Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde says his administration will remain truthful to the people of Oyo State, if re-elected.
He said this while speaking with the Oyo State League of Imams and State Rabith’s Acquaintance at the Rabitot-ul-Aimmat Wal Ulama South West office, Bodija, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde who said his administration has been handling issues relating to religious bodies in the state objectively since assuming promised to continue to be fair to all religious faithful in the state.
According to him, his administration has been maintaining the policy instituted on the use of the Hijab in the public schools of Oyo State by the previous administration in the state.
He charged the electorate to cast their votes based on merit, saying that there won’t be any room for those that want to divide the people through religion.
The governor said: “I have noted all the things you have said and if I summarize everything, what you mean is that I am returning as the governor of the state. “And I can assure you that the next government will be better than what we currently have.
“I agree that there are some misconceptions and if I did not address them, people may not be well informed about certain things.
“You talked about appointments into the pilgrim’s welfare board and Education Secretaries. We appointed the education secretaries about two days ago and we have 10 Muslims out of 33 of them.
“The current Commissioner for Education is a Muslim and you know education is one of the major pillars of this administration. Let me repeat it if our elites want to cause division with religion, it won’t be possible. As we speak, we have more Muslims holding top positions in this government and I am the only Christian in this echelon.
“What is important is to ensure that those we have appointed deliver dividends of democracy. “We have been trying to balance appointments but must be careful with the way some critics are manipulating data for us. When this government came in, we said there is a gap in our secondary schools and the standard has become low. That was why we recruited 5,000 teachers. I met with stakeholders and said if we must reverse the rot in the sector, 80 percent of the teachers must be recruited on merit, and 20 percent can be given special consideration.
“On hijab-wearing, there is a policy we met on the ground and I have not changed it because it has served us well. If there is a need to review it, we will go through that process. I am the first sitting governor that has gone to greet Baba at home and played with him. I will still come back to greet him.
“On the pilgrim’s welfare board, when I got into government, I was told it is the government that is in charge of the appointments. But I did not do that. Instead, I consulted Baba and he did the needed.
“Now, let me tell you, if I have the opportunity to serve you again, I will remain truthful to you. “And most of the things you pointed out are challenges for us to look at. There are things they said would not be achieved by our administration when we made the promise, but today, we have achieved them.
Earlier, former Oyo state Muslim Pilgrims Board, Professor Kamil Oloso and other representatives of the Imams, Commended Governor Seyi Makinde for his magnanimity towards the Muslim community in the state, as they charged him to be more diplomatic in handling religious issues.
In his sermon, Imam Mufasir Okunmebo, charged Governor Makinde and other political leaders in the state to be unbiased and just in managing the affairs of the state.
The program featured special prayers for Governor Makinde and the state by the Chief Imam of Ibadan land, Sheik Abdul-Ganniy Agbotomokekere.
...For the latest news update, Subscribe to our Whatsapp Channel (Click Here) and join our Telegram Update Group (Click Here)
You can also advertise your Product and Services on our page for more patronage
Contact us today by sending your Stories, Articles, Events, and Eyewitness Reports for publications as well as products and services for advertisement to westerndailies2018@gmail.com or WhatsApp (+2348058448531) for more information
