The Action Alliance (AA) consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 Oyo State election, Comrade Sikiru Bayo Titilola-Sodo, has promised to improve workers’ welfare, raise the minimum pension and strengthen security if elected governor of the state.
Titilola-Sodo promised these on Monday during an interactive session with members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, at the Ibadan Press Centre.
Pension Reforms and Boosting Oyo State Workers’ Welfare
The former Oyo State civil servant and labour leader, who retired in 2020 after 30 years in the state civil service, said his decision to contest the governorship was driven by the need to build on the achievements of the present administration while addressing gaps in various sectors.
Pension Reforms and Boosting Oyo State Workers’ Welfare
He acknowledged that the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde had recorded achievements, particularly in the payment of workers’ salaries and pensions, infrastructure and other areas, but said there was still significant room for improvement.
Titilola-Sodo, who served as President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Oyo State and later as Special Adviser on Labour Matters to the governor, said workers needed more than regular salaries.
He alleged that many civil servants, particularly teachers, lacked the necessary tools and facilities to perform their duties effectively.
According to him, his administration, if elected, would ensure that workers were adequately equipped and better supported to deliver public services.
The AA candidate also promised to review the salary structure of Oyo State workers and increase the minimum pension from N25,000 to N32,000 monthly.
He said the proposed adjustment would be based on available resources and a review of the existing arrangements governing workers’ remuneration.
On tertiary education, Titilola-Sodo said his administration would not scrap any of the state-owned tertiary institutions but would seek to address funding, accreditation and outstanding obligations affecting them.
He argued that the institutions should be properly funded and managed to enable them to maintain academic standards.
The governorship candidate commended the Makinde administration for its infrastructure projects but said some parts of the state had not received adequate attention.
He specifically cited Ibarapa, which he described as being poorly connected to other parts of Oyo State due to the condition of several access roads.
Titilola-Sodo also questioned continued spending on the ongoing rehabilitation and upgrade of Ibadan Airport, arguing that the state could instead deploy more resources to projects such as the Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road.
He said the state should explore lobbying and federal intervention to secure major infrastructure rather than committing scarce state resources to facilities that remain under federal ownership.
He also called for greater attention to completing major road projects and ensuring equitable distribution of infrastructure across the state.
Advocacy for State Police and Rural Security Initiatives
On security, Titilola-Sodo called for the establishment of state police, saying the measure would strengthen the ability of security agencies to respond to crimes and resolve disputes closer to where they occur.
He urged Oyo State House of Assembly to support the proposed constitutional changes on state police and called on the National Assembly and President Bola Tinubu to facilitate the process.
The candidate also linked insecurity to agricultural development, noting that farmers would be reluctant to invest in their farms if their lives and properties were not adequately protected.
Titilola-Sodo also outlined plans to support small, medium and large-scale farmers across Oyo State.
He proposed the establishment of at least one cottage industry in each local government area, particularly in locations with strong agricultural production, to process farm produce and create additional value before the commodities leave the communities.
He said government could partner with groups of farmers to establish such industries by providing counterpart funding.
According to him, a group of farmers that raises part of the required capital could receive matching support from the government to establish a processing facility.
He said the initiative would help create jobs, extend the shelf life of agricultural products and increase the income of farmers.
Grassroots Autonomy and Party Leadership Support
The AA’s candidate also called for greater financial and administrative autonomy for local governments, arguing that resources meant for the grassroots should be deployed in ways that directly benefit communities.
He explained that his reference to the ‘evacuation’ of resources from local governments was about the economic impact of contracts being executed by contractors based outside the communities where the projects were located.
He advocated greater participation of local residents and businesses in government projects, saying this would ensure that more of the money spent on projects remained within local communities.
Earlier, Oyo State Chairman of the Action Alliance, Mr Okediran Biodun James, appealed to journalists to give the party and its candidate adequate coverage ahead of the 2027 elections.
Okediran said the party was focused on the interests of ordinary citizens and lacked the financial resources of larger political parties but possessed candidates it believed could bring changes to the state.
He urged the media to help take the party’s message to the grassroots.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel, Mr Yinka Adeniran, said the chapel had resolved to provide a platform for political candidates across party lines to present their programmes to the public.
Adeniran said that the initiative was intended to give political actors, irrespective of their party strength or financial capacity, an opportunity to explain their policies and engage journalists.
He described Titilola-Sodo as a former union leader with experience in labour activism, public administration and law, noting that the interaction was part of the chapel’s effort to expose voters to different political perspectives ahead of the 2027 elections.
Titilola-Sodo, a former Special Adviser on Labour Matters to the Oyo State governor, resigned from the position in June 2026 to pursue his governorship ambition on the platform of the Action Alliance.
