By Ibidapo Olowolayemo, Ibadan
Saturday June 28, 2025
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The Oyo State government has justified the proposed spending of ₦63.4 billion to overhaul the over 70-year-old Government House in Agodi, Ibadan.
The state Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said this while fielding questions from a BBC reporter at the weekend.
The controversy concerning the amount of money to be spent on reconstructing the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan was triggered after a press release signed by the commissioner after the last Executive Council meeting held on Tuesday, 17th June.
The commissioner said, “The section of the media that touted the impression that the Government House was going to be renovated is either ignorant or mischievous.”
“Not once in the 21-paragraph press release did we use the word ‘renovation,’ whereas we emphasized total overhauling and reconstruction of the old Government House,” Oyelade said.
The commissioner added that the present administration had over 200 ongoing projects, including the Samuel Ladoke Akintola International Airport, The 110-kilometre Circular Road, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Iseyin campus, Fashola Agro-Industrial Hub and many other infrastructural development projects across the seven zones of the state.
He said the Government House overhauling and reconstruction was just one of them.
“The Seyi Makinde-led administration is the least that can be accused of not getting its priorities right; and for six years, the government has nurtured the finance of the state efficiently, such that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has increased by over 300 percent within this period from about ₦1.5 billion to ₦7.8 billion as of the end of May 2025.
“The administration has also vigorously pursued the welfare of its workers, such that it would pay over ₦174 billion annually in salaries and wages at ₦14.5 billion monthly, to the largest state workforce in Nigeria,” he said.
The commissioner said an administration that had employed over 27,000 workers, spent a record ₦13 billion on gratuities and pension for the aged, subsidized the transportation fare of over 42,000 commuters every day to date, and promoted 45 permanent secretaries in one fell swoop, could not be accused of profligacy.
“On the reconstruction and overhauling of the Government House itself, 21 structures would be affected.
“The decrepit presidential lodge and the banquet hall, which will be ready for the state’s 50th-anniversary celebration next February, will be reconstructed, while the governor and the deputy governor’s main residences will be overhauled; and structural, architectural, and mechanical and electrical works will be comprehensively carried out.
“Also affected are many quarters and chalets for visitors, senior and junior staff, whose duties would necessitate dwelling in the Government House,” he said.
According to Prince Oyelade, the mosque, church, external botanical garden, roadworks, landscaping, fencing, and furniture would also be affected by the reconstruction.
“It is instructive that the new Government House will also accommodate a helipad to allow VIP visitors, including the presidency, fellow governors, important dignitaries, and the host governor himself,f, to commute seamlessly to and from their destinations in helicopters.
“In arriving at this decision, the state governor had factored in the pride of the state, befitting official residences for the numbers one and two citizens of the state, and a legacy of a beautiful ambiance for a place that once had the likes of Sir. John Rankin, Sir. Adesoji Aderemi and others as tenants.”
The commissioner for Information described as “laughable and kindergarten, the suggestion by a potential gubernatorial candidate in 2027 that the people of Oyo State would be better served by distributing ₦3 million of the ₦63.4 billion to 20,000 citizens.”
“Those who live in Oyo State know that that is a poor imitation of the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) program of Governor Seyi Makinde that is impacting effectively in the lives of the people since the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“The overhauling and reconstruction of the Government House is yet another legacy that the Makinde-led administration will bequeath to the people of Oyo State,” he said.
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