By Maroof Asudemade

During yesterday’s interview with Isaac Brown, Governor Seyi Makinde promised victims of the Ibadan Circular Road corridor that his administration would maintain 150 metres in densely populated areas while retaining 1,000 metres where there are bushes.

Ordinarily, this assurance should offer some relief to residents whose homes and livelihoods have been threatened by the controversial project. However, knowing Makinde’s history of political disagreements and of unfulfilled promises, the victims have every reason to approach his latest pronouncement with a pinch of salt.

What promise has Makinde ever kept? What agreement has he ever honoured when political expediency demands otherwise? With the 2027 governorship election approaching, Makinde appears increasingly desperate to ensure Bimbo Adekanmbi succeeds him. His preference for Bimbo Adekanmbi has generated controversy within the APM, particularly following reports that the party’s stakeholder panel overwhelmingly preferred Dr Debo Akande. Makinde may yet have other political calculations, but Oyo people must not allow themselves to become victims of a desperate succession struggle.

It is particularly interesting that the governor would be so disappointed by President Bola Tinubu’s reported rejection of his preferred nominee for a ministerial position when Makinde himself has had troubled relationships with several political associates who helped build his political empire.

Consider Bisi Olopoeyan, a prominent grassroots mobiliser whose support contributed to Makinde’s emergence in 2019. Their relationship subsequently collapsed amid disagreements over political recognition and other issues. Although the two men reconciled in 2023, subsequent developments have shown that their differences have not permanently disappeared. Olopoeyan has repeatedly expressed grievances about the governor and his political arrangements.

Then there is former deputy governor Hazeem Gbolarumi, who publicly criticised Makinde’s approach to succession and consultation within the then PDP. Former Commissioner for Information Taiwo Otegbeye also alleged in 2026 that Makinde failed to fulfil promises made to him during the 2023 governorship campaign, despite his contributions to the governor’s media machinery. These are serious allegations from people who were once within the governor’s political circle.

Former federal lawmaker Mulikat Akande-Adeola and businessman Femi Babalola have also featured in reports of disagreements involving influential PDP figures dissatisfied with Makinde’s handling of party affairs. In addition, Taofeek Arapaja, another prominent political associate, has been at the centre of developments surrounding the party’s succession struggle. The details of these disagreements differ, but their recurrence raises legitimate questions about the governor’s ability to sustain political relationships and manage competing expectations.

Even Makinde’s former alliance with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, eventually deteriorated amid political disagreements following the 2023 general election. These experiences do automatically prove every allegation of a broken promise, and they demonstrate that Makinde’s political relationships have repeatedly been tested by conflicting interests and ambitions.

Ask Oloye Dotun Sanusi and he will regale you with how Makinde ashamedly refused to fulfill promises. Ask Babs Oduyoye. Ask Fatai Owoseni. Ask Halleluyah. They all have tales of woes to tell as regards Makinde’s penchant for not honouring agreements and fulfilling promises.

Why, then, should the residents of the Circular Road corridor blindly trust a promise made during a radio interview? These residents are not asking for political appointments or personal favours. They want protection for their homes, investments and livelihoods. Some have already lost properties they spent years building, while others continue to live in uncertainty about the fate of their ancestral homes and investments.

Makinde is not genuinely committed to maintaining 150 metres in densely populated areas. He just must say something in his desperate bid to curry favour of votes for his stooges during 2027 election. A promise made on the radio is not a substitute for an enforceable government decision.

The governor must understand that trust is earned through consistency, transparency and accountability. It cannot be manufactured through politically convenient announcements, particularly when residents have already suffered the consequences of government decisions.

This is the reason why Senator Sharafadeen Alli, Oyo APC Governorship Candidate, has earned trust and confidence of Oyo people. He has made several promises and has fulfilled them. When there was fire outbreaks at Bode and Oranyan Markets, Sarafadeen Alli went to condole with the traders and he promised them huge sums of money. He has since redeemed his pledges. There are several other pledges of funds Alli made and he has fulfilled them. It’s then no wonder that when Alli met the residents of the Circular Road areas and spoke with them, promising that he would revert to 75 metres each side which was the original sizes Ladoja administration he was part of recommended, the residents saw sincerity in his words and they believed him. After all, Alli does not look sly and crafty like our current governor.

Makinde’s reported disappointment over Adekanmbi’s ministerial ambition raises another question. Is the governor more concerned about the political future of his preferred successor than the welfare of ordinary residents whose homes and investments are at stake? While this remains a question of political interpretation, the governor’s priorities should be evident in his actions, not merely in his public statements.

As the 2027 election approaches, Makinde may make more promises and offer fresh assurances. But the people of Oyo State must judge him by his failed record and the ignoble results of his administration, not by campaign-season rhetoric..