Closing 2025, HE Seyi Makinde reflects on a demanding year of economic, social and political pressures, reviewing progress in institutional strengthening and development while looking towards the final phase of his administration and the choices that will shape Oyo State beyond his tenure.
Announcing a seventh consecutive 13th-month salary for Oyo State workers, HE Seyi Makinde links regular salary payments to local economic activity and says the administration’s longer-term objective is to institutionalise governance systems that can survive beyond his tenure.
Responding to concerns from communities affected by the Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road, HE Seyi Makinde explains the decision to reduce the acquired corridor from 500 to 150 metres in built-up areas, balancing future development with limiting displacement as construction enters its second segment.
Following the commissioning of the Iwo Road Ibadan Central Bus Terminals, HE Seyi Makinde defends long-term infrastructure planning and addresses concerns over the Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road corridor, arguing that government must explain difficult decisions while planning beyond immediate pressures.
Following a working visit to China, HE Seyi Makinde announces an air-surveillance wing for Oyo Amotekun, combining aerial surveillance with community and traditional-institution intelligence to monitor forests, mining sites and border areas and improve detection and response to security threats.
Amid defections by governors and other politicians, HE Seyi Makinde argues that worsening hunger and inequality matter more than political cross-carpeting, linking economic policy to its effect on household welfare and calling for politics centred on improving people’s material conditions.
Drawing from David McWilliams’s Money: A Story of Humanity, HE Seyi Makinde reflects on money as a system of trust and applies the same principle to governance and politics, arguing that institutions, public spending and political processes must be rooted in responsibility, fairness and integrity.
Taking time away from work to recharge and reflect, HE Seyi Makinde argues that governance should build systems that outlast individuals, pointing to the continuity of government under Deputy Governor Bayo Lawal during his absence as an example of leadership beyond one officeholder.
HE Seyi Makinde announces Oyo State’s subnational AfCFTA implementation strategy, intended to connect local farmers, manufacturers and traders to African markets, while reporting completion of the upgraded Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport runway ahead of the resumption of local flights.
Reflecting on six years in office, HE Seyi Makinde argues that leadership requires restraint as well as power, using his decision to expand Oyo State’s tax net rather than raise tax rates and Ibadan’s orderly traditional succession system to illustrate leadership grounded in empathy, institutional order and honoured commitments
