By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday, December 23, disclosed that he made his first $1 million in 1997 when he was 29 years old, adding that at that time, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, had just left the Nigerian Law School.
He said this during a media chat apparently as a result of the feud the two politicians had in recent times.
“Within one year, I made $1 million in my pocket, I was 29 in 1997. Wike, perhaps at that time, had just left Law School, and his next job was as a local government chairman,” he said.
He also said he became upset after his nominee for ministerial slot for Oyo State was rejected by President Bola Tinubu and Adebayo Adelabu was given the slot.
“After meeting with President Tinubu, he said he heard that I was upset because my nominee was not given a ministerial slot. I told him: It’s your choice who to work with, but Minister of Power (Bayo Adelabu), he doesn’t have the capacity to organise Oyo APC,” he said.
Makinde, at the media chat, also said that his administration focuses on creating opportunities and an enabling environment for people and businesses to grow rather than giving handouts.
He said: “So, for us in Oyo State, we believe that we’re not going to give people handouts. We will create, and we’ve been creating, that conducive environment for people to, you know, come in, have opportunities, and then they’ll take themselves out of poverty.”
The governor further defended the state’s relatively low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), stating that his administration had resolved not to introduce any new taxes since assuming office in 2019 and is instead focused on building a productive economy that would eventually expand the tax base.
His response addressed concerns raised by budget tracking platforms, which ranked Oyo State among states with lower IGR despite strong consumption figures.
“We made up our minds that we will not increase taxes on our people. No new taxes. In the past six-plus years, you won’t have any new taxes in our state,” he said.
Makinde expressed optimism that the state’s revenue profile would improve as ongoing infrastructure and industrial projects mature, adding that Oyo State has consistently recorded a budget performance of between 70 and 75 per cent over the past six years.
While reflecting on the impact of infrastructure projects and the importance of completing them, the governor stressed that he wants his administration to be remembered for the institutions it is creating to ensure good governance, sustainable development, and growth long after his tenure ends.
He said, “We would love to be remembered for the institutions that we’re creating that will ensure good governance and sustainable development and growth long after we’ve left this place.”
Makinde further explained that the recognition of infrastructure projects often depends on whether they are completed.
He said, “That ring road that you mentioned just now, if I ask a lot of people who constructed that ring road, I went, you know, to search for the history of that road. And I found out that when it was constructed, it was the most expensive road per kilometre that was ever constructed in Nigeria at the time.
“And if you ask people who constructed that road now, I can tell you they won’t know. So that is what you get. The only way they will know who started the road will be if the road is not finished. If the project becomes abandoned, then they will tell you, ah, this road was started by X, Y, Z. Then that’s it.
“But if you start a project, you finish it, and people start using it, within a very short time, they will have forgotten.”
