Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has disclosed that another tranche of N2 billion has been paid to the immediate past local government chairmen in the state.
The former local government chairmen, elected on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, were paid a lump sum as part of their entitlements.
The governor said the money was released on Friday, noting that this action ended the long-drawn battle the ex-ALGON chairmen had with him after their sacking in 2019.
Governor Makinde made this known at the burial and thanksgiving service in honour of Mrs Ruth Adenihun Dare, mother of former Minister of Youth and Sports, Chief Sunday Dare, held at Sabo Baptist Church, Ogbomoso, on Friday.
Recall that the state government released N1 billion to the former chairmen in 2021 in deference to the Supreme Court’s judgement that the sacked chairmen should be paid their entitlements.
Governor Makinde, in a release by his Special Adviser (Media), Sulaimon Olanrewaju, advised that residents of the state must be cautious not to fight over politics. He said politicians always have a way of settling their differences.
He added that his presence in Ogbomoso to honour Chief Dare, an APC chieftain, indicated that politics should never interfere with humanity.
Makinde described the event as a celebration of the life of the former minister’s mother, whose good character he said can be seen in her children.
The governor, therefore, prayed to God to continually uphold Chief Dare and every other person mama left behind.
He said: “We are here to celebrate our Mama. It is a day of celebration because Mama was 92 before she died.
“I am sure Chief Sunday Dare must have thought I wouldn’t attend this event because we don’t belong to the same party.
“I tell people not to fight because of politicians because it is not worth it. This is because we do a lot of other things together behind the curtain.
“When I became governor in 2019, I decided to sack all the local government chairmen because we felt their election was unconstitutional.
“As a result, they also took me to court for the government to pay their entitlements. We dragged the matter up to the Supreme Court level. But, on Friday, I paid N2 billion out of the debt. So, we are no longer fighting.”
Governor Makinde equally noted that he would return to Ogbomoso in a few weeks to commission the 78.6km Ogbomoso-Iseyin-Fapote Road named after former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.
He restated his administration’s commitment to developing infrastructure across all state zones and linking them together following his economic expansion agenda.
“I am coming back to Ogbomoso to commission the 78.6km road from Ogbomoso to Iseyin. I passed through the road on my way to this place and it took us two and a half hours.
“In less than six weeks from today, it will be commissioned. The road has nothing to do with politics. It is named Governor Alao Akala Expressway,” he said.
The funeral service had in attendance former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin (rtd); Emeritus Professor Olu Aina; former Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole; former Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Paulen Tallen; and former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, among others.
