Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who somehow, became the darling of many Nigerians for his approach to governance since replacing former governor, Abiola Ajimobi, has been warned by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State against joining issues with the federal government.
The party’s warning was against the backdrop of some reported cases of an altercation between the Makinde-led administration and the presidency as well as officials and institutions of the federal government.
Governor Makinde, had in a telephone interview with BCOS Radio and Fresh FM during his isolation after testing for COVID-19, said he cannot bow down to powers in Aso Rock over what by right, belongs to his State.
The Governor made the statement in response to a question on FG’s support to Lagos state in its fight against Covid-19.
He said, “We expected that Oyo State should also be a priority to the Federal Government. But what we found out is, at the federal level, people expect you to come and bow before you can get what ordinarily belongs to your state. However, we are engaging them. But my own target for Oyo State is that we must be self-sufficient.”
But Prince Ayobami Adejumo who is Assistant Publicity Secretary of Oyo APC, regretted that Gov. Makinde has never shied away from “open display of his naivety on the issues of good governance as well as the need to establish and sustain synergy with other tiers of government to attract opportunities to the state for the sake of indigenous and resident populations.
“It is inconceivable that a young governor like Engr. Makinde could hold the esteemed Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria so lowly that he hardly exchanges communication with the Presidency over many matters of importance.
“When the Oyo State governor is not calling out the person of Mr President, he must have someone in the presidency to ridicule all in the name of belonging to the PDP and not the APC,” it stated.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mogaji Wale Oladoja, has flayed a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) over his attack on Makinde.
Akintola had during a programme on a radio station in Ibadan, said the governor was not doing enough in handling the issue of COVID- 19 and urged him to learn from his counterparts in other states.
Oladoja on the other hand, said Akintola as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria should have appreciated the style of leadership of Makinde rather than playing undue dirty politics because of 2023 elections.
“We, therefore, advise Akintola and other APC leaders who are working against the interest of the state to kindly support Makinde for the betterment of the state, rather than finding fault of the governor,” he said.
