The Oyo Rising Citizens Forum (ORCF) has strongly condemned the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) governorship candidate, Hon. Bimbo Adekanbi, for his defence of Governor Seyi Makinde’s “anti-people” policies.
In a press statement signed by Aderemi Adebisi and Owolabi Salam, the civil society group described Adekanbi’s dramatic defence of the governor’s actions as both cruel and hypocritical, accusing the politician of enabling policies that have brought untold hardship to the citizens of Oyo State.
The group took aim at Adekanbi’s attempts to align himself with ordinary citizens by claiming his own land was affected by the ongoing Ibadan Circular Road demolitions.
The forum questioned how Adekanbi, a man who has served in government before and has continuously benefited from the state system, could genuinely compare his privileged position to that of ordinary citizens.
“The citizens affected by these demolitions were displaced without a human face, and many have yet to receive a single kobo in compensation, making Adekanbi’s comparison an insult to the displaced families.”
The ORCF clarified that the public does not oppose the construction of the circular road itself, which has been a long-standing state project, but the masses are fiercely against the administration’s controversial enforcement of a 500-metre corridor setback on both sides of the road, a move they argue unnecessarily destroys livelihoods and ancestral homes.
Furthermore, the forum highlighted that Adekanbi’s eager defence of the governor blinds him to ongoing government oppression across the state, particularly the plight of Ajia community residents in Inukan LCDA.
“Since receiving demolition and revocation notices in February 2021, residents of Ajia have been protesting the state government’s aggressive plan to acquire 99 hectares of their land for development.”
“This heavy-handed process was executed without proper consultation, resulting in widespread psychological distress, illness, business collapses, and the constant fear of homelessness for families who legally purchased their plots from the Sooko family.”
The ORCF noted that while the people of Ajia are not against development, they have rightly demanded that the government first utilize the 44 acres already acquired back in 1974, engage directly with the real landowners, and guarantee fair compensation instead of negotiating behind closed doors with “outsiders.” Yet Adekanbi has chosen to play the role of the governor’s shield, defending the very architect of this misery.
The forum also questioned what it termed a “newfound love” between Adekanbi and Makinde, pointing out the stark political opportunism at play.
“Adekanbi had previously been a vocal critic of Makinde’s administration, particularly in public debates over the exact amount of money left in the Oyo State coffers by the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, under whom Adekanbi served as Finance Commissioner.”
“By shooting himself in the foot to protect his new political godfather, Adekanbi’s stance on the issue of local government autonomy proves he is completely out of touch with the reality of governance.”
The group lambasted Adekanbi’s dismissal of the local government crisis, noting that Governor Makinde has consistently maintained he does not believe in the structural necessity of the third tier of government, while allegedly refusing to allow local councils to receive their federal allocations directly.
The ORCF warned voters that Adekanbi’s eager defence of these centralized finances demonstrates that an APM administration under his leadership would merely perpetuate the current government’s predatory actions.
“By justifying the strangulation of local government administration and ignoring the severe land grabs in both Ajia and the Circular Road corridor, Adekanbi has shown that, if elected, he will willingly continue these destructive policies.”
The forum concluded that Oyo State deserves leadership that prioritizes the constitutional rights of its communities, not candidates who audition to be the next puppet of an oppressive system.