Opinion

Yoruba Nation agitators: ‘Omoluwabi’ triumph in Oyo invasion by ‘ọmọ àlè’

Published

9 months ago

April 22, 2024

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By Ehichioya Ezomon

It’s no surprise that Nigeria’s plethora of security agencies – due to their remarkable lack of capacity for intelligence gathering, and non-proactive approach to nipping potential untoward happenings in the bud – missed the planning and execution of the siege to the Government Secretariat in Ibadan, capital city of Oyo State, where so-called Yoruba Nation agitators hoisted their Flag for a proclaimed creation of “Democratic Republic of the Yoruba” on Saturday, April 13, 2024.
As one of the arrested (or surrendered) suspects – a 55-year-old lecturer at a Federal College of Education – revealed, membership of the Yoruba movement is spread across Yoruba-speaking states, noting that, “Our leaders went to all Yoruba-speaking states to serve officials letters written and we were given our copies. Then the proclamation was made and after the declaration, occupation, and notification to the world that Yoruba is an indigenous nation.”
Yet, overt and secret security operatives missed the publicised mobilisation for the agitators’ D-Day – or they never took it seriously, or were in cahoots with and sympathetic to their cause – until the storm almost blew in the faces of law-abiding citizens of Oyo State, the South-West and Nigeria at large.
Despite their “treasonable” felonious action – as pronounced by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, and the state Commissioner of Police Adebola Hamzat – Nigerians should be grateful though that the armed agitators for a Yoruba Nation weren’t out for real mischief but a somewhat show of symbolism, knowing they’d be challenged eventually. Otherwise, there’d have been “wailing and gnashing of teeth,” as they wreak untold havoc before security operatives rouse themselves from inertia.
Forget the chest-beating by the governor on April 16 – when he received in his office the 46th General Officer Commanding the 2 Mechanised Division, Odogbo Barracks, Ibadan, Maj. Gen. Obinna Onubogu – that, “the Emergency Security Response was activated and it worked. The response was quick, and timely and I believe the hoodlums and miscreants met something that was beyond their imagination. Within one hour, everything was under control. And we are grateful for the timely response.”
Also, discountenance the Police bragadocio that, “the agitators turned violent and opened fire on the Police, and a detachment of Amotekun corps was present. The Police responded and were joined by Operation Burst Patrol teams and Personnel of other security agencies, who suppressed the treason and dealt with the agitators in line with Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).”
Wonders! If the agitators opened fire and the Police responded, how many people on both sides were injured or killed? None reported! lf the Police were that capable, efficient and alive to their responsibilities, why literally escort the heavily-armed “miscreants” – dressed in some sort of military camouflage – in their whirlwind journey to the Government Secretariat that houses the Governor’s Office and State House of Assembly, where they hoisted their Flag? Didn’t the Police guess they’re headed in that direction, and should’ve striven to cut them off before they got there?
And why did the Police ask the “miscreants to dispatch” (go away) until they “turned violent and opened fire” on operatives? Would the Police have allowed the agitators to go scot-free, if they’d dispersed “peacefully” from their intent to forcefully overthrow a democratically-elected government, in breach of the amended 1999 Constitution of Nigeria?
The efficiency or lack of it of Nigeria’s security architecture isn’t the theme here, but the near-universal condemnation of the agitators by the Yoruba, for bringing opprobrium to the ethnic group that’s the beacon of democracy and intellectual discourse of any issues that will reshape the structure of the Nigerian federation.
From the umbrella Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, to the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE); from leading Yoruba Nation activists, Prof. Banji Akintoye of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide and Chief Sunday Adeyemo (alias Sunday Igboho) (who distanced themselves from the invasion), to Governor Makinde and his government; and from former Military Governor and ex-Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George and other prominent Yoruba individuals and groups, it’s wholesale repudiation of the Yoruba Nation agitators, their leaders and sponsors.
