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Tag: Seyi Makinde

  • APC to Makinde: let your actions be guided by the Constitution

    The Oyo State chapter of the  All Progressives Congress (APC) has advised Governor Seyi Makinde to let his actions be guided by constitutional provisions and the rule of law.

    Its Publicity Secretary, Dr. Azeez Olatunde, in a statement yesterday, said the APC viewed the statement credited to the governor that he would review all the appointments and promotions made by his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi from March 11 to May 28 as ill-advised.

    “APC views the decision of the governor as a reflection of the new government’s ignorance of constitutional matters. The governor should know and be advised that all the decisions made by Senator Ajimobi were within his constitutional rights to do as the sitting governor.

    “His mandate only ended on May 28 and actions taken while he held the mandate were within his right as governor and within the letters of the constitution,” the statement reads.

    The party frowned at Makinde’s decision to reverse the promotion of the Permanent Secretaries (PS) but refused to reverse that of the Head of Service, who incidentally is the wife of an ally of the governor.

    “For someone who professes to be the people’s governor, his action does not reflect this. By that decision, he has taken away the happiness and celebration by the newly promoted PS. His action could also be likened to the decision to dissolve the legally elected local government administration.

    Read Also: Oyo chairmen to Makinde: we were duly elected

    “How would he feel if someone takes his mandate from him through executive fiat as he has done? For a man who professes godliness, his actions are antithetical to what he professes. The APC is of the opinion that he wants to play politics with that action, that is why he took the decision, forgetting that these newly promoted PS are deserving of the promotion. It is ill-advised; it is ungodly and negates his professed love for the masses. The PS are first and foremost citizens of the state whom he professed to love,” the APC said.

    According to the Publicity Secretary, the actions taken by the governor, apart from being unconstitutional, also reflect impatience and overzealousness.

    “Governor Makinde seems to be forgetting that he has a four-year mandate; he should, therefore, reflect deeply on his actions before they are carried out.

    “What he has done clearly shows the impunity that was the hallmark of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before the progressives brought sanity into governance. Oyo State and Nigeria should not go back to that era. The years of locust.”

     

  • Oyo folks and their new governor

    As it’s the wont of many religious Nigerians, the last swearing-in ceremonies of new and Returning leaders across the federation did not lack prayers and heavy doses of positive wishes. These Nigerians rolled away the parchments of failures of the outgone rulers and those of them who managed to secure second term, a la President Buahri, el-Rufai, Wike, among others. And with the instrument of prayers and overwrought wishes these long-suffering Nigerians unfurled new scrolls with which to begin to chronicle the positives of the new beginnings.

    To be sure, prayers and good wishes, especially for new leaders, are not necessarily untoward. But when you look at the source of the inspiration for the renewed hope of these Nigerians all you see are mere wishes founded on the illogic of a people besotted with what the late Chinua Achebe in his seminal essay, “The Trouble with Nigeria,” insightfully describes as “cargo mentality” – this being, as he renders it, “a belief [wish] by backward people that somebody, without any exertion whatsoever on their own part, a fairy ship will dock in their harbour laden with every goody they have always dreamed of possessing.” Unable to understand what role they have to play in the governance process, too many a Nigerian escapes easily into the igloo of prayers and fine wishes, expecting those activities to serenade them with the goodies of good governance.

    In Oyo State, for example, where Mr.  Seyi Makinde of the People’s Democratic Party took the reins of power from the two-term governor Abiola Ajimobi of the All People’sCongress, many are those who showered the new governor with prayers and are still in overdrive mode of dispensing wishes. Given the way many Oyo folks got beside themselves with prayers and wishes for their new leader, anyone who did not know would think ex-governor Ajimobi performed averagely in his eight years in office because he did not have enough good wishes and prayers. It seems for most of these Oyo folks good wishes and prayers are all that Governor Makinde needs to birth the geese of good governance for their collective happiness and wellbeing. Your classic cargo mentality.

    But those Oyo people are wrong and are balking up the wrong tree. Neither prayers nor good wishes solely will propel Governor Makinde to deliver good governance. From Abuja to Zamfara perplexing mountains of evidence abound to support the view that prayers and good wishes do not catalyze good governance. For far too long the affairs of Nigeria at different levels of governance have been, and are still being, managed by myopic, illiberal, and visionless minds. When a people are richly blessed with such antediluvian minds, no magic of prayers and charm of kind wishes would transform their existential conditions. They either have modern and visionary minds for leaders and consequently record progress; or they have the uninspiring types generously available across Nigeria and become a reference point in how not to lead decent life.

