From Damola Adeloye, Ibadan 

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has declared that he will not be distracted by the clamour in some quarters for him to run for Presidency in 2027.

The Governor noted that he would not allow anyone to set an agenda for him, adding that as of now, he remained committed to delivering infrastructure, policies and programmes that will make lives more meaningful for the people, which is the mandate given to him by the people of Oyo State.

Makinde stated this on Tuesday, while appearing on Channels TV’s Politics Today.

He maintained that though he has the capacity to occupy the highest position in the land, he would put into consideration what the Nigerian people want, what his political party wants and what would be in the best interest of the people.

He equally added that if his political journey ends with being governor of Oyo State, he would cherish the opportunity given to him by the people of the state.

The Governor maintained that his administration has been able to build road infrastructure and put in place adequate security across the state, noting that these are the enablers for the agribusiness success and economic expansion being witnessed in the state.

He made a reference to his recent trip to France, stating that the trip was to finalise the deal to have a Food Wholesale Market established in Ijaiye by the Rungis International, describing the project and the Special Agro-Processing Zones springing up in Eruwa and Ijaiye as some of the gains of the agribusiness policy of the administration.

“For us, we don’t enjoy going to Abuja every month to get a handout as monthly allocation. We have all it takes. People say that Africa will get out of poverty when we take on the world, but for us in Oyo State, our approach is that what we need to take on the world is almost what we need for import substitution.

“We are building infrastructure that will allow us to have foreign exchange in agriculture and agribusiness. The infrastructure we are building are the enablers for agribusiness. We started out by connecting Ibadan, which is the major consumption hub, to Oke Ogun, the major agriculture hub. We also connected Oyo to Oke Ogun and then we connected Ogbomoso, which is the second largest consumption hub, to Oke Ogun.

“Through infrastructure, we have not only enabled agribusiness, we have halted rural-urban migration. You know that I hosted the President of Sierra Leone in Fashola Agribusiness Hub recently and he said to me that he once spoke with the President of China, asking him how he was feeding 1.6 billion people and the Chinese President told him, infrastructure. That if you build infrastructure, private people would come to build farms and industries. That is what we have done in Oyo State”.

Also speaking about the meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, Governors’ Forum ,PDPGF, held in Ibadan on Sunday and Monday, Governor Makinde said the far-reaching decisions taken by the governors were taken in consultation with all necessary organs of the party.

He maintained that those rushing to drop PDP’s name in coalition talks were doing so when a majority of party members and party organs had no clue about what they were trying to do, what is in the coalition for them and whether the coalition agenda was about power-mongering or whether it is in the best interest of Nigerians.

“These are the issues you need to put into consideration before jumping into the fray, saying you are leading a coalition without carrying the critical people in your party along”, he stressed.

When asked who would succeed him as governor in 2027, the governor declared that he has enough good people on his team and that he would not leave the state in a limbo.

He said: “We have enough good people on our team in Oyo State. But I will not just leave Oyo State people hanging. Before I came into office, I put in place a Roadmap for Accelerated Development, 2019-2023 and when we were re-elected in 2023, we put in the Roadmap for Sustainable Development, 2023-2027.

“We have achieved many things. But when people ask me, you have done so much in terms of building roads and all that, are these your legacy, I always tell them those are not the things I want to be remembered for. I want to be remembered for creating a major shift in terms of creating institutions to support good governance in Oyo State.

“Before I leave office, I will prepare a Roadmap for Continued Development of Oyo State and, whoever the Oyo State people choose in 2027, I will hand it over to him and I would have done my own bit”.

The Governor also spoke on the issue of zoning, noting that since politics is a game of numbers, the discussion on the issue will be a continuous one. 

He added, however, that the governorship would leave Ibadan when there is a governor who has performed excellently and has earned the trust of the people and who decides to convince people in that direction.

Former presidential candidate, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has condemned the renewed wave of violence in Plateau and Ondo States, describing the persistent killings as a tragic reflection of Nigeria’s failing security architecture.

In a strongly worded statement released on Wednesday, Hashim questioned the continued bloodshed across the country and called for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s approach to security.

“How many more innocent lives must be lost before real and lasting solutions are implemented? When will this bloodletting stop”, Hashim queried.

He accused the Federal Government of failing to exercise full control over the Nation’s security situation, while simultaneously resisting calls for the devolution of critical security responsibilities to State and Local Governments.

According to him, the centralised nature of Nigeria’s security structure has become overstretched and ineffective in responding swiftly to threats at the grassroots.

Hashim also identified poor cooperation with neighbouring countries as a major contributor to the current insecurity, citing the free inflow of arms and bandits across the country’s borders as a lingering threat.

“Bandits and terrorists now operate with calculated ease, simply relocating from areas of intensified Federal Military presence to regions with low or delayed security attention”, he said, noting a pattern of violence shifting from the North East, to the North West, and now to the North Central.

Describing the trend as an “adaptive insurgency”, Hashim stressed that the Nation must adopt a decentralised and intelligence driven security strategy that includes full collaboration with subnational governments and regional partners.

