Governor Seyi Makinde’s Remarks at the Swearing in of Ten New Commissioners in Oyo State

Being the remarks by His Excellency Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, at the swearing-in of ten new Commissioners of the Oyo State Executive Council on Monday, October 11, 2021

We are here today for the swearing-in ceremony of the remaining ten commissioners that will complete the Oyo State Executive Council (ExCo).

For those of you who are returning commissioners, we are happy to have you back as part of the ExCo. We believe you are determined to put in even more effort as we continue to engineer a new Oyo State and move our people to prosperity.

We have also brought in some new faces that we know will play important roles in the realisation of our vision for the good people of Oyo State.

I am sure that if you pay attention, you will see that the things that our people are asking for are not things that are beyond us.

Our people yearn for growth and development. They want good roads and quality infrastructure, even as they are asking for employment opportunities and economic prosperity. We know they have been starved of these basic functions of government for many years, and that can sometimes make the tasks we are expected to perform seem overwhelming.

For example, we have been receiving several reports of people complaining about roads. Some have even gone as far as saying that the state government is starving the local government authorities of funds. However, local government funds from FAAC go directly into the Joint Allocation Accounts Committee (JAAC) account. But after they have drawn first line charges such as salaries for primary school teachers and local government workers and expenses for primary healthcare centres, what is left is meagre. Also, local government authorities are in charge of all the funds from their internally generated revenue.

We know the importance of development at the grassroots, this is why we keep pushing for investments to go to local government areas. Just last week, we were in France and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Bayo Lawal, was there, having meetings with investors willing to come and collaborate with us. After our youths receive training on technology-driven food systems under the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP), they will need to practice and some of them will need jobs.

So yes, things may not be happening as fast as some people want them to, but things are happening rapidly compared to what obtained in the past. Our integrated approach to governance is bringing development and we are not concentrating only on Ibadan. Soon, implementation of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) will kick off, the World Bank and the French Government are supporting this project to rehabilitate rural roads.

So, as we reconstitute this Executive Council, our priority should be how to synergise efforts for continued growth. I would like to see more inter-ministerial collaborations and an integrated approach to governance.

Let me pause at this point to welcome:

Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun (Information, Culture and Tourism)

Adeniyi Adebisi (Agriculture and Rural Development)

Barr Rahman Abiodun Abdul-Raheem (Education, Science and Technology)

Barr Olasunkanmi Olaleye (Trade, Industry, Investments and Cooperatives)

Seun Fakorede (Youth and Sports)

Also, a warm welcome to

Alhaja Kafilat Omolabake Olayiwola (Women and Social Inclusion)

Abiodun Oni (Environment and Natural Resources)

Prof Musibau Babatunde (Budget and Economic Planning)

Segun Olayiwola (Lands, Housing and Urban Development) and

Dr Bode Ladipo (Health)

You will be joining the already sworn in returning commissioners to reconstitute the Oyo State Executive Council.

So, I encourage you to hit the ground running and keep running until we have to pass the baton. When we are given an opportunity to serve, we have the option to leave a legacy behind. So that even when we are no longer occupying the position of service, people will remember fondly the period that we spent in office as they compare it to our successors.

This is why I say it is our people who have been enjoying good governance in the last two years that are in the best position to respond to the question of who has served their interests better. Our pensioners who are receiving their pensions in full and on time and those whose gratuities are being paid after several years; our youths, those in LAUTECH who are enjoying uninterrupted education or those who had their school fees reduced, or maybe we can talk to the youths who are getting trained in various agribusiness value chains.

We can also speak to the market men and women who are trading in higher volumes because our civil servants’ salaries are paid on time, and there is a general economic development that gives people more liquidity.

Yet, there is more to be done. We remain focused on ensuring that we deliver on the remaining promises in our Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State, 2019-2023.

So, on that note, we will proceed with the official swearing-in of all ten new members of the Oyo State Executive Council to the glory of God and for the benefit of the good people of Oyo State.

Thank you, and God bless you.

~ Seyi Makinde, October 11, 2021