    Like Nigerians in other states, Oyo people have to come to the unvarnished realization that the affair called governance is a science. It thrives largely on solid logic, deep thinking, constant re-examination, and increasing reflection. Not on wishes and mawkish abdication of responsibility projected as supplications. It’s either their new governor has the right ideas and discipline and a thinking coterie of aides and mounts the hill of success; or he lacks all these and then comes a sad cropper. If his policies and logic are of eras gone by and so are unsuitable for addressing the challenges of his time, no amount of patriotic wishes will stem the raging tide of failure to come. In other words, Governor Makinde does not need the scaffoldings of prayers to engineer a modern Oyo where schools are not laboratories for the production of dull minds and where workers are not slaves.

    If Governor Makinde succeeds (as it is the wish of his base and other well-wishers), it will not be because wishes and prayers prevailed. However, should he connect with the demon of tokenism and the ogre of narcissism (like his immediate predecessor), no one should scapegoat prayers and wishes and bemoan their short supplies. The last time I peeked into Nigeria's history, I found out that not one of the gelded minds who ruled it at different levels suffered deficits of wishes and prayers.

    Let the people of Oyo don their critical and thinking caps if they want a government that will transform their existential aches. If they prefer infantile complaints and self-wonding adulations, they will have to live with what would amount to a celebrated transition devoid of impactful transformation. Oyo people should understand that in avoiding Ajimobi’s choice of successor and voting instead for Makinde they have expressed their conviction that the new governor will take them on a more beneficial path that his predecessor could not walk them through. If that is the case, succumbing to mere wishes and prayers for him to do the job appears contradictory and unhelpful. They have to put on their thinking cap and play the role becoming of citizens in a democracy.

    They must learn to remorselessly put the feet of their new governor continually to the fire. They must lob hard questions at him and refuse to be lovers of easy answers. They must critically examine his policies, their viability, and impacts on their collective lives from time to time.

    Similarly, Oyo people will need to modestly and sensibly appreciate Governor Makinde’s stellar outings when they are evident. They owe him measured Commendation, but that spirit to praise and celebrate his fine feats must not dwarf the mind of constructive criticism. Coherent, constructive, and consistent criticism is one of the best actions the Oyo people can’t abjure as their new governor settles down to the work he promised them is not above his ken. It’s not their duty to see his brilliant performance as favour. No, they are his employers and he is the employee. They should encourage him with good words when he delights their hearts with productive programmes. And when he veers off the path he is employed to walk, they must not use lavender language to call him to order. He is only a governor at their pleasure.

    Here is where Governor Makinde comes in. He must always remember he was not elected to talk down on the people and give them unprofitable lessons in the act of fawning and genuflection before a constituted but unprincipled authority. The people already have their priests and preachers who cater to their insatiable religious needs.

    He should rather be to them the secular leader who ministers socioeconomic change to their lives. To be that kind of leader, he can’t find his people's criticisms harrowing and displeasing. He can’t take umbrage when they speak about how some of his policies hurt them. He must truly listen to the wisdom in their critical engagements of his policies. He would miss the point if he thinks the mouths of his spokespersons and not the lives of the people will constitute the measure of his performance. Governor Makinde cannot prioritize prayers and good wishes as the resources he needs to shepherd the state excellently.

    The new Oyo helmsman needs to surround himself with thinkers and structured minds who have the courage of their convictions. While he can’t avoid the sycophants and the grossly incompetent given the coalitions that inspired his emergence as candidate and governor, he must ensure that he has more of aides whose minds are alien to the fripperies of surface thinking and shallowness. If he is unable to cobble together a team of bright and progressive minds, he must never pretend not to know where the rain of depressing performance began to beat him. And if his leadership lacks the force of personal examples, he must not expect history to be kind to him. Governor Makinde must consistently align himself with the Socratic imperative of self-examination, constantly reviewing his actions and moves, rather than depend mainly on the good wishes and prayers of his beleaguered people, especially his over-joyous base.

