The governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State, Bimbo Adekanmbi, has said his extensive governance experience and exposure under four administrations have prepared him to effectively lead the state.
Adekanmbi stated this on Thursday during an interactive media engagement with media practitioners, political analysts, social media influencers and online publishers at Thames, Jericho, Ibadan, where he discussed his vision and preparedness for office.
Adekanmbi said his close relationship with former governors Senator Rashidi Ladoja, the late Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala and the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi exposed him to different approaches to governance and valuable lessons. He added that he had also learnt from the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde, particularly in financial management and the regular payment of workers’ salaries and pensions. “I stand out. I have the experience and native intelligence to be the next governor of Oyo State,” he said.
On workers’ welfare, the APM candidate expressed confidence that he would sustain the prompt payment of salaries and pensions, saying Makinde had established a standard from which he had learnt. “I won’t have a problem paying workers’ salaries and pensions because Governor Makinde has set a standard, and I have learnt a lot from his administration,” he stated.
He also highlighted his record of interventions for vulnerable and indigent citizens, stressing that his programmes had consistently targeted the underprivileged. While commending some achievements of the Makinde administration, Adekanmbi expressed concern that the government had not done enough to publicise its accomplishments, saying, “Makinde’s government is unfair to itself because it does not broadcast some of its achievements.”
Speaking on education and the challenge of out-of-school children, Adekanmbi said his administration would rely on accurate and comprehensive data to identify vulnerable communities and provide targeted interventions. He stressed the need for a comprehensive poverty map to determine where poverty is concentrated and guide the effective allocation of resources, saying, “I’ll use accurate data to plan for out-of-school children and provide targeted intervention. We need a poverty map.”
Adekanmbi said his ambition was driven by the desire to build on Oyo State’s progress while introducing policies to address emerging challenges and improve residents’ welfare. He maintained that experience, continuity, data-driven governance and deliberate interventions for vulnerable citizens would be central to achieving sustainable development across the state.
