• Gov won’t join presidential race through backdoor, says Oduyoye
In Oyo State, the resuscitation of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s populist legacies is far more urgent and significant than nursing a presidential ambition, the governor, Seyi Makinde has said.
Speaking with visiting members of the PDP Press Corps at the resuscitated old Fashola Farm and Agricbusiness hub yesterday, Makinde noted that the visionary leadership of the Western Region under late Chief Obafemi Awolowo had innovative achievements, including the Cocoa House skyscraper and television station six years ahead of several developed economies.
“Their first skyscraper in Tel Aviv, Israel was built six years after Cocoa House, but, if you go around Tel Aviv today, they have almost 2,000 other skyscrapers in there, and we have not even built a second one!
“What we are doing here is just an opportunity to show you that a long time ago, thinkers passed through this place they did certain things and for us, we want to bring some of these things back and see how we can utilise it to make life a little better for our people,” said Makinde.
Urging members of the PDP Press Corps to return to Abuja with clearer perspectives about issues and developments in Oyo State, Makinde dismissed speculations from those who are preoccupied with pushing the agenda that he is running for the 2027 presidential race already.
“We didn’t do this because somebody has a presidential ambition, I have no comment on their speculations but all I can say to you is that I’m old enough, if I want to do something, I will come out and say, this is what I want to do.
“So, no speculation, nobody can push my agenda, I will push my agenda when the time comes; I’m glad that you’ve been able to go to a few of our project sites,” Governor Makinde said.
Speaking further on programmes conceptualised during Chief Awolowo’s time as a Premier of Western Region, Governor Makinde justified efforts to revive some of the truly visionary developmental projects that became inactive over the years.
“Here they were breeding cattle, the mother cattle, the breeders that you would now take somewhere else to breed and sell and eat, But Nigeria happened to this place, they ate the breeders and the mothers. They ate everything. But now, we are trying to provide this. Where you are is space for Fashola agric hub and agro-tourism.
“ Around here, we met structures from the 1950s saying this specie of cattle, this bridge, this was done, that was done; so, we’re refurbishing all of that so that we can tell our story that, once upon a time, there was a country that built Cocoa House from efforts like this,” he said.
Pointing out that his administration is strongly focused on the continuation of infrastructural development projects including hundreds of kilometres of roads that were long abandoned and classified as federal or local government roads, Governor Makinde emphasised that it was not roads or infrastructures alone that matter.
“So, what I will say is that we want to be remembered, not just for construction of roads or that we built the airport, the local government; we want to be remembered for the institutions that we’re trying to build such that good governance will be entrenched or guaranteed in Oyo State, irrespective of who is coming in – and we are succeeding.
“Before we came in, there was no Amotekun but now, I am wearing Amotekun cap and on Monday, they will graduate the Forest Rangers so that bandits will never have any foothold in our state.
“We also set up our own anti-corruption agency, we set up our rule of law enforcement authority because even when you get to Abuja airport and you’re driving to town, you will sometimes see people driving against traffic.
“If you’re a foreigner who is aware that we want to promote things like tourism, some people will freak out just from seeing on a major highway, traffic driving against you; in our state, we will stamp it out – it is a national menace, but we will stamp it out,” Governor Makinde asserted
Meanwhile, former Alliance for Democracy (AD) Whip in the House of Representatives, Babatunde Oduyoye, has said that Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, would not join the 2027 presidential race through the backdoor.
He said contrary to widespread claims that Makinde has thrown his hat into the ring, he said the governor has not made any categorical statement on any ambition.
Oduyoye, who was Makinde’s Special Adviser on Strategy and Political Matters during his first term, described the governor as a strategic planner who would put some things in place before taking such an important decision.
He said since the governor has not taken certain steps, which he ordinarily would have taken, if he were to be truly interested in running for president, the ambition may be coming from well-wishers who want him to move higher on the political ladder.
Oduyoye maintained that Makinde has not taken a decision, adding that he has not done what he is known for as a strategic politician.
He said: “I have read the reports that Governor Makinde has declared his presidential ambition for 2027, but I have not read anyone with the exact quote from the governor.
“I know Governor Makinde and I know what he will do if he is interested in running for president. As of now, the governor has not done those things. So, I am sure that this ambition is coming from his well-wishers.
“Governor Makinde has never been one to shy away from challenges, and he is certainly not going to join the presidential race through the back door; he is not cowardly. I know him; I know what he will do if and when that time comes.”