    All in all, effective governance does not come from mere positive wishes. The Oyo people and their new governor must forge a common front that allows them to work together. They must feel very free to agree and disagree. Each must responsibly take up their duties. The governor’s policies must be viable and must address the core aches of the people. It is of this that good governance come; not from supplications, wishes, and cargo mentality.

     

    • Ademola writes from the University of Manitoba.

  • Why our administration will remain a reference point – Ajimobi

    Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, has declared that his administration will remain a reference point in the history of the state despite losing in the last election.

    He made the declaration last week at the Public lecture and Fellowship Investiture organised by Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP) at the University of Ibadan.

    The outgoing governor also emphasized that he was ready for probe should his successor, Seyi Makinde, choose to open the books of his administration.

    According to him, the massive infrastructural development, peace and security, investments in education and health, among others, will retain his administration as a reference point in the history of the state regardless of what anyone feels about him.

    Ajimobi, who reeled out the achievements of his administration, said they were anchored on a pyramid of development which included restoration, transformation and repositioning.

    He said that the pyramid of development gave birth to a new wave of developmental strides in education that led to the establishment of School’s Governing Board (SGB) among other programs.

    Ajimobi said: “When they get there, let them cancel all the contracts we have signed. Let them investigate us and if we have stolen, they should arrest us.

    “The SGB model led to a significant improvement in public schools students’ performance in public examinations. Today, we can boast of the best results in WASSCE in the last 18 years.

    “We have given our best to the state and we will continue to do this. The feats recorded by our administration placed Oyo as one of the five safest haven of investment in the country.

    Read Also: I am ready for probe – Ajimobi

    “We are also the fourth investment friendly state in Nigeria according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS); with a four star rating for investment friendliness by the Nigerian Export Promotions Commission,” he said.

    The governor advised the incoming administration to approach governance with all strictness, especially in the course of maintaining the peaceful atmosphere that assisted in giving him the mandate he enjoyed from the people.

     

  • Oyo: Tribunal orders INEC to allow Makinde inspect election materials

    The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Oyo State on Tuesday ordered the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the Governor-elect, Seyi Makinde, to inspect the materials used in March 9 governorship election in the state.

    INEC declared  Makinde, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winner of  the March 9 governorship election in Oyo State after polling 515,621 votes.

    NAN reports that Makinde defected his closest rival, Adebayo Adelabu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who had 357,982 votes.

    The Charmian of the three-man panel, Justice Muhammed Sirajo, granted the application following a prayer by Counsel to Makinde, Mr Jamiu Makinde, seeking the order of the tribunal to inspect all the election materials used in the March 9 election.

    Adelabu and his party had gone to the tribunal to challenge the declaration of Makinde as the winner of the March 9 governorship election in the state.

    Read Also: Will Makinde make a difference in Oyo?

    The other respondents in the matter are the PDP and INEC.

    Counsel to Makinde, Mr Jamiu Makinde,  on Tuesday informed the court that the respondents had filed an expert application seeking the order of the tribunal to inspect all the election materials used in the March 9 election.

    Makinde said that the application was brought under section 281 (1, 2) of the electoral Act 2010 as amended.

    He said the application was supported by 18 paragraph affidavit and a written address sworn to by one Emmanuel Igu.

    NAN

  • Minimum wage: Ajimobi, Makinde bicker over Labour negotiation

    Following his earlier promise to make workers in the state happier as soon as the federal government approves the N30,000 national minimum wage, the Oyo state government said it will on Monday open up discussions with labour leaders on the modalities for the implementation of the new wage.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi had on January 8, this year assured the labour leaders on the implementation when the workers visited his Agodi, Ibadan office during a peaceful protest to demand the implementation of N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

    The new minimum wage was approved and signed by President Muhammad Buhari on April 18, 2019 for immediate implementation.

    The notice of the meeting was conveyed in a congratulatory message sent to the labour leaders by the Oyo state government on the successful conduct of its state congress which produced Comrade Titiola Sodo as the new NLC state chairman.

    The message was signed by the State’s Information Commissioner, Mr Toye Arulogun.

    But, in a swift reaction, the Governor-Elect, Mr Seyi Makinde cautioned the outgoing Ajimobi’s administration against negotiating the implementation of the new minimum wage with the labour unions.

    Makinde, in a statement by his spokesperson, Prince Dotun Oyelade “queried the intention and sincerity of the outgoing government to open negotiation with the labour unions on the implementation of N30,000 minimum wage in Oyo come this Monday which is exactly 30 days to the exit of the Governor Abiola Ajimobi led outgoing administration.

