State, Alhaji Mutiu Oladejo Azeez Onimalu, at his residence in Egbeda, Ibadan.

According to him, the understanding was that Muslim and Christian leaders would support Makinde’s second-term ambition in 2023, with the expectation that a popular Muslim candidate acceptable to both religious groups would receive their backing in 2027.

The Islamic leader described Alli’s emergence as the APC governorship candidate as divinely ordained, claiming that the senator had secured the support of Muslims and Christians across the state.

He urged residents to rally behind Alli, expressing confidence that those involved in the reported agreement would honour their commitment.

Akinola also commended Onimalu for his contributions to the growth of Islam and his philanthropic activities, noting that his humanitarian efforts had continued to make a positive impact on the lives of the people.

In his welcome address, Onimalu disclosed that his foundation planned to empower at least 10,000 people, particularly unemployed graduates and widows, to cushion the effects of the prevailing economic hardship.

He said the initiative was designed to make beneficiaries financially independent and reduce their dependence on relatives and acquaintances for survival.

The Asiwaju Musulumi also declared support for Alli’s governorship ambition, expressing confidence in his victory at the 2027 election.

He maintained that the reported understanding between Muslim and Christian leaders in the state should be respected, urging the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other Christian organisations reportedly involved in the arrangement to honour their commitment.

Onimalu consequently called on residents to support Alli and vote for him in the February 2027 governorship election.

I have read Dare Adeleke’s rather vacuous response to my article on Governor Seyi Makinde’s presentation of a brand-new Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon 500 to the President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Barrister Sulaimon Ajeniyi Ajewole. Unfortunately, beneath the insults, name-calling on my person and his apparent eye-service desperation to impress his political benefactor, there is hardly any substance worth engaging.

Adeleke devoted considerable space to calling me a drunken, lowly writer. Yet, in all his verbal gymnastics, he conspicuously failed to address the fundamental questions raised in my article. Has Governor Makinde paid the statutory salaries and entitlements of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, since their ascension to the respective thrones? Has his administration provided them with official vehicles, as expected under the applicable government arrangements? These were the issues Adeleke ought to address not my personality.

If he had any credible answers to these questions, he would have provided them. Instead, he chose to exhibit his wrakness as an intellectually exhausted defender. He resorted to abusing the messenger when he couldn’t dismantle the message.

However, there is one particularly interesting aspect of Dare Adeleke’s response that deserves immediate correction. He lied that Governor Makinde spent N1 billion on the completion of the Olubadan Palace. Is he sure he’s not addicted to stealing as a liar? The financial contributions towards the completion of the palace came from multiple sources, including the 11 local governments in Ibadanland, each of which contributed N50 million, amounting to N550 million.

Governor Makinde contributed N250 million. The governor’s contribution was N250 million, not N1 billion! Why would Adeleke inflate the governor’s contribution from N250 million to N1 billion? Is he so desperate to manufacture an impressive record for his political principal that figures have become expendable? Or does he imagine that exaggerating the governor’s generosity will make the unanswered questions of ridiculing our royal fathers disappear?

The 11 local governments of Ibadanland have a responsibility towards the Olubadan institution. Their contributions towards the palace should not be presented as a personal sacrifice by Governor Makinde. They are contributions made by public institutions to an institution that belongs to the people of Ibadanland.

Even more disturbing is Adeleke’s inane argument that because Makinde contributed money towards completing the Olubadan Palace, the governor deserves appreciation rather than criticism. This argument betrays a shocking failure of Adeleke to distinguish between governmental responsibilities and statutory obligations.

Let us even assume, for the sake of argument, that Makinde personally spent N1 billion on the palace. How does constructing or completing a building discharge the government’s obligation to pay the statutory salaries and entitlements of the Olubadan and the Alaafin? How does a palace building become a substitute for official vehicles? Are these royal fathers supposed to live in beautiful palaces while their statutory entitlements remain unpaid?

