Oyo State Governor. Engr. Seyi Makinde last Thursday began his second term campaign in the ancient city of Ibadan. The well attended rally witnessed the presence of the aggrieved PDP Governors, the G5 and some members of the Integrity Group including the former governors of Ekiti and Ondo State, Ayodele Fayose and Dr Olusegun Mimiko respectively.
However, what happened at the rally and the prevalent political situation in Oyo State has shown that Makinde may face multiple hurdles on his journey to second term in office
Makinde it could be recalled joined four other PDP Governors including Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Okpezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Ifeanyi Ugwuayi of Enugu State to form a G5 – Governors who had fallout with the leadership of the party.
Upon the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the Presidential Candidate of the PDP, the five governors had demanded the immediate resignation of the national chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu and his replacement by a southern member of the party.
They have maintained that there was an agreement before the party’s primary that if a northerner emerged as the presidential candidate, then Ayu would vacate his position for a southerner to ensure balancing and fairness.
However, Ayu has said that he is not going to resign his position and the G5 Governors have boycotted the presidential campaign of the party and they said they will maintain their stand until Ayu resigns his position. They have also threatened that they will work against the presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the February 25, 2023 election.
Their leader, Wike, has said that they will make their preferred presidential candidate known this month.
So as a sign of solidarity, members of Integrity Group otherwise known as G-5 Governors were present in Ibadan for the kick off of Makinde’s campaign but they were greeted with surprise in Ibadan as the crowd at the rally were shouting Atiku, Atiku and sang songs in support of the presidential candidate of the party to the embarrassment of the G5 – Governors
This became pronounced when Wike asked the PDP supporters to vote for other candidates of the party, to the exclusion of Atiku in the coming election but the crowd at Mapo Hall, venue of the rally, reacted swiftly in open resistance.
The deafening cries of “Atiku” was a major blow to the G-5 and their opposition to Atiku,
The implication of the action of the PDP members is that Makinde is going into the next election with a divided party and this may affect his re-election bid.
It would also be recalled that on Wednesday, a day before the Makinde rally, PDP leaders in the state organized a freedom walk for Atiku and in attendance were the leaders of the party like the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (State), Jumoke Akinjide; an ex-Deputy Governor of the state, Hazeem Gbolarumi, former Minister, Mines and Steel Development, Wole Oyelese and Engr. Femi Babalola among others.
These leaders among others boycotted the rally organized for Makinde re-election the next day.
In response to the solidarity received from the Oyo State PDP in Ibadan, Atiku took to his twitter on Friday, January 6, 2023 and said “Oyo State, I heard you loud and clear yesterday. I take it warmly as a vote of confidence in me and our great party, @officialPDPNig
You proved that my love for the Pace – Setter State over the years is not in vain. My promise to you is this: we shall work loosely together in the mission to recover Nigeria-AA”
It could also be recalled that Makinde has lost the loyalty of some people who worked for his election in 2019. They include former Secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Barrister Sarafa Ali ; former House of Representative Majority leader, Mulikat Adeola ; Adebisi Olopoeniyan who is now a chieftain of NNPP and another former House of Representatives member, Ajibola Muraina among others..
In his address at the rally, Makinde appreciated his G5 colleagues, party loyalists in the state, and people of the state for their support in 2019.
The governor therefore reeled out his achievements and asked the people to support his re-election bid.
“Under Omituntun 1.0 (referring to his first term in office), I promised a government that would put the people of Oyo State first. And our decisions have always taken the people of Oyo State first. Now, it is time to upgrade. It is time for Omituntun 2.0.” He added.
Other achievements listed by the governor include the growth of the state’s IGR from around N1.4 Billion monthly in 2019 to about N3.8 Billion monthly in 2022, securing the sole ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, the upgrade of the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education to a University of Education and the renovation and equipment of over 250 health facilities across the state.
“I promised economic prosperity to the people of Oyo State under Omituntun 1.0. I said I would take them from poverty to prosperity. We have grown our IGR from N1.4bn every month in 2019 when we took over the reins of government to N3.8bn as of November 2022.
“Under Omituntun 1.0, I promised that our infrastructure would integrate all the zones of our state and target our economy. We have done the 65km Moniya-Ijaye-Iseyin Road. “There is Oyo-Iseyin Road; Ogbomoso-Iseyin Road; Apete-Awotan-Akufo Road; Airport Road; Akobo flyover and others.
“We scrapped the N3, 000 education levy. “I promised that workers and retirees would get their full salaries and pensions on or before the 25th of every month; that date is now known as the GSM date and since 2019, workers and pensioners get paid.
“I promised the people a safe and secure environment, and we brought in Amotekun. I promised a government that will put the people first and all our decisions have shown just that. Now, it is time to upgrade. It is time for Omituntun 2.0.”
The governor, who appreciated all members of the Integrity Group for their support and presence, said, “Let me use this opportunity to thank my colleagues for their support.”
Benue State governor, Ortom, solicited support of the people of the state for the re-election bid of the governor.
Ortom said, “We want to assure you that the Integrity Group and the G-5 Governors are committed members of PDP in our various states. We have a challenge with the national leadership of our party because they have failed to deploy internal conflict resolution mechanisms to solve the problems that arose after the convention.
“We are committed to PDP in our various states. At the appropriate time, we are going to let you know what to do. We are united. We are together. Don’t listen to gossip and social media ads. We are committed to PDP, and we are working for all our candidates in our states. All our candidates are going to win the governorship, the Senate, House of Representatives, and the House of Assembly. We are going to deliver it to PDP.”
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
