The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has called on residents of the state to use the opportunity of the 2023 general elections to “take back Nigeria and place it on the path of righteousness.”

The governor asserted that the February 25 presidential election would be an election like no other, which he believed would usher in a truly independent Nigeria, warning Nigerians not to vote with sentiment.

A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa, reports Makinde saying this at the Comfort Life Mission International, aka Olorun Ojiji, Ikoyi, Osun State, during its monthly 7-7 programme, compared the forthcoming election to the one that held in 1955 before Nigeria gained independence, stating that after the 2023 general elections, Nigeria would become truly independent.

Activism

The governor urged Christians to take a firm decision in the coming polls in order to take Nigeria back, and shine the light on the supposedly dark corners of politics, stating that with only two weeks to the presidential election, it was time for activism rather than political correctness.

He stated: “If there is darkness in a place and you light one candle, and then another, and then another, gradually the darkness will disappear. So, as Christians, we must participate. This is not the time to say we want to be politically correct as this is the time for activism. It is the time for us to take back our country and put it on the path of righteousness.”

Makinde said the insinuation that politics is a dirty game and that Christians should abstain from it has been unhelpful, noting that more Christians should participate in politics and governance.

The governor equally stated that his administration had, in the last four years, been giving back to the society and developing the state across the four pillars of the administration.

Developmental efforts

He maintained that the ongoing Ibadan Circular Road project, which is only about five minutes to the Comfort Life Mission Headquarters, is one of the many evidences of his administration’s developmental efforts, explaining that when completed, the Circular Road would commute travellers from the Ife-Ibadan Road axis to Lagos in one hour and 10 minutes without having to go through the Ibadan City Center.

Makinde noted: “What that Circular Road project means is – from here to Ojota, you can spend one hour ten minutes. From the Circular Road, if you want to burst out to where First Technical University is located, it will be 20 minutes because it is 32km. From that point to Lagos, it cannot be more than 45 minutes. So, that is the kind of development we have brought to Oyo State, which we believe there will be continuity in the second term.”

Governor Makinde, who stated that the successes achieved by the government would not have been possible without the prayers of the people of the state, said that he knew that the prayers of God’s people were fervent and effectual from the early period of his administration when he contracted and survived COVID-19.

He also expressed confidence that with the prayers and support of Oyo State people, he is assured of victory in the March 11 governorship election, according to him, he was able to win in 2019 with the support of God the Father and the people of Oyo State.

“I am the first Governor in the history of Oyo State who has no godfather but only God the Father. Against all odds in 2019, God the Father did it and He will do it again. “

He concluded by thanking all and also solicited  continious prayers for Nigeria so as to have a peaceful general election.

Lateefah Ibrahim

The Accord Party has affirmed that the support and acceptance enjoyed by the party in Oyo state cannot be less than seventy-five percent. 

The Director-General (DG) of the Bayo Adelabu Campaign Organisation (BACO), Adegboyega Adegoke, disclosed this in an interview with Voice of Nigeria, noting that the party was on the path to winning elections in the state as the gubernatorial candidate of the party, Bayo Adelabu, is a man of great name, influence, experience, capability and capacity. 

Adegoke said: “He has a large followership which he moved to Accord. People move with him wherever he goes because of his antecedents and he can take Oyo State back to its pacesetter status. The records are there, the performance is there. That is why I can tell you, by the grace of God, Accord is winning the election, Bayo is going to be the Executive Governor of this state in 2023.”

He pointed out that the reason Adelabu wanted to become the governor of Oyo State is to serve the people, turn the state around, make it great and restore its pacesetter status so that it could become an example to other states, asserting that Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is a man of great experience who had worked both in the private and public sectors.

He stated: “He had started establishing businesses that employ people in Oyo State since 2006. He could have taken his businesses to other states because you make more money in Lagos or Abuja or even Port-Harcourt but he decided to establish his businesses in Oyo State to employ indigenes.”

Adegoke, who proclaimed that there were three major players in the governorship race of the state, berated the present administration for the poor situation of things in the state including the education sector whereby the state is ranked 33 out of 36 states and 50 schools delisted by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC).

