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Seyi Makinde: Celebrating 100 Days of Immeasurable Achievements
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By Eric Elezuo
His road to becoming the executive governor of Oyo State on May 29, 2019 was everything divine, little wonder he has not looked back in attempting to do and doing the right thing for the people of the state. His name is Engineer Abiodun Oluwaseyi Makinde. He has just clocked 100 days on the seat of administration and has an avalanche of reference-able achievements in his 100 days kit. Here is a man who waved his immunity as governor, declaring that he wished to be held accountable even while still in office.
Born to a renowned teacher turned accountant, late Pa Olatubosun Makinde and Madam Abigail Makinde of Aigbofa Compound in Oja’ba, Ibadan, Makinde, popularly called GSM, who is the third child of the family, brought with him integrity, honesty, transparency and much more to governance. He gave stakeholders as well as detractors the shock of their lives when he boldly and publicly declared his N40 billion assets. Makinde’s action, which no one is yet to reciprocate or replicate, is a testimony of the fact that he made verifiable wealth, and is not in possession of any form of ‘skeleton’. Not only that, Makinde made a statement of where he is coming from and the destination his vision is set. And in 100 days, watchers and observers can tell the story better, of a man so endowed with wisdom and mission.
Set to celebrate 52 years on December 25, the businessman and philanthropist hit the ground running immediately he took the oath of office 100 days ago, and since then, has left no one in doubt as to the calibre of administration he is bringing to the table.
Down to earth, fearless and people oriented, Governor Seyi Makinde policies and pronouncements have set apart as one who knowns his onions. These have no doubt charted a veritable path to immeasurable success within a short space of time. His first step pointed towards security, and he did what most past governors and administrators of Oyo State could not muster enough courage to do – he proscribed the notorious National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). This singular act has brought easy calm to Ibadan and environs.
Makinde has also reviewed the Oyo State of N285 billion as approved by his predecessor to a more realistic N182 billion.
In 100 days, the subject matter expert on fluid and gas metering has established a foundation for an all encompassing four-point agenda for the expansion of the economy through the agriculture value chain, security, health and education.
Among many of his landmark efforts is the partnership with Agritech Company, Farmcrowdy for Agribusiness. He has put measures in place to revive the abandoned grain silo at Awe as well as conducted on the spot assessment of private owned agribusiness Venture-Ajila Farm and Shongai Farms in Port Novo Benin Republic for the purpose of collaborating with local and foreign agribusiness investors.
While he has procured 100 surveillance vehicles worth over N800 million to further strengthen the security agencies across the state, a new security architecture aimed at complementing the efforts of the police and other security operatives in fighting crime in every nook and cranny of Oyo state will soon be launched.
In education, GSM has cancelled all levies paid in public schools in Oyo State thereby reintroducing the free education policies of the Yoruba sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In addition, he approved the release of over N400 million for the provision of exercise books in all public schools across the state.
In Oyo State today, 25th has practically been deleted on the calendar, and replaced with GSM day. Any civil servant will confidently tell you that is the day his monthly salary is paid. Salaries are now regular, and payment is in full just as Pensioners gratuity is mandatorily paid monthly.
The youths are not left out as they have been massively empowered in his administration. A 32-year-old man is the speaker of the state House of Assembly, while a 27-year-old, Seun Fakorede, was appointed commissioner among others
Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde was born on December 25, 1967. Quite an achiever, Makinde established his first oil and gas private business called Makon Engineering and Technical Services, (METS) at the age of 29 in the year 1997, after earning years of work experience with international oil and gas companies. Until August 2018, he was the Group Managing Director of Makon Group Limited; an indigenous oil and gas company in Nigeria.
Makinde began his education at St Paul Primary School and completed his primary education at St Michael Primary School, Yemetu, Ibadan. His secondary education was at Bishop Phillips Academy, Monatan, Ibadan. In 1985, he gained admission to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Makinde did his national service (NYSC) with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria, where he was later engaged as a pupil engineer. He served in different capacities; handling and partaking in several key projects between 1990 and 1992. From 1992 to 1997, he worked as a field Engineer (Eket operations) for Rebold International Limited and in 1995, he was appointed as Field Manager in the same company.
In 1998, he trained at Industrial Control Services in Houston, Texas on Safety Shutdown System; and Development of Analytical Competence for Managing Operations at Lagos Business School (now Pan-Atlantic University) in 1999. In 2000, he had training in automation. In 2002, he studied Fundamentals of Crude Sampling at Jiskoot Auto Control Training Centre, Kent, England. Also, in 2005, he studied Understanding and Solving Complex Business Problems at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.
Makinde is a member of national and international professional bodies notably: Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Council for Regulations of Engineering in Nigeria(COREN), Oil and Gas Design Engineers of Nigeria (OGDEN), International Society of Automation (ISA), Institute of Measurement and Control UK; and American Measurement Institute (AMI).
