Oyo: ‘I won’t support any aspirant above 52’, says gov Makinde

Engr. Seyi Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State, has revealed his succession plans for the state as his tenure comes to an end.

Makinde stated that he will not support any aspirant or candidate within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who is over the age of 52.

The Oyo governor spoke at a Students’ Legislative Summit organized by the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly and head of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, in collaboration with the Students’ Representative Council, University of Ibadan.

He said, “When I came in as the governor of Oyo State at age 51, some people believed it was impossible and against all odds the impossible became possible.

“I have decided that come 2027, I would not support any candidate above the age of 52 in my party for the position of governor of Oyo State.”

Equally, he noted that he has broken the jink of ‘who is your father’ in the political space of the state.

He disclosed that there was a time when ‘who is your father’ was the order of the day in the political space of the state.

According to him, “For us here, we have seen the common situation where ‘who is your father’ was the order of the day but we have been able to break that in Oyo State. My father was a ‘nobody’ and the Oyo State people still gave me the opportunity to lead.

“We may not be able to prepare the future for the youth, but we can prepare the youth for the future. Please, don’t see this event as just an opportunity to look at the issue of leadership in this country. And, in me, Seyi Makinde, the youth have an ally and we will prepare the leaders of the next generation amongst the youth.

“I am here this afternoon to encourage the youth. If you look at the history of Nigeria, we had our independence in 1960 and six years after, in 1966, the person that became the Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, was 31 years and some months old. After him, during the Second Republic, former President Obasanjo retired as a General at the age of 39.

“You should dream big; people have ruled this country at very tender ages. So, for you, don’t think that at 29 or 30, you are too young to rule and I am glad, because this is almost like catching them early.

“You have the students here and in about three years, some of you will be out there to move on. If I were you, I wouldn’t start looking for work; I would start doing my own thing at a very early age of 24 or 25. With the kind of energy you still have, you can pull down the kingdom of Satan.”