The DG lamented that the administration did not employ enough teachers, stopped the N3000 paid by parents to support schools saying they would fund schools but refused to give subvention because there was no guarantee the money would not be mismanaged and employed a consultant to manage all state-owned higher institutions, putting the schools at the mercy of the consultant. 

He noted: “No public water yet chemicals being bought every month, mass transit buses bought about two years before being put to use because the bus stations where the buses would be put were not ready. You need an experienced person that will make sure he spends judiciously the resources of Oyo State for the benefit and betterment of the people of Oyo State.”

Adegoke argued that the debt profile of the state had been rising as the governor kept taking loans and borrowing money, even the cooperative deduction of workers in the state.

The DG stated: “Now he’s encouraging thuggery. He has even built four stations for them, two at Iwo Road, one in Challenge, and one in Ojoo. Is that the type of person you want to come back to rule Oyo State again? He has not built one housing estate since he took over. What can he say he has done for the people of Oyo State to deserve a second term? Nothing.”

Adegoke claimed further that the other player had spent about 12 years at the National Assembly, with 4 years as a Senate Leader, but cannot be said to have done any good thing for the people of Oyo State, saying that means he is more interested in his pocket than the people of the state. 

He asserted: “How can you now say you want that kind of person to be your governor? His case in terms of thuggery is different, he is a thug himself. The other one breeds thugs while this one is a thug. He doesn’t have what it takes, that is why he cannot rule this state.”

However, Adegoke affirmed that the Accord governorship candidate, Bayo Adelabu, would change things and make judicious use of resources to benefit the people of Oyo State, saying he would prioritise: electricity, to attract investors into the state; education, so the state’s ranking would improve and the students would be able to compete favourably with their counterparts in other states and other countries. 

On security, he said Adelabu would improve on the security infrastructure and ensure that CCTV cameras work, take care of the welfare of security agents and train them on the use of modern equipment bought for them. 

On agriculture, establish farm cities, support farmers, teach and support youth on modern agriculture and also teach them how to recycle and turn waste into wealth.

The BACO DG also revealed that the party was ready to work with like minds and other parties to take over power from the incumbent and show people how to run government and that there were still people in Oyo State that have their interest at heart.

Dominica Nwabufo

The Presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi has promised to make Kwara state an agricultural hub for industrialisation and exportation in the country.

Obi who is the former Governor of Anambra state made the promise in Ilorin when his 2023 presidential campaign train addressed his supporters in the state.

The Labour Party Presidential Candidate was accompanied to the rally by his running mate Datti Baba Ahmed , their wives, the National Chairman of the Party, Barrister Julius Abure, and other party stalwarts.

At the Metropolitan Square venue of the rally, Obi said “What we are doing here is a new politics. We want to build a new Nigeria. We don’t want to build a new Nigeria where we divide ourselves, but a Nigeria where we unite ourselves. A new Nigeria is possible, that is what Datti and I want to do.

In the past 10 years, Nigeria has been producing insecurity and poverty. 

“Today we have more people living in poverty than in any other country of the world. Unemployment, misery, fuel scarcity. Everywhere you go is suffering” he declared.

According to him, a new Nigeria the LP wants to build is a Nigeria where they will start securing Nigeria. 

He added that Nigerians should be able to move around the country and feel secure. 

The Labour Party Flagbearer disclosed that the party wants to provide a united Nigeria where there will be law and order; where everybody will be proud to say he or she is a Nigerian and move the country from a consumption to a production nation.

He described Kwara state as one of those places where the party will invest in agriculture to be able to use that for industrialisation and exportation which according to him, would bring down inflation and Nigerian currency will be worth something.

“We want a Nigeria where there will not be strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU); four years will be four years. That is what we want. It will no longer happen here and those who come out of the universities will find jobs. They will be doing something. We will support them.

“Today they don’t care about the youths, we want a Nigeria that cares. about the youths” he said. 

Obi declared that during this year’s election, they will come to them to vote for them and give them money and asked them to collect such money and in turn, vote for the Labour Party. ( LP)

Peter Obi’s presidential train later paid a traditional homage to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari in his palace where he received the blessings of the monarch.

Dominica Nwabufo