The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sarafadeen Alli, has said he will not allow the state to become a “real estate company” if elected governor, promising to build an economy driven by agriculture, mining and other productive sectors.
Alli said his administration would focus on creating jobs, developing industries and adding value to the state’s natural resources instead of relying largely on the sale of government assets and landed properties.
The APC candidate spoke with journalists in Ibadan recently after attending the 2026 convention of the Archdiocese of Ibadan Catholic Men Organisation.
He said one of his administration’s immediate priorities would be to establish at least one cottage industry in each of the state’s 33 local government areas.
“I have said it times without number that within our first year in office, we are going to have at least one cottage industry in every local government. We are going to turn around Oyo State’s economy through agriculture, mining and other areas where we have comparative advantage. Oyo State will not be a real estate company,” he said.
Alli added that his administration would ensure that Oyo State derives maximum benefit from its mineral resources.
He said, “Where it is mining, we are going to bring the companies right to the site so that there will be some value addition before these things are exported. It will not be for personal reasons or personal aggrandisement, but for the benefit of the people of Oyo State.”
The APC candidate also promised to grant local governments full administrative and financial autonomy, saying a functional local government system would strengthen governance and improve security at the grassroots.
“Local government autonomy will lead us to several other things. There is no way you can have a very effective and functional local government without improving security. State police is also coming,” he said.
Alli recalled that during a period of heightened insecurity in the state, some local governments empowered vigilantes to complement security agencies, particularly in Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa.
According to him, the initiative helped to reduce insecurity in the affected areas while also providing employment for the youths engaged in the programme.
He said, “A few years ago, when there were security challenges in the state, local governments were empowered to employ vigilantes. Along the roads in Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa and other areas, insecurity was reduced.The empowerment did not only provide security; it also provided jobs for the men.”
Alli further criticised what he described as the failure of the government to act on an early warning about suspicious movements in Yawota in 2022.
He said a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly had raised the alarm and called on the government to investigate the development, but no decisive action was taken.
“Our government will be vigilant. We will not be lackadaisical. The truth is that in 2022, a member of the House of Assembly raised an alarm and warned about strange movements in Yawota, calling on the government to do something. But the government failed to do anything, and that same Yawota was where innocent people were kidnapped.
“So, we are going to be very serious about governance,” Alli said.
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