The Oyo State Government is ready to expend about ₦64 billion for what it described as a reconstruction of the Government House, Ibadan.
This reconstruction has generated debates from both the opposition and political onlookers.
You will recall that, in my last open letter to His Excellency, I raised concern on the bogus amount earmarked for the upgrade of Ladoke Akintola Airport to an international standard. And while offering a way forward, I highly suggested the importance of our rural roads, as they are the catalyst for the agricultural revolution that governments at all levels are clamouring for.
As far as turning our local airport into an international standard is concerned, it shouldn’t have been a priority when the majority of our basic schools’ infrastructure are in disrepair, local roads are nothing to write home about, citizens are living in abject poverty, and security also needs serious attention.
That was not just a misplaced priority, it was perceived by many as another way to siphon money.
Now, after ignoring our outcry and proceeding with the purported international airport, Gov. Makinde is now proposing about ₦64 billion to reconstruct the Government House.
In case you’re not aware, Oyo State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the year 2024 was ₦65 billion, just one billion above the amount earmarked to reconstruct the Government House, a house that will serve less than 0.5 percent of our entire population. This spending is not only extravagant, it’s highly unnecessary.
Yes, the Government House may be seen as the seat of power, but it is not the Government Secretariat where governance is administered.
Yes, our Government House may need renovation, but how do we justify such a humongous amount for a single building?
Recall that in 2016, just three years to the end of Senator Abiola Ajimobi’s administration, he renovated the same Government House with billions of naira only for Gov. Makinde to abandon the residence three years later in 2019. Was this for a purpose? To make it look rough and uninhabitable, then earmark a ridiculous amount before the end of his own tenure? Why was it abandoned?
No nation or state grows when it spends all its IGR on a project that has no significant impact on the general population.
What is the people’s gain in the Government House reconstruction?
Who gave this advice?
Sey na like this we go dey dey?
Thanks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for increasing state governments’ allocation by 300–400% from the proceeds of fuel subsidy removal.
This has been a paradigm shift for the governor in recent times. While some governors prioritize development, some focus on how the excess resources would be siphoned.
Rather than Governor Makinde’s renovation of the Government House with such a huge amount, why not prioritize investing genuinely in agriculture, not necessarily as a government venture, but by encouraging farmers in rural environments through enabling environments like rural-urban roads, grading roads that link to major farmlands across local governments, lighting up rural communities, and other initiatives that’ll encourage urban-rural migration?
Low-interest loans to local farmers in Oyo State should also be encouraged, to be handled by local farmers’ associations in collaboration with the local governments.
Provision of fertilizers to local farmers in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and NNPC, among others, is another feasible move.
Ultimately, these recommendations fall under the Residual Legislative List and, supposedly, should be the responsibility of the local government administration. But owing to the reality in Oyo State, Governor Makinde should at least ask each local government to submit one rural road per ward across Oyo State, especially in local governments that fall within rural environments.
This will position Oyo State as the food basket not only of the Southwest but of the entire nation, thereby boosting our economic prosperity and building many multi-millionaire farmers
We’re not saying the government should not renovate the Government House, but 30% of such amount can be used judiciously. We will still have a befitting Government House, and other recommendations will be adequately attended to.
