Oyo govt accuses FG of politicising Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode road project
By Adejayan Gbenga
The Oyo State Government has accused the Federal Government of politicising the flag-off of the reconstruction and dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road by excluding Governor Seyi Makinde from Monday’s ceremony.
The flag-off ceremony was held at Idi Ayunre in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State, with the state government expressing displeasure over the governor’s absence from an event concerning a major federal road project in the state.
In a statement issued by the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, the government described Makinde’s exclusion as politically motivated and linked it to the growing political contest ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Oyelade said excluding the governor from the ceremony amounted to taking partisan politics beyond acceptable limits, considering the importance of the road to Oyo State and the wider South-West region.
He said the event, attended by Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, Minister of Works Dave Umahi, APC governorship candidate Sarafadeen Alli and the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, fell short of the significance expected of such an important infrastructure project because of what he described as its political undertone.
The commissioner also faulted the explanation that Makinde was not invited because he was on leave, arguing that the presence of an acting governor meant Oyo State had adequate representation at the ceremony.
Oyelade said Makinde remained unperturbed by the development but regretted that an occasion that should have focused on the commencement of a strategically important road project had allegedly been reduced to a political event, adding that the state government would not be distracted and that the people of Oyo State remained the ultimate stakeholders.
He said, “The course of 2027 is set, and no level of indecorum or desperation from whatever quarters will hold back the will of the people,” as he stressed that the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road remains a major interstate route linking Oyo and Ogun states and connecting Ibadan to the wider South-West corridor.
