By Adeyinka Adeniran
Governor Seyi Makinde, has inaugurated the 9-member Oyo State Elders’ Council, calling on its members to provide his administration with robust suggestions and feedback from across the state.
The Council, which has its members drawn from all the zones of the state, was inaugurated at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, on Tuesday.
The Elders’ Council has a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees and former Chief of Staff to Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, Dr. Saka Balogun, as chairman while a former Minister of Steel Development, Elder Wole Oyelese is to serve as co-chairman.
Other members of the Council are: Engr. Hamid Gbadamosi, a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State; Chief Mrs Mutiat Ladoja, wife of former Governor Rashidi Ladoja; Chief Jacob Adetoro; Chief Adedamola Eyinade; Alhaji Nureni Akanbi; Ambassador Ronke Adefowope and Chief Sunday Ogunlade.
Speaking before pronouncing the Council inaugurated, Governor Makinde said his administration had done well in transforming Oyo State in terms of its politics and governance.
The governor made a particular reference to the peaceful conduct of the House of Assembly by-election in Saki West Local Government, where the ruling PDP lost, saying that the result showed that he had moved Oyo State away from the politics of violence and win-at-all-costs syndrome, which used to be the order of the day before he assumed office in 2019.
He said: “We are just coming from a by-election, which we lost three days ago. First, it is a demonstration that, in Oyo State, we have moved away from the politics of brigandage and getting results at all costs because we allow the will of the people to prevail.
“But we are proud that it is our state and we are not doing anything to jeopardise the peace, progress, and development of our state.”
He added that his administration did its best to uplift the state during the first four years of his first term and had built on that achievement in the last eight months of his second term.
He, however, noted that the government is aware that there is still room for improvement and would stop at nothing to ensure that residents of the state get the best of service.
The Governor said, “We did our best on the four pillars of our administration during the first term. We have some areas which we need to improve upon and the Elders’ Council will provide the platform to look at those areas where we need improvement and come up with suggestions.
“Let me commit that every other month, I will be having a scheduled meeting with the Elders’ Council so that you can contribute, and for us to have a remarkable difference from how we operated in the first term.”