The denial of involvement by Igboho and Akintoye is germane because of their prime leadership role in and links to the struggle for Yoruba self-determination. Reacting via a Facebook Live, Igboho said: “I know nothing about it (invasion) and I don’t know those behind it… Any person that said he is agitating for Yoruba Nation and is going to attack government facilities, that person or group is on his own; I don’t know anything about it.”
Similarly, Akintoye alleged that another separatist leader (name withheld) was behind the incident in Oyo State, saying, “I have spoken to Sunday Igboho. Some people sent them (agitators) to make sure that they disrupt the Yoruba self-determination struggle. I was informed a few minutes ago that some people… have come to take over the government of Yorubaland, and that they have arrived in Ibadan. We, in this struggle, don’t act in that manner.”
Top on the series of excoriation came on April 17 from President Bola Tinubu – a Yoruba and unarguably one of the most influential pro-democracy activists of this generation – who, read the riot act to the agitators and similar cohorts that, those threatening Nigeria’s sovereignty “will have a price to pay.”
Tinubu, hosting a delegation of Afenifere at the State House, Abuja, including its leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and Oba Olu Falae – on a solidarity visit aftermath of the Yoruba Nation agitators’ invasion of Oyo – said that, “I am irrevocably committed to the unity of Nigeria and constitutional democracy. Those who think they can threaten the sovereignty of Nigeria will have themselves to blame. They have a price to pay. And we are not going to relent.”
Besides the Police declaring wanted the alleged “mastermind” and a former wife of the winner of the military annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola (GCFR) – whose family members have disowned the woman’s action in what many concerned Yoruba describe as a “coup d’etat” that should be punished under the relevant laws – the Oyo State government, by court orders, has demolished a building identified as “operational base” of the Yoruba Nation agitators, and several other buildings used as hideouts in Ibadan.
Till this moment – over one week after the brazing incident in Ibadan – no Yoruba leader or group has backed the effrontry of the agitators. There’ve been no charge by the agitators or their supporters and sympathisers that they’re put down forcefully by the federal and state governments, and security agencies.
No allegations of scores or hundreds of the agitators killed and injured, and no claims of suppression, victimisation, marginalisation and ethnic cleasing of the Yoruba race in Nigeria. No malicious reports to, and calls for intervention of external bodies, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU), Commonwealth of Nations, United Nations, and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
No calls on the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Australia and Japan to exert their political, economic, diplomatic and military powers on Nigeria and back the agitators for a Yoruba Nation. Nor have there been calls on the Nigerian military to overthrow the government of President Tinubu for threatening to deal with those troubling the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
What Nigerians have heard and seen so far – and which’s worthy of emulation by other sections of the country – is the Yoruba leading by example on how individuals and groups should conduct themselves in a complex multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society as Nigeria’s for a peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
It’s apt to quote a post on X (formerly Twitter) by a social commentator and best-selling author, Mr. Reno Omokiri, @renoomokiri, on the Yoruba Nation agitators’ saga. He states that, “to understand why the Yoruba are the most influential and the wealthiest people in Nigeria, study how they (not the Federal Government) dealt with the so-called Yoruba Nation agitators, who tried to cause havoc and chaos in Ibadan last week.”
“First of all, the families of those involved publicly denounced them. In fact, one of the affected families took out an advert. That is to show you social responsibility at the family level,” Mr Omokiri says.
“Then, the society rose against them, with community members forging them out and pointing out their properties and hideouts to the authorities. That demonstrates social cohesion and a society with a secure moral fabric. Secessionists can only operate where there is local support. If there is no local support, they will evaporate.