GSM has had his fair share of political fortunes and misfortunes. On two occasions (2007 and 2011), he had unsuccessfully ran for the senatorial seat of Oyo South Senatorial zone
He tried his hands on the governorship pie in 2015 under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but lost out in the end. Undeterred, he tried again in 2019, and fortune smiled graciously on him. He defeated his APC rival with quite a huge margin
Makinde is happily married and they are blessed with children.
The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, witnessed a heated debate over the alleged non-funding of constituency projects across the country.
Alex Mascot, a member representing Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency in Abia State, had moved a motion demanding that President Bola Tinubu be summoned to the House to explain the persistent lack of funding for constituency projects.
“Come and explain to us why we are spending trillions of Naira drilling roads, doing constant roads, yet Nigerians are dying.”
The motion was seconded, with some lawmakers arguing an amendment that the House should shut down for one week until the matter is fully resolved.
The proposal triggered sharp divisions. Yusuf Gagdi strongly opposed the motion, arguing that summoning the President is unnecessary since heads of relevant agencies are responsible for the implementation and funding of such projects.
He also rejected the idea of closing the House for one week, describing it as unwarranted.
Gagdi’s counter-amendment faced stiff resistance from opposition members, leading to rowdy scenes as lawmakers shouted and traded arguments.
In an attempt to restore order, the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, ruled that members should vote to take a clear stand on the matter.
Headlines
Amid Fraud Allegations, Tinubu Appoints Gbajabiamila As Head, State Police Implementation Committee
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to prepare the legal framework for implementing state police across the country.
Tinubu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated the panel at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The inauguration followed the Senate’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, proposing a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.
Tinubu said while the constitutional amendment creates the framework for state police, the National Policing Bill would provide the legal structure for its implementation.
He said, “The Constitution Amendment Bill establishes in the framework for dual policing, but it does not operationalise it. That work is left to the National Policing Bill.”
He said the proposed legislation would address policing standards, state readiness, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights safeguards and personnel transition.
“The proposed National Policing Bill will include provisions on minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights safeguards and fiscal conditions,” he noted.
The president said that the committee will produce an implementation-ready draft bill immediately after the constitutional amendment process.
“The Working Group has been constituted to produce a technically robust, implementation-ready draft National Policing Bill for transmission to the National Assembly,” Tinubu said.
He said the committee would also recommend other legal instruments required for the smooth implementation of the dual policing system.
“We must not wait until the constitutional process is concluded before beginning this important assignment,” he said.
Gbajabiamila will serve as chairman of the committee, while members include the Attorney-General of the Federation, National Security Adviser and Inspector-General of Police.
Others are; President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Chairman, NGF Committee on State Police and a Secretariat.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi described the initiative as timely in view of Nigeria’s security challenges.
“There is no denying the fact that we are in a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck,” he said.
Fagbemi urged governors to ensure speedy ratification of the constitutional amendment by their respective state assemblies.
“I appeal to the governors to do their utmost to ensure the early passage of the constitutional amendment because this is a shared responsibility,” he said.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Afam Osigwe, reaffirmed the association’s support for the state police initiative.
“Nigeria can hardly be effectively policed by one national police. We fully support the constitutional amendment providing for state police,” he said.
Osigwe, however, stressed the need for adequate legal safeguards to prevent abuse of state police.
“We must ensure we do not create a monster. The right legal framework must guarantee accountability and prevent oppression,” he said.
He pledged the NBA’s commitment to supporting the committee in producing legislation that will strengthen security while protecting citizens’ rights.
Speaking on behalf of the NGF, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State pledged governors’ support for the speedy implementation of the reform.
He said the plan is for the 36 state governors to accelerate work on the bill once it gets to their various House of Assembly and passed unanimously.
“The plan is that when the bill gets to our various Houses of Assembly, we will all pass it on the same day,” he said.
Abiodun described the proposed state police as a response to Nigerians’ long-standing demand for community-based policing.
“This bill has answered the cries of Nigerians about cascading policing and removing it from the Exclusive Legislative List.”
He said the initiative validated the success of regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West.
“This bill has validated the effectiveness of community policing as demonstrated by Amotekun in the South-West,’ he said.
Abiodun said state police would significantly increase the number of security personnel across the country.
“If each state deploys about 6,000 personnel, we will add nearly 200,000 officers to complement the existing federal police.”.
The governor commended Tinubu for initiating implementation plans before the constitutional amendment process was completed.
“This inauguration demonstrates the proactiveness of the Executive in preparing for effective implementation,” Abiodun said.
Egypt’s head coach, Hossam Hassan, has claimed their last-16 match at the 2026 World Cup was rigged in favour of Argentina.
The Pharoahs frittered away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 on Tuesday evening.
But some of the officiating calls left Hassan angry after the game.
“I will say what’s on my mind regardless of consequence,” Hassan said.
“This was clearly a rigged match and the whole world saw it.
“And I want to say one more thing: if they want (Argentina) to win so bad, why call everyone to come and participate?”
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