By Adegboyega Adeleye
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde says his record in the state gives him confidence ahead of the 2027 election, pointing to increases in the state’s minimum wage, regular salary payments, investment in agriculture and infrastructure, and support for moving local produce to international markets as achievements he believes will help win voters’ support and edge him above other candidates.
In an interview with Arise Television on Friday, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate contrasted his administration’s approach with the Federal Government’s economic policies, arguing that national reforms should be judged by their impact on people’s daily lives.
He also said economic growth and higher reserves meant little if Nigerians remained hungry and families could not afford basic needs.
“Taking little reforms here and there will not work. If you are saying that things are happening at the macro level but it will filter down to micro, I see these as just excuses and shifting blames. Explaining, so we have very high reserves. What’s the impact on the ordinary people on the street? Are Nigerians hungry? Are more families able to, you know, afford certain things?” Makinde said.
He cited increases in the minimum wage in Oyo State during his time as governor, saying it had risen from N18,000 to N30,000 and later to between N70,000 and N80,000.
“How about the salary? Since I came in, I met a minimum wage at 18,000 naira, and we moved it to 30,000, all within seven plus years. When this administration started in 2023, I mean things basically went haywire, and we moved again minimum wage to 70-75, 80,000 naira,” he said.
Makinde added that the state had not delayed salary payments during his tenure, including throughout the Buhari administration.
“We have never held salaries for one month out of the seven plus years that I’ve spent here in Oyo State, all through the President Buhari period in office, we paid salaries. Oyo State never owed salaries under my watch,” he said.
The governor said his administration had sought to expand Oyo’s economy by using the state’s agricultural advantage and investing in infrastructure. He said the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency was established to support the sector.
“Here in Oyo State, we said, ‘Look, we will expand our economy using agriculture because obviously we have a comparative advantage in agriculture.’ When we came in, we set up Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, and also we said we will use development of our infrastructure to also drive our economy,” he said.
Makinde linked infrastructure investment to the cost of living, saying transportation costs affect the movement of goods and services and contribute to prices.
“When you are talking about structural cost of living. Transportation is a major part of it. To move goods and services from one area to the other, they all contribute to the structural cost of living, and it’s quite major,” he said.
He also criticised the lack of public information about the pricing of petroleum products, asking how much crude oil was being allocated for domestic refining. Makinde said Nigerians could pay less for fuel without damaging the economy, and promised to publish the pricing template if elected.
“And I’ve asked a question. Okay, this is Nigeria is an oil-producing country. Are we getting the benefit from petroleum products? They should bring for Nigerians to see the pricing template that we are using from crude oil production,” he said.
“I know the pricing template; the pricing templates, they have refused to publicly bring it out. How much crude are being allocated on a daily basis for domestic refining? They know it and I know it that that Nigerians can pay less for petroleum products here without taking and value away and without distorting or dislocating our economy.”
Makinde also said he would disclose the pricing template from the first day of his administration and maintained that petrol could cost less than it does currently.
“I will disclose from day one, transparently, what is the pricing template for petroleum product in Nigeria. The price of petroleum product can be lower than what it is today,” he said.
According to Makinde, Oyo had also invested in its airport to help move agricultural produce to international markets, adding that redistribution of federal allocations alone would not resolve the country’s economic problems.
“Apart from agriculture, agribusiness, we saw that as a place with where we have comparative advantage. We put a lot of investment in our airport here, so that we can have the chance to get our produce out to elsewhere in the world,” he said.
“If you are not productive, it is not sharing of federal allocation that will take us out of this. We have a lot more mouth to feed now than even then, and the industries have disappeared.”
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