By Adeleke’s ‘logic’, Governor Makinde could build a magnificent headquarters for the Nigeria Labour Congress and subsequently refuse to pay workers their salaries, expecting the labour movement to applaud him for his generosity. Would that be acceptable? Could the government substitute office buildings for workers’ wages? Dare Adeleke is glaringly a peripheral thinker!

A building is a capital project. Salaries and official entitlements are separate obligations. Since Adeleke knew he could not understand this elementary distinction, he should have smelt his argument before presenting it to the public. His defence is not only logically defective; it is intellectually sour.

More importantly, the completion of the Olubadan Palace was not the subject of my article. I did not dispute the governor’s contribution. I questioned the apparent contradiction between his extravagant generosity towards the CCII President-General and the allegations of neglect concerning the official entitlements of the Olubadan and the Alaafin. Adeleke has not answered that question. He has merely introduced an unrelated expenditure in an attempt to divert attention.

I have no objection to Governor Makinde giving G-Wagons, aeroplanes or even private jets to people he loves, provided he does so with his personal resources. He is entitled to his private generosity. But public accountability should not cease because a governor is generous to his friends, associates or political admirers. The issue is not his freedom to give birthday presents. It is his responsibility to discharge governmental obligations.

As for Adeleke’s unnecessary personal attacks, I refuse to dignify his descriptions of me as a drunken or lowly writer with an elaborate defence. Neither description reflects my personality, and neither alters the substance of my argument. He only needs to be aware that despite his opinion of me as a drunken, lowly writer, I am his better by far as a family man and a responsible father – two essential duties he has failed in. I will also not allow his inability to sustain an intelligent argument to dictate the level of my engagement.

I am upset with Dare Adeleke for not living up to his claim of belonging to Oja’ba. He lacks the intellectual discipline, street wisdom and argumentative dexterity traditionally associated with the historic Ibadan community. His response has demonstrated an unfortunate deficit in all three. “Dare ò m’èsì, ó tún gọ!”

There is also something deeply incongruous about Adeleke’s pretentious defence of Governor Makinde. Those familiar with the undercurrents of Oyo politics may find his public posturing rather amusing. He presents himself as an unquestioning defender of the governor, yet political hypocrisy has a way of concealing its true colours beneath an appearance of loyalty. If the human stomach were transparent like a calabash, perhaps the governor would have a clearer view of Dare Adeleke as the green snake lurking beneath the green grass.

But my concern remains the dignity of the Olubadan and Alaafin institutions, not Adeleke’s political theatrics. He has had an opportunity to answer straightforward questions. He failed. He has had an opportunity to correct the allegations with verifiable facts. He avoided them. Instead, he manufactured a N1 billion contribution, inflated the governor’s generosity and attempted to intimidate a critic with insults.

Let me therefore restate the questions he could not answer: Has Governor Makinde paid the statutory salaries and entitlements of the Olubadan and the Alaafin since their ascension? Has he provided them with their official vehicles in accordance with applicable government policy? If yes, let Adeleke produce the evidence. If no, let him explain why.

A G-Wagon cannot answer questions about unpaid salaries. A palace cannot substitute for statutory entitlements. And N1 billion in political propaganda cannot turn N250 million into N1 billion. Dare Adeleke may choose to defend Makinde with insults, exaggerations and emotional outbursts. I will continue to interrogate the administration with facts, logic and questions that public officeholders owe the people answers to.

The dignity of the Olubadan and the Alaafin is far more important than Adeleke’s desperate attempt to earn political applause. And no amount of name-calling will make me abandon the responsibility of holding those in power accountable.

The Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has challenged Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, to address questions surrounding local government administration, healthcare and education in the state rather than accuse Senator Sharafadeen Alli of copying government policies in his Oyo AHEAD manifesto.

The organisation described the allegation that Alli copied policies of the Makinde administration as an attempt to divert attention from what it called pressing governance challenges confronting residents of the state.