    The governor-elect stressed that there ”is nothing the lame duck government wants to achieve other than to complicate things for the In-coming government in exactly the same manner it is doing in awarding fresh contracts and rolling out largesse to fellow politicians and friends .”

    Emphasizing that he looks forward to a progressive relationship with the new Sodo led NLC excos, Makinde warns against what he described as “any booby traps in the planned negotiation by the outgoing government.”

    Read Also: Ajimobi inaugurates 26-member transition committee

    The Governor-elect pointed out that he was satisfied with the level of rapport he had with the NLC during and after the election and hope that this will be maintained as the new NLC executive assumes the mantle of leadership.

    He reiterated his commitment towards ensuring that nothing short of the interest of workers will be acceptable to his administration as he applauded the rancour-free consensus that heralded the new Chairman as a good sign that democratic maturity has always been a virtue of the NLC, saying he believes that the new NLC leadership is circumspect enough to understand the ongoing theatrics.

  • Oyo gov-elect promises to prioritise workers’ welfare

    The Oyo State governor-elect, Mr Seyi Makinde, says his administration is committed to the welfare of workers.

    Makinde said this while congratulating the new executive of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Oyo State.

    Mr Dotun Oyelade, the Head of Media and Publicity Seyi Makinde Campaign Organisation, quoted Makinde in a statement he issued in Ibadan as particularly commending NLC for its rancour-free election on Thursday.

    This, Makinde noted, indicated that democratic maturity had remained a virtue of the NLC.

    Red also:Rep-elect Abiola Makinde, wife, others bag Doctorate Degrees

    Makinde, according to the statement, expressed satisfaction with the level of rapport he had with the NLC during and after the gubernatorial election.

    He expressed the hope that this would be sustained as the new NLC executive assumes the mantle of leadership.

    The incoming governor further said he looked forward to a progressive relationship with the new NLC executive under the leadership of Mr Bayo Titilola-Sodo.

    The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Titilola-Sodo, emerged the state chairman of the NLC on Thursday at the 12th State Delegates Conference of the union held in Ibadan.(NAN)

  • Oyo guber: Court orders INEC to allow Adelabu, APC inspect materials

    The Election Petition Tribunal in Oyo State on Monday ordered INEC to allow Mr Adebayo Adelabu, governorship candidate of the APC, to inspect election materials used in the March 9 Governorship Election.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Makinde winner of the governorship election after polling 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu who had 357,982.

    Other respondents in the case are the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Anthony Akpovi, said he gave the order after considering the application made by Adelabu on its merit and felt it would help the petitioners in maintaining their case against the respondents.

    He ordered INEC to allow the petitioners and their agents to inspect and obtain all polling documents used in the March 9 governorship election in the custody of INEC.

    Akpovi directed INEC to make available all ballot papers, voter registers and copies of all election materials in all polling units.

    Earlier, Mr Olajide Ola, counsel to Adelabu, had prayed the court to grant his motion experte to inspect the governorship election materials in the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adelabu and his party, APC, filed a petition at the tribunal against INEC for declaring Seyi Makinde of the PDP winner of the governorship election.

  • Oyo PDP accuses Ajimobi of laying ‘economic landmine for Makinde’

    THE Oyo State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has described the steps being taken by outgoing Governor Abiola Ajimobi led-administration as calculated to lay political and economic landmine for the governor-elect, Seyi Makinde.

    Saying the victory handed the PDP in the just concluded 2019 election as historical and comparable to Arab Spring in the Middle East, the party said it has resolved to treat governance in the next four years with all sense of due diligence and seriousness.

    In a statement issued by the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Akeem Olatunji in Ibadan yesterday, the party accused the outgoing APC government of looting the treasury under the watchful eyes of the state officials, especially Ajimobi, the 68 local councils and local council development areas (LCDAs) chairmen and local governments’ director of works.

    It said just within the last six months, a minimum of N19 billion was misappropriated from the 33 local governments’ Excess Crude account without recourse to laid down rules and procedure.

    The statement added that the “government hurriedly awarded over N30 billion frivolous contracts” after the outgoing governor’s candidate lost the gubernatorial election to PDP.