“Next, the State Government did not wait for the Federal Government or their agencies. In less than a week, they had arrested all of those involved, demolished their properties and brought criminal charges against them. That is evidence of a responsible sub-national government.
“No prominent Yoruba came out to make excuses for these agitators, or sympathise with them. As a unit, they called them by their names – miscreants. They did not even call them Unknown Miscreants (nobody is unknown to the community, except the community wants to hide behind one finger). They named and shamed them!”
The totality of how the Yoruba rose to the occasion of the agitators’ storming of Oyo is located in “Omoluwabi” (Omoluabi) – a cultural concept that’s native to the Yoruba people. It’s used to describe a person of good character.
The omoluabi concept, according to Wikipedia, “signifies courage, hard work, humility and respect. An omoluabi is a person of honour who believes in hard work, respects the rights of others, and gives to the community in deeds and in action. Above all, an omoluwabi is a person of integrity.”
So, in the context of the episode in Ibadan – and the pre-cautionary measures put in place in other South-West states – an omoluwabi isn’t irrational and disruptive, but calculative and deliberative in choosing and applying intellect and persuasion over brawn that’s wilfully displayed by the Yoruba Nation agitators.
As a tweep notes in response to the @renoomokiri post, “People that bring shame to their families are called ‘ọmọ àlè’ (derogatorily, an illegitimate child, bastard) in Yoruba. Ordinarily, a properly brought-up Yoruba son brings honour to his family. We don’t do blame game in Yoruba land, we call a spade a spade. A Yoruba mother will give away (hand over) her own son if he breaks law.”
Another tweep says, “If other regions in the nation adopted this kinetic and proactive approach – terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, and other criminal vices will be reduced in the society. Will tribalism, ethnicity and religion sympathy allow them to think deeply?”
That’s the big question, as the government and security agencies delve into the remote and immediate causes of the Yoruba Nation agitators’ activities on April 13! As noted by Gen. Onubogu during his visit to Governor Makinde, “We are indeed in a period of security challenges… This incident is unfortunate, as it shows that despite the peace that exists in Oyo State, there are still sons and daughters of South-West Nigeria, who are bent on challenging Oyo State, the entire South-West as well as Nigeria as a whole.
“I have taken note of some of the gaps that preceded this incident and I want to assure you that under my watch, we will play our part to ensure that such a situation does not arise again. As our adversaries have made their intentions known, it will be foolhardy for us not to refocus and ensure the people of Oyo remain safe.”
Investigations into the invasion shouldn’t be farfetched, as some of the arrested agitators have given the investigators leads to follow. A female agitator said those who sponsored the invasion promised to put an end to starvation in her life, adding, “the sponsors promised me and my entire family that they would empower us and that our future would be assured. Starvation would no longer be in our lives and that cost of living would automatically come down.”
Another suspect didn’t regret his action, stressing, “We all know that nothing is working in Nigeria and things are hard for everyone except those in government. We were at the Secretariat waiting for our leader to come and address us. We believe our leader knows much about the law and so we were not afraid to join when we were called upon. Our leaders told us that all challenges Yoruba are facing shall be addressed if we achieve our aim.”
And from Ondo State, where precautionary measures were taken to forestall any similar incident, a group of “Yoruba Nation Youths,” both Home and Diaspora, has told the state government – and insisted that – “they are not terrorists but a legitimate group of youths demanding Yoruba Nation, self-determination and independence.”
In closing, Governor Makinde’s words to Gen. Onubogu resonates: “Concerning the unfortunate incident, what I can say is that we must win the war, but we must also win peace. It is a challenging period!” Absolutely challenging times for Nigerians and the entire country!

Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria

Opinion

BENUE 2027:The Apa/Agatu Quest for Equity

Published

3 days ago

January 14, 2025

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By Tunde Olusunle

It may be well over two years to the next cycle of general elections in Nigeria. For the people of Apa/Agatu federal constituency in *Benue South, however, the measure of their participation and integration into the governance scheme will be defined in the run-up to the general polls that year. Nine local government areas make up the predominantly Idoma country of Benue State also labelled Zone C in the senatorial tripod of the geo-polity. The zone is also home to the Igede ethnic stock and the Etulo. Local government areas in “Benue Zone C” include: Apa, Agatu, Oju, Obi, Ado, Ogbadibo, Okpokwu, Otukpo and Ohimini. The other zones, Benue North East and Benue North West, are wholly dominated by the Tiv nationality, striding across 14 local government areas. They are christened Zone A and Zone B in the local political scheme of the state. Federal constituencies in Benue South are: Apa/Agatu, Oju/Obi; Ado/Ogbadibo/Opokwu and Otukpo/Ohimini.

The subjugation of groups and ethnicities considered demographically smaller, by the larger groups which has dominated Nigeria’s politics over time, has not been any different for the Idoma of Benue State. Until the circumstantial emergence of a Yahaya Bello from the Ebira ethnicity in Kogi State in 2015, the Igala had the relay baton of governorship of Kogi State, in rounds and succession. The Ebiras and the Okun-Yoruba zones in the state could only aspire to be serial deputies or Secretaries to the State Government. This political template was virtually cast in stone. The Ilorin people of Kwara State have similarly wholly warehoused the gubernatorial office, sparingly conceding the position to other sociocultural groups in the state. The only exception was the concession of the seat to a candidate from Kwara South, in the person of Abdulfatah Ahmed, by his predecessor, Bukola Saraki in 2011. Even at that, there were murmurs and dissent from those who believed Ahmed came from a community too close to the Ilorin emirate to be of genuine Igbomina stock, which prides itself as the pure Yoruba species in Kwara State.
Twenty-six years into the Fourth Republic, the maximum proximity of the Idoma to Government House, Makurdi, has been by the customary allocation of the Deputy Governor’s slot to its people. Ogirri Ajene from Oju/Obi, the charismatic blue-blood of blessed memory, was deputy to George Akume, incumbent Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), from 1999 to 2007. Akume it was reported, genuinely desired to be succeeded by Ajene who exhibited competence and loyalty and could build on their legacies. The Tiv nation we understand, shot down the proposal. Gabriel Suswam succeeded Akume and had the urbane multipreneur, Stephen Lawani from Ogbadibo as deputy. Samuel Ortom, a Minister in the Goodluck Jonathan presidency who took over from Suswam opted for Benson Abounu, an engineer from Otukpo as running mate, while Hyacinth Alia, the Catholic priest who succeeded Ortom, also chose as deputy, Samuel Ode, who was also a Minister in the Jonathan government, from Otukpo. Arising from this precedence, Apa/Agatu has not for once, been considered for a place in Government House, Makurdi.
In similar fashion, the position of Senator representing Benue South, has repeatedly precluded Apa/Agatu federal constituency. David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark a former army General from Otukpo, took the first shot at the office in 1999. He was to remain in the position for five consecutive times, a distinctive record by Nigerian standards. Mark would subsequently become President of the Senate and the third most senior political office holder in the nation’s governance scheme for a string of two terms between 2007 and 2015. He was replaced by Patrick Abba Moro, who hails from Okpokwu and was a former teacher, in 2019. Abba Moro who previously served as Minister of Interior in the Jonathan government from 2011 to 2015, won a second term at the 2023 general elections and remains substantive Senator for “Benue Zone C.” He is indeed incumbent Minority Leader of the Senate, and thus a principal officer in the leadership scheme of the “red chambers.”
While Moro is barely two years into his second term, there are suggestions that he is interested in a third term which should run from 2027 to 2031! This is the core issue which has dominated contemporary political discourse in Benue South, especially from the Apa/Agatu bloc. For Apa/Agatu, it is bad enough that they are repeatedly bypassed in the nomination of deputy governors in the scheme of state politics. It is worse that they are equally subjugated by their own kinsmen within the context of politics in *Idoma and Igede land.* This is particularly worrying when both local government areas constituting the Apa/Agatu federal constituency, Apa and Agatu, are not in anyway deficient in human resources to represent Benue South. Names like John Elaigwu Odogbo, the incumbent *Och’Idoma* and respected clergy; Isa Innocent Ekoja, renowned Professor and Librarian; Sonny Togo Echono, FNIA, OON, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TETFUND), and John Mgbede, Emeritus State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Benue State, readily come to mind.