In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, SSACO said the manifesto was informed by Alli’s experience in public service and his understanding of the challenges facing the state.

It noted that the senator had served as a local government chairman, Secretary to the State Government and Chief of Staff before his election to the Senate.

“Alli is not a newcomer learning governance from press releases. He was a Council Chairman, Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff and is now a serving Senator. That experience from the ward to the Senate is what positions him as a candidate for Oyo State. You cannot copy what you have lived,” the statement said.

The campaign organisation argued that the debate over the manifesto should focus on its proposals and the issues they seek to address, particularly what it described as the paralysis of local governments, inadequate healthcare personnel, poorly equipped public hospitals and the growing number of out-of-school children.

On local government administration, SSACO claimed that the 33 local government areas in Oyo State had received approximately ₦873bn in Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations since 2019.

It, however, alleged that the councils had failed to make their budgets publicly accessible online, raising questions about transparency and accountability at the grassroots.

The organisation said Alli had proposed issuing an executive order on his first day in office to guarantee local government autonomy, ensure that councils receive their allocations on a fixed date and facilitate the monthly remittance of the 10 per cent of state revenue due to them.

According to SSACO, the proposal is aimed at restoring effective grassroots administration and ensuring that public resources translate into development at the community level.

On healthcare, the campaign organisation raised concerns over the state of public hospitals, claiming that six local government areas had no general hospital, while six general hospitals had no doctor as of October 2025.

It further alleged that 10 other hospitals had only one doctor each, while primary healthcare centres operated with an average of three workers, against a national benchmark of 24.

The organisation said the figures raised questions about access to medical services, particularly for residents in rural communities who depend largely on public health facilities.

As part of its proposed intervention, Alli’s Oyo AHEAD manifesto outlines an Oyo Care programme that promises free healthcare for infants, pregnant women and residents aged 70 and above.

Other proposals include continuous recruitment of health workers, provision of modern medical equipment, regular supply of essential medicines, solar power for rural maternity centres and public accountability dashboards in every ward.

SSACO maintained that the proposals were designed to address practical gaps in healthcare delivery rather than merely repeat existing government programmes.

In education, the organisation cited figures it attributed to the state government’s school census, claiming that approximately 674,000 children between the ages of three and 17 were out of school in Oyo State, reportedly the highest figure in the South-West.

It also claimed that public primary school classrooms accommodated about 100 pupils on average, while seven out of every 10 children aged between seven and 14 could not perform basic arithmetic.

To address the situation, the Oyo AHEAD manifesto proposes reducing classroom populations to 30 pupils, rehabilitating public schools across the 33 local government areas and introducing scholarships for academically gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It also proposes the enactment of an Apprenticeship Law and the restoration of School Governing Boards to give parents and host communities a greater role in the administration of public schools.

Beyond education and healthcare, the manifesto outlines an agricultural transformation programme, a ₦10bn Youth Fund, affordable housing for low- and middle-income earners and a proposed 20-year warranty on newly constructed roads.

The campaign organisation also challenged the state government to substantiate claims that Oyo was the most liveable state in the country by making public the report, its publisher and the methodology used in arriving at the ranking.

It further faulted the argument that Alli’s proposal for one primary healthcare centre per ward amounted to copying the Makinde administration’s policies, insisting that the availability of facilities must be matched by adequate manpower, equipment and essential medicines.

“They claim Oyo is the most liveable state but cannot produce the report, the publisher or the methodology. They claim Alli copied one-PHC-per-ward, yet our PHCs have three workers instead of 24. That is not implementation. That is abandonment,” the statement said.

The organisation also described Adekanmbi’s political position as a continuation of the present administration’s approach to governance, arguing that the Oyo AHEAD manifesto offered a different set of proposals for addressing the state’s development challenges.

“Oyo AHEAD is a correction. It is a covenant. And we will continue to highlight the issues that matter to the well-being of the people of Oyo State,” the statement added.