Oyo State governor ‘Seyi Makinde, has commended the Muslim Community in the state for its immense support for his administration and the contributions of the Muslim Ummah to the growth and development of the state since he assumed office.
The governor stated this on Tuesday, while receiving the Muslim Community of Oyo State, led by its leader, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, on a courtesy visit at the Executive Chamber, Office of the Governor, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde also donated a bus to the Muslim Community, urging them to continue to resist tendencies that can divide the state through religion or politics.
The governor said, “Since 2019, I can say it without any bias that some of the quality advice that I have gotten in terms of governance came from our Muslim leaders. So, I don’t discriminate.
“When some people came and said that the cabinet is lopsided, while I try to balance things, I also look for quality. If you look at the education sector, Commissioner for Education is a Muslim. SUBEB Chairman is a Muslim. Barrister Abdulraheem Abiodun, the chairman of Education Trust Fund, is a Muslim. I have nothing to hide.”
He added, “They said the appointment of Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning is lopsided. It used to be Finance and Economic Planning but when we came in, we split it into two. And it is almost everything that is going on in Finance that is visible to someone doing Budget and Economic Planning.
“Anything they want to bring to Exco, they will ask if it has been captured in the budget. If it is there, they will check how much has been spent and how much is remaining. He is the custodian and he is a Muslim. So, we have nothing to hide.
“I will keep saying it that if people want to divide us along religious or political lines, we as leaders must resist that attempt and expose them. “So, I want to say that it is our state; some have come and gone and I will go too. Whatever we do for our state is what the successor will meet and continue from there.
“I am begging you that we should resist their attempts, because there are people that will profit from our division. But if we don’t allow division, they will go elsewhere.
“Day before yesterday, one of the Christian leaders said some people are bringing up the issue of Sharia Court again in Oyo State. And I said, for me in Oyo State, our laws and constitution is what I swore to uphold. If they are within the law, fine. But if they are not, they should expect that I will insist that the law must be followed.
“So, I want to use this opportunity to say that if there are certain people using the issue to play politics, they should have a rethink and constantly stay on the side of the law.”
Speaking on the Ibadan stampede incident, Governor Makinde assured that the law would take its due course to prevent future occurrence.
“The incident at Islamic High School was avoidable and the loss of innocent lives was a sad one. Some of them would have been future leaders. Some are could have been future presidents but the dreams are dead. And then, I listened to people on social media who were saying that because I know Oriyomi Hamzat, justice won’t prevail. I said to myself that these people don’t probably know the kind of person their governor is.
“When Prof. was talking, he said something about tempering justice with mercy. Yes, we will get to that but if my child was part of those that died, I would be saying something totally differently. And, no life is bigger than any other life, we are equal before God.
“It is easier for people to say I know some certain people and they should be treated as such. What about the 35 innocent souls that died, don’t they also deserve justice? That was why early this year, I signed off the rule of law enforcement authority. We want our systems to be working like that of developed world. Rule is rule; law is law. But for us, we don’t want to do those things and they are impeding our progress.
“Inasmuch as we’re are fair to everybody, it is fine. On my watch, whoever deserves justice will get it. And how do we ensure that this thing does not occur again? Those are the things we have to look into.
“Finally, I will say that we are not infallible. We are all mortals. Wherever you think we have fallen short, call our attention to it and we will make correction. No matter how we try, we will still make mistakes.”
Earlier in his speech, the Leader of the Muslim Community, Alhaji Sanni, expressed gratitude to the governor for the massive recruitment of teachers into the primary and secondary schools, describing the act as capable of lifting people from poverty to prosperity.
He also commended the governor’s giant strides in developing the state through various infrastructure projects across the geopolitical zones of the state.
Sanni urged the governor to employ more subject teachers and equally allow religious studies teachers to impact directly on the students in order to curb moral decadence among pupils and students in various schools.
The event had in attendance the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Barr. Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; former deputy governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi; wife of former governor of Oyo State, Chief Mrs Mutiat Ladoja; former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Senator Monsurat Sumonu; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; and PDP South-West Woman Leader, Alhaja Bose Adedibu.
Others were the Senior Executive Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Chief Bayo Lawal; top government functionaries and the executive members of the Muslim Community, among others.