Major General R.I. Adoba, (rtd), a former Chief Training and Operations in the Nigerian Army; Professor Emmanuel Adanu, former Director of the Kaduna-based National Water Resources Institute, (NWRI) and the US-based specialist in internal medicine, Dr Raymond Audu, are eminent Apa/Agatu constituents. There are also Ada Egahi, long-serving technocrat who retired from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, (NPHDA), and Super Eagles forward, Moses Simon, (why not, hasn’t the retired soccer star, George Opong Weah just completed his term as President of Liberia)? The Member Representing Apa/Agatu in the House of Representatives, Godday Samuel Odagboyi, an office previously held by Solomon Agidani, as well as Adamu Ochepo Entonu, is, like his predecessors, a prominent figure from the resourceful Apa/Agatu federal constituency.
The Olofu brothers, Tony Adejoh, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, (AIG), and David, PhD, a renowned management and financial strategist, who is also an Emeritus Member of the Benue State Executive Council during the Ortom dispensation, are from the same federal constituency. So is Abu Umoru, a serial entrepreneur who represents Apa State Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly. The continuing intra-zonal alienation of Apa-Agatu from the politics of Benue Zone C, remains a sore thumb which must be clinically diagnosed and intentionally treated in the run-up to 2027.
If previous top level political office holders from Idomaland in general and Apa/Agatu in particular, had diligently applied themselves to tangible, multisectoral development of the zone and constituency, the present clamour for inclusiveness would probably been less vociferous. *River Agatu* which flows from Kogi State, and runs through Agatu before emptying into *River Benue,* is a potential game changer in the socioeconomy of Apa/Agatu, Benue South and Benue State in general. Properly harnessed, it can revolutionise agriculture and aquaculture in the state, beyond subsistence levels which are the primary vocations of the indigenous people. Rice, yam, guinea corn, millet and similar grains, thrive in the fertile soils of the area. These can support “first level” processing of produce and guarantee value addition beneficial to the primary producers, before being shipped to other markets. River Agatu can indeed be dammed to provide hydro-electricity to power the entire gamut of Idomaland.
The infrastructure deficit in Benue South with specific reference to Apa/Agatu is equally very concerning. A notable pattern in Nigerian politics is its self-centeredness, the penchant for political players to prioritise their personal wellbeing and the development of their immediate space. This has accentuated the ever recurring desire of people to ascend the political pedestals of their predecessors if that is the principal window by which they can also privilege their own primary constituents. Motorable roads are non-existent, seamless travel between communities therefore encumbered. Expectedly this has been a major impediment to subsistent trade and social engagements between constituents and their kinsmen. Primary health facilities are almost non-existent, compelling people to flock to Otukpo, headquarters of Benue South, for the minutest of medical advice and treatment.
Apa/Agatu pitiably bleeds from the relentless and condemnable activities of vagrants and bandits who have reduced the constituency into a killing field. Reports suggest that in the past 15 years, no less than 2500 lives were lost to the vicious attacks of marauders and trespassers in the area under reference. This unnerving situation has compelled engagements between concerned Apa/Agatu leaders, and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, (NPF). The prayer is for the swift establishment of a mobile police outpost in the troubled sub-zone to contain bloodletting. The proposal, anchored by AIG Tony Olofu, NPOM, (rtd), and Echono, has received the blessings of the police high command. At the last update, a commander for the outfit had been named, while the deployment of personnel had begun in earnest.
It is very clear that in the march towards 2027, Apa/Agatu will refuse, very vehemently, to be sidelined and trampled upon in the political scheme of their senatorial zone. Abba Moro may desire a third term in the Senate, but the people of Apa/Agatu are quick to remind him that his curriculum vitae as a politician is sufficiently sumptuous for him to yield the seat in the “red chambers” and sit back like an elder statesman. They remind you that for a man who began his working life modestly as a lecturer in the Federal Polytechnic, Ugbokolo in 1991, Abba Moro has done extremely well for himself in Nigerian politics. For reminders, Abba Moro was elected Chairman of Okpokwu local government in the state as far back as 1998. Ever since, he has remained a permanent fixture in Nigeria’s national politics.
The people of Apa/Agatu will put up a determined fight for the Benue South senatorial seat in 2027, and no one should begrudge them. They are the proverbial ram which was pushed to the wall, which must of necessity push back with angered horns to liberate itself. They are already engaging with their kith across “Benue Zone C” to ensure that intra-zonal equity, fairness and justice, prevails in communal politics.

Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), teaches Creative Writing at the University of Abuja

Opinion

The Prince Adebayo prescriptions for ease of doing Business: 15 Take-Aways

Published

4 days ago

January 14, 2025

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By Dr. Ag Zaki

On Thursday, 9 January 2025, Prince Adewole Adebayo presented a keynote address at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. The occasion was the annual conference of a group of professionals, business executives and experts codenamed J9C for January 9 Collective. The theme of the Conference was “Business and Policy Strategy: Examining the Role of Reform in enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria.” Prince Adebayo is a versatile cerebral man of many parts, a lawyer, a multimedia practitioner, a real estate investor, a large-scale miner, a philanthropist, a community developer, and the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The organisers of the J9C conference introduced him as an intercontinental lawyer because he currently practices law in over sixteen countries.

The full speech of Prince Adebayo at the occasion is available online and can be accessed by clicking at this url: https://youtu.be/SsHkcJbVNRg?si=ebvoOVqGh0zVOsnt or by scanning the QR code above. However, we are presenting the salient take-aways from this most incisive keynote address below for the convenience of interested persons and for the public good.

THE TAKE-AWAYS
Preamble
1. Not every change of policy or programme is a reform. A reform is a fundamental change in the activities, programmes, and policies structured to cause improvement. Genuine government reforms are people oriented and so citizens can interject, comment or contribute.
2. Reform may be internally motivated, externally forced or imposed, or technological driven.
3. The government of Nigeria must first reform itself to be able to implement development-oriented reforms to improve the country’s economic performance.

In general terms
4. Fiscal and monetary reforms are critical and are urgently required in Nigeria. While government can freely control its fiscal reforms, it must be bound by market forces for realistic and realisable monetary reforms.
5. Economic reforms must positively affect developmental policies, programmes and projects to engender economic growth, increase in efficiency, and lead to stability. Economic and political reforms must be implemented pari-passu for untainted policies and programmes.
6. Urgent structural reforms are required in areas of legal reforms, laws on banking controls and regulations, lending and borrowing as well as land matters.

In specific terms
7. Reforms which are aimed at targeting ease of doing business must be aligned with the Malam Aminu Kano maxim that “all civil servants should abstain from contracts or business”.
8. Nigeria must break the current odious and unwholesome conspiracies between policy makers, civil servants, and contractors, which can lead to irreversible endemic corruption, long foreseen by the revered Malam Aminu Kano, and which can permanently damage the economy.
9. Structural reforms must ensure that land laws open up maximum benefits and potentials of the land, encourage labour productivity and efficient and transparent entrepreneurship rules including registration, capital and lending matters.
10. Tax reforms should be broad-based, not about sharing of revenue but promoting productivity and competitiveness in all aspects of endeavours and infrastructure reforms should make transportation of people and goods safe and cost effective.
11. Monitoring economic crimes must be thorough and should go beyond arresting of “Yahoo boys” and those spraying Naira notes, but those devaluing the Naira and abusing economic rules and regulations.

Warnings
12. Adebayo left some stern terse warnings for the business sector and for the government of Nigeria.
13. Business executives and professionals should not ask or encourage government for specific reforms but for general broad-based reforms as firm-specific reforms can enhance operations of specific firms or business in the short term but will ultimately kill the industry.
14. Government should not meddle into business or be guided by partisan businessmen; government should meet business only at the junction of regulatory framework.
15. Government should be selfless and honest in carrying out reforms, incorporate measurable performance indices and ensure that reforms are implemented in a way not to inflict pains or punishment on the people.

# DrZaki25, 903 Tafawa Balewa Way, Abuja

Opinion

Governor Monday Okpebholo: A Blessing to Edo State

Published

5 days ago

January 13, 2025

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Monday Okpebholo

By Eigbefo Felix

His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the Executive Governor of Edo State, has demonstrated that he is a blessing to the state through his policies, appointments, initiation of road construction across the three senatorial districts, and his deep love for the people of Edo State.

Governor Monday Okpebholo has begun fulfilling the five-point agenda he promised the good people of the state since his inauguration.

In the area of security, he has shown total commitment. He assured the people of Edo State that he would ensure their safety, and true to his word, the state remains peaceful, which has brought joy to its residents. He has provided the necessary support to security personnel.

The governor increased the subvention for Ambrose Alli University (AAU) from ₦40 million to ₦500 million. He also promised to address the issues facing AAU medical students. Additionally, he has started renovating primary and secondary schools across the state, underscoring his understanding of the importance of education.

The agricultural sector has taken a positive turn as Governor Okpebholo has allocated ₦70 billion to the sector. Recognizing agriculture’s importance to both the state and the nation, he is positioning Edo State to become the food basket of the nation with his investments in the sector.

During the electioneering period, Senator Okpebholo promised to create 5,000 jobs within his first 100 days in office. He has already begun the process, and soon, the people of Edo State will benefit from these employment opportunities. Unlike in the past, he will not rely on MOUs before making appointments. Furthermore, he has started appointing Edo State indigenes, rather than outsiders, to various positions.

Governor Okpebholo has commenced road projects across the state, from Edo South to Edo Central and Edo North. He believes that when roads are motorable, the prices of goods in the market will automatically reduce.

He has also begun investing in the health sector, understanding its critical importance to the people of Edo State.

Governor Monday Okpebholo’s initiatives and actions affirm his dedication to transforming Edo State for the better.