Makinde Has Redefined Oyo Governance – NUJ Chair, Babalola

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, Comr. Demola Babalola, has declared that Governor Seyi Makinde has redefined governance in Oyo State through people-focused projects and policies that have significantly improved the welfare of residents.

Speaking in an interview with The People’s Verdict, Babalola praised the governor’s unrelenting commitment to workers’ welfare, infrastructural development, education, agriculture, and economic recovery initiatives.

“Seyi Makinde is a person who has broken the glass ceiling. He came from nowhere, broke the glass ceiling and redefined governance in Oyo State through numerous projects and programmes that have direct bearing on the welfare of the people,” Babalola said.

Highlighting the governor’s prompt response to the removal of fuel subsidy, Babalola commended the launch of the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative, through which the government distributed farm inputs, food items, and gave soft loans to small businesses at a single-digit interest rate.

He noted that the governor has consistently fulfilled his salary promise to workers since assuming office, paying salaries on or before the 25th of every month and including a 13th-month bonus, a gesture he described as unprecedented.

“Before Makinde came on board, we witnessed unrest due to unpaid salaries. But today, workers in Oyo State are being paid promptly, with an added 13th-month salary,” Babalola said.

Describing Makinde’s infrastructural projects as revolutionary, the NUJ chairman applauded the administration’s investment in durable road networks with proper drainage systems and bridges that have transformed transportation across the state.

“Everywhere you go, the roads are built with modern drainage systems that make them durable. This is unlike anything we’ve seen in previous administrations,” he added.

Babalola recalled that labour leaders in Ogun State once expressed envy for Oyo workers, wishing Governor Makinde could be loaned to them for his people-oriented leadership.

The NUJ chairman further commended Governor Makinde’s personal and official support to the media and education sectors in the state.

He recounted how, long before becoming governor, Makinde built and donated a multi-million-naira science laboratory to the NUJ’s Pen Junior School.

“Even before he became governor, he built and donated facilities to NUJ. No other governor in the history of Oyo State has supported journalists like him,” Babalola stated.

In education, the NUJ chief pointed to the transformation of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), now solely owned and funded by Oyo State under Makinde’s leadership, as a major achievement.

He also highlighted the establishment of the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Renewable Resources in Iseyin.

Babalola lauded Makinde’s commitment to agribusiness, which he said is tapping into the state’s comparative advantage in agriculture. He noted the governor’s investment in the sector will lead to job creation and food security in the near future.

In terms of employment, Babalola confirmed that about 15,000 teaching and non-teaching staff have been recruited into primary and secondary schools under the current administration, demonstrating a serious effort in tackling unemployment.

“Governor Makinde has done exceptionally well in mass recruitment through TESCOM and SUBEB. He is not just creating jobs, he is creating sustainable opportunities,” he noted.

Babalola described Governor Makinde as the “poster boy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” asserting that his performance has made him a reference point for good governance in Nigeria.

“Governor Makinde is a welfarist, a visionary, and a forward-looking leader who knows where the shoe pinches the people and responds with impactful solutions. His leadership has redefined what governance should be,” he affirmed.