I’m still communicating with Ajimobi on policies, says Makinde

.....Approves composition of LG Service Commission, Road Management Agency



OYO State Governor Seyi Makinde said on Monday that he has always been in constant communication with his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, over the past administration’s policies in the overall interest of the people.

Makinde spoke yesterday while playing host to a delegation from Foursquare Gospel Church, which visited him in his office in Ibadan.

He said it was the responsibility of any administration to provide good governance, adding that his government would not hesitate to sustain any good policy of his predecessor in a bid to enhance the living standard of the people.

The governor said he won the election without godfathers, adding that this had helped his administration to stabilise.

Congratulating the church on the successful election that brought about the new leadership of the church, Makinde said politicians and election management bodies have something to learn from Foursquare Church on the peaceful conduct of elections and smooth transition.

“I am also glad to note that the General Overseer, Rev. Felix Meduoye and the General Overseer-elect, Rev Sam Aboyeji, are together and that you actually held an election.

“You didn’t impose your successor and you allowed a free and fair process, probably we have one or two things to learn.

"Also when I was elected and became governor-elect of the state, I actually reached out to the governor on the seat at the time and I told him that if it was all about the development of Oyo State;  we must share the vision.

“Even now, we still try to reach out to them (past administration) to say that some of the policies that they put in place were really good, some we need to tinker with, and some were outrightly anti-people.

"But, if we don’t talk, we may not know some of the thought processes that went behind some of those policies.”

Meduoye, who had earlier recalled the visit of Makinde to the church camp site for its convention prior to the election, noted that the prayer for the governor at the convention was fruitful.

He said the church considered it necessary to introduce the new General Overseer to important people in different locations as a way of getting him ready for the task ahead.

Aboyeji, the fifth indigenous General Overseer, who was elected on July 20 and to be inaugurated on November 17, expressed happiness at the reception by the governor.

He said the church was setting the pace for others, especially in the area of a smooth transition.

Also yesterday, Makinde said his administration is not only for the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) alone but for the development of the entire state.

He made the remarks yesterday while swearing in three additional commissioners for the state, saying he has assembled the best he could lay his hands on in the state.

The event is coming less than two weeks after swearing-in of 14 commissioners to complete his 17-man cabinet.

The three additional commissioners who took their oath of office and oath of allegiance at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s office, Agodi secretariat include Professor Raphael Afonja (Works and Transport), Mrs Faosat Sanni (Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and social development) and 27-year-old Oluwaseun Fakorede (Youths and Sports).

Meanwhile Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has approved the appointment of the Board of the Local Government Service Commission and the Oyo State Transport Management Agency (OYTROMA).
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, confirmed on Tuesday that the Governor has appointed Dr. Remi Ayodele as the Chairman of the Oyo State Local Government Service Commission.
Also named as Chairman of the State’s Road Transport Management Agency is Mogaji Akin Fagbemi, while Mr. Kunle Yusuf has been appointed the Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The statement named other members of the Local Government Service Commission as including Alhaji Oyesina Oyedeji (full-time member), Mr. John Abisoye Adisa Oke (full-time member), Alhaji Oke Taiwo (part-time member) and Mrs. Nike Arewa (part-time member).
Dr Fagbemi, a holder of a certificate in International Food Law from the Michigan State University, USA and a Master’s of Science Degree in Food Processing and Preservation, as well as a PhD in Biotechnology, worked as a top administrator with the National Agency for Food & Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for almost two decades.
He was appointed as the Deputy-Director General (Oyo South) of Oyo State PDP Campaign Council in the 2019 general.
Fagbemi is currently a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan and possesses several local and international professional certificates.
The new SSA on SDG, Yusuff, holds an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Financial Studies from the Osun State College of Technology (OSCOTECH); a BSc in Political Science from the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) and a Master of Science (MSc) in Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution from the National Open University (NOUN).
A Social Development and Peace/Conflict Advisor from the Civil Society background, Yusuff has served in different capacities at the federal level, including being Technical Assistant (Civil Society Directorate) for the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (2010); Personal Assistant (Liaison) to the Minister of State, FCT, 2011; Special Assistant (Strategy/Special Duties) at the Office of Social Development/Special Duties of The President, 2012 and a member of the Governing Board of the Universal Basic Education Commission, among others.
Oyedeji, an aviation and transport sector expert, graduated from the University of Ibadan with a Bachelor of Education degree in Political Science/Economics and a Master of Education in Social Welfare from the same university, as well as several diploma and certificates in Air Transport Management, Procurement and Supply and Logistics and Transport.
He was the PDP standard-bearer for the Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency in the 2019 general election.