    “If truly Governor Ajimobi and APC is desirous of progress, development and wellbeing of Oyo State people, he should have limited his outgoing government to resolving the financial challenges facing the six state owned tertiary institutions, including Ladoke Akintola University in Ogbomosho, completion of ongoing projects, paying backlogs of salary arrears to pensioners and civil servants and most importantly, clear about N300 billion debt his administration incurred in the last eight years.

    “Juxtaposing the above scenario with suit filed by the APC gubernatorial candidate, Chief Bayo Adelabu, against the overwhelming victory of Seyi Makinde of PDP, it is evident that the reason for the frivolous awards of contracts and post-election litigation is to bogged down the incoming Makinde-led PDP administration and deprive the state of much-needed development gear to take our people out of the miserable poverty level they have been subjected to in the last eight years.

    “If indeed the outgoing government and APC are committed to serve Oyo State people, we expect them to extend hands of friendship to the incoming PDP government by reversing all secret employments and contracts awarded immediately after the election was lost and won. APC should also accept their loss at the poll as the final verdict of the almighty electorates, who have decided in their own wisdom to give PDP candidate a clear lead in 28 out of 33 local governments’ election results, “the party said.

    Read also: Adelabu, APC challenge Makinde’s victory

    When contacted, the state All Progressive Congress (APC) spokesperson, Dr.  AbdulAzeez Olatunde faulted the PDP allegations, describing them as baseless and unfounded.

    He said it was saddening that the PDP is still in campaign mood and could not put on its thinking cap and be strategising on what to make of the mandate given them by the electorate.

    He reminded the  PDP that in 2011, the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that won Oyo State gubernatorial election did not begin governance until May 29, 2011,  adding that the assets and liabilities of government inherited were faced headlong.

    “Like the earlier post, the life of this current government will only expires on May 28, 2019,” he stated.

    Dr. AbdulAzeez rhetorical asked the incoming PDP government to make their findings properly about the last-minute employments, which the PDP made in 2011 at both the state and local government levels, and whether the CAN asked for their reversal.

    “No, we didn’t. In fact, our government employed more hands. And if there is any sector that needed more before the life-span of this government, is PDP asking the government to go on holiday, which is anti-people you promised to serve?

    “In APC government, there is no secret employment. If that is the stock in trade of PDP, the APC government has since corrected that. That is why the YES-O Cadets and virtually all government employments were made open through online processing.

    “Over 200 trade groups and artisans have been empowered by this government with over N2 billion revolving loans and over 320 tractors purchased for agricultural intervention in Oyo State, the first state government to acquire such hefty figure.

    “We would have ignored the advice of the PDP to APC on litigation filed on the gubernatorial election, however, they should tell us why the PDP/ Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), former Accord Party candidate, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja went to court in 2015 and why is PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in court for their lost elections. Honestly, PDP is an expired party, replete with strange ideological hypocrites.

    “ACN government of Ajimobi met debts and paid those he could and God sparing our lives till 2023, I will love to remind the public the debt the PDP government would be leaving behind,” Olatunde said.

  • Adelabu, APC challenge Makinde’s victory

    OYO State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Mr. Adebayo Adelabu has approached the Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge the victory of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mr. Seyi Makinde.

    Adelabu is praying the tribunal to overturn Makinde’s victory.

    He filed the suit alongside his party, whose state chairman, Chief Akin Oke, had after the result of the election, said the APC was considering approaching the election tribunal to upturn Makinde’s triumph.

    Makinde was on March 10 declared the winner of the governorship election by the state Returning Officer, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, having polled 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu, who scored 357,982 votes.

    The results indicated that Makinde defeated Adelabu with 157,639 votes.

    Oke said: “I want to repeat what I said concerning the outcome of the last governorship election. First, I want to greet all the people who genuinely voted for us. But where there is a genuine case of fraud, of course why not go to court?

    “Do you want us to continue to support fraud? I repeat we will go to court once there are enough grounds to do so.”

    Yesterday, the APC made real its threat as it was listed as the second petitioner.

    The petition has Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first respondent. Makinde and PDP are second and third respondents.

    But, in a reaction, the state secretary of PDP, Mr. Wasiu Adeleke, said there was no cause for alarm because it was glaring from the results across the five geopolitical zones that “Engr. Seyi Makinde won overwhelmingly and polled the highest number of votes and was subsequently declared as winner”.