“The people deserve peace, and the time to act is now”, he concluded.

Hashim warned that what is happening in Nigeria is far more complex than isolated communal disputes. “What is going on in Nigeria are not isolated communal disputes but coordinated rural and semi-urban guerrilla warfare by a motley alliance of forces of terror and banditry that have chosen the entire Northern Nigeria as their theatre of operation”, he said.

Dr Hashim also condoled the families of the victims who lost their lives. “Our heart goes to the families and communities who lost their loved ones and those who are wounded, we pray for strength for them and speedy recovery”, he said.

Meanwhile, Police sources revealed that ‎ preliminary investigations and operations in response to these attacks have led to the arrest of two suspects in connection with the killings in Bokkos, who are currently assisting with the ongoing investigation

Gbenga Hashim, a notable businessman and politician, was a presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections and has remained an influential voice in national policy debates.

FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY 

 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Vice Chairman, South-South, Chief Dan Orbih, yesterday accused former Edo State Governor,  Mr. Godwin Obaseki of allegedly killing the party with support from some disgruntled PDP members in Edo State. 

Orbih was instrumental to Obaseki’s emergence as governor of the Edo State during Obaseki’s re-election in 2020 as the Edo state PDP chairman who championed the former governor campaign across the 192 wards of the state. 

Orbih made the remarks during the official opening of a new state Secretariat, he personally donated to Edo State chapter of the party saying this modest contribution to the party is an effort to rebuild the PDP in the state and in the South South.

He added that the state chapter of the party lacks a functional secretariat for the discharge of its duties and decried the destruction done to the PDP by Ex-Governor Godwin Obaseki and his cronies under the previous government. 

Orbih lamented that the party under his watch as National Vice Chairman, South-South, cannot be homeless, hence the donation to Edo State chapter of the PDP.

The National Vice Chairman, South-South stated that Obaseki killed and buried the PDP in Edo and must account for the huge money he pledged to deliver some many projects including the GeleGele Seaport,  which hitherto, he noted has not been achieved.

He called on genuine members of the party to be united in the struggle to rejig the party, noting that the PDP is a formidable party despite its internal problems.

He equally dismissed the claims that Ex-governor of Rivers State and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike was responsible for the PDP’s woes. 

Orbih said that the PDP in Edo State is determined to collaborate and work with only  genuine and loyal party members who have the interest of the PDP at heart.

He alleged that the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, comprising,  Tony Aziegbemi,  PDP Caretaker Committee Chairman,  Henry Duke Tenebe and Chris Nehikhare  , Acting Secretary and Publicity Secretary respectively were  incapable of delivering the party to victory as they actively played a role with Ex-governor Godwin Obaseki in destroying the party in Edo.

“Obaseki should come back and tell us what he did with the money that he was to use to develop GeleGele Seaport.

PDP is a formidable party.  We have our own problems.  But you must know that Nyesom Wike is not our problem”, Orbih said.

Orhih also appreciated Edo State Governor,  Monday Okpebholo, whom he described as a man of humility and honour. 

He said Okpebholo has shown great humility and respect for the traditional institution in the state and has repositioned the state for greater development. 

“On the 17th of January, our former state chairman, Honorable Tony Aziegbemi was chased out of our office along airport road.

And from January to this very day, the PDP in Edo State  has no State Secretariat.Many leaders, party members of our great party in the Edo state have been reaching out to me.It was arising from their calls that I promised that I was going to donate an office to the Edo PDP”, Orbih said..

Orbih continued,  “As we mark this historic event, I want to send a very loud message to Jarret Tenebe, the APC chairman in Edo. He should not come here. If he comes here, he must be prepared to declare for PDP.

“Let me use this opportunity to say that I have observed with disappointment, certain characters, masquerading as acting PDP chairman and acting Secretary  as well as Publicity Secretary and PDP committee members of the party.

“Today, I want to publicly declare that those who collaborated with Godwin Obaseki to kill the PDP in the Edo State can not be caretakers. They are undertakers.

 “Undertakers cannot take care of anything. They are those who buried the party in the Edo state.

“I want to use this event to tell them to stay away. It is time for us to rebuild, reconstruct, and reposition Edo State PDP.

“Obaseki came into our party to destroyed our party. And this character, some of them, they were calling him all sort of names like ‘Wake and See’,  ‘Ematon’ and ‘Technocrat’.

“I, Chief Dan Orbih, the national vice-chairman, South-south, hereby challenge Obaseki to come back to Edo state and give an account of his stewardship”, Orbih said.

Present at the event were some PDP leaders, including Dr. Wilson Imogan, an Ex-official of the PDP South South Zone, and Barr. Nosa Ogieva, Chairman PDP Edo South Senatorial District.

Expressing appreciation to 

National Vice Chairman, South-South for the new secretariat,  Ogieva said Orbih has laid the foundation for a formidable PDP in Edo state.

He described the donation as  a gesture that has removed shame, hopelessness, and homelessness from the Edo PDP,  assuring that the PDP would be back to power again in the state.