     

     

  • Fayemi to S’ West Leaders: Put aside party politics for regional Integration

    The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has urged Southwest leaders to to jettison party politics in the interest of the region for the sustainable development.

    Fayemi said the region can only regain its pride of place in the country’s political configuration unless leaders never allow national politics to divide them.

    He stated that all efforts must be geared by the leaders irrespective of political affinity towards the development of South West region.

    He added that for desirous interest of Yoruba to be promoted and protected, there must be unity of purpose and togetherness.

    Fayemi who spoke in Ado Ekiti on Saturday at a national retreat held by Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), disclosed that the All Progressives Congress governors in the southwest will work with the governor elect in Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde in the interest of the region.

    The governor, however, said Yoruba race needs to be more tactical if desirous to actualise its advocacy issue of restructuring .

    He urged the proponents of the policy in the region to change strategy and reach out to other regions on how to actualise the dream of Nigeria being restructured economically and politically.

    On the deeply entrenched voter apathy in the southwest region, the last election, 16.2 million registered in the southwest, but said the outcome in all the states were shocking.

    “There are those who entertained fear on this issue of restructuring and whether this is legitimate or not, we must reach out to them, because we are not an island onto ourselves.

    “We don’t need to be shouting on the roof top before we get it, but if we want to do it alone, the agitation will fall”, he warned.

    Read Also: Appeal Court okays Fayemi’s election

    Expressing regret over voter apathy in the southwest, Fayemi said : “in the last presidential poll, Ekiti registered 909,000 voters , only 381,000 voted, 0sun 1.67million , only 737,000 voted, Ondo, 1.8m registered , 586,00, Oyo, 2.7m registered , 891,000 voted, 2.36m registered in Ogun, 605,000 voted and Lagos with 6.3m, only 1.56m voted.

    “This might be caused by deficit of trust or fraudulent multiple registration, but whatever the case was, as long as we remain a constituent part of this country, ARG should reflect on this and act appropriately.

    “If it was as a result of deficit of voter education, then the ARG and governments need a lot to do. Religion also affected us, because some people were brainwashed to vote based on religious considerations”.

    The governors of Ondo, Rotimi Akeredolu and Osun, Gboyega Oyetola, said all the distinguishable traits of the southwest region initiated during the old western region must he brought back in the interest of the zone.

    Governors of Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, said what could be regarded as distinguishable attributes of the Yoruba people is quest for development and good governance and that these should be sustained in the interest of the people.

    The Osun governor, Oyetola, represented by his chief of staff, Dr. Charles Akinola said: ” the Yorubaness in us and those things that separated us from others are our developmental drives, our intellectual rigour, our brilliance, circumspection and those values however, have not really taken us to where we deserve”.

    Oyetola also appealed to the southwest governments to leverage on its human capital in the diaspora and bring them home for the benefit of all.

    Also speaking, Ondo state governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, represented by the commissioner for Regional Integration, Prof Bayonle Ademodi, added that the southwest is also facing serious economic and political crises that needed to be addressed.

    “We have to be really worried that the instability and insecurity in the sahel has started affecting us and we need to get worried.

    ” We knew we had to think outside the box in the southwest on how to bring our own paradigm and we thought of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) to work on how to put us back on the right track.

    Akeredolu said the act of using desperation to get into power is becoming high in the region, saying this has made it difficult for people to have control over their leaders.

    The National Chairman of the group, Hon Wale Oshun, reiterated the issue of restructuring and advised that it should be taken back to the front burner to benefit the Yoruba race.

    Oshun said in spite of different decisions taken by the southwest in the last elections that the values of whim he Yoruba people are remain the same.

    “The Yoruba people are progressive people. We are lovely and we care for each other . We are welfarists and we remain the same despite out stand in the just concluded governorship and legislative elections.

    ” All we want as a people is to ensure that our interests at the national level are protected and that we get a fair deal in the scheme of things”.

    Oshun, however, expressed fear that Yoruba language is fast going into extinction due to paradigm shift caused by globalisation and laxity on the part of some parents.

    ” This is one issue our governments and traditional rulers must correct and prevent from happening. That was why we started the Yoruba academy and we have been working on this with some States’.

    The group’s leader also advocated true federalism urging political leaders in the region to take a firm stand to protect the rights of the Yoruba race.

    “Our leaders who know that restructuring is an issue that is germane to speak up the way the ACF used to speak on some national issues”.