Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, has extolled the virtues of his deputy, Barr, Bayo Lawal, who presided over the affairs of the state as acting governor, saying that for over three weeks he went on vacation, the people of the state did not feel his absence or any gap as anything that has to do with governance went on seamlessly.
The governor, who lauded the sagacity of Barr. Lawal on Monday, upon his resumption to the office after vacation, noted that in the state, they have selected a very strong team, adding that: “and we know that we are as strong as the weakest within that team.
“One thing we’ve demonstrated in Oyo State is that we don’t have strong men or a strong man, we have a strong team. Because it is the team. I think 2 or 3 days after I left, I got a message from a service chief asking if he should continue to send security report to me or to him (acting Governor) or to both of us. I told him to send it to him, copy me and if there’s any legacies, I will discuss with him but he’s hearing this for the first time.”
“For over three weeks, Oyo State people didn’t feel my absence or any gap as anything that has to do with governance went on seamlessly. So, we know that in Oyo state, we’ve selected a very strong team for the state and we know that we are as strong as the weakest within that team.”
“I want to specially thank all of you for your support and I want to say this to our people that we will work for you till the last day of this administration not minding that there’s politicking in the atmosphere. I want to encourage all of us also that it is not just the position that we occupy as individual but we are contributing to the development of our State, actors will come and go, players will come and go but our state will remain. So, I’m re-energised and driving until my energy drops again or let me say until this administration is given a renewed mandate. “
“So, I want to specially thank the deputy governor for your commitment, show of responsibility and loyalty. We should have done this from the beginning but it is better late than never. So, I thank you and I look forward to us working closely together till the end of this tenure and working hard again together in the next tenure. And finally, one revelation from all of this is that I never went on holiday for three years but next tenure, it will be a yearly thing.”
“I’m thanking you especially for this short prayer to welcome me back to Oyo State, to the governor’s office because where I’m coming from is quite cold so as I walked in, I started sweating and started thinking to myself. Somebody said to me that I will go and eat Amala. Let me thank all of you for cooperating with the acting governor.”
Earlier in his remarks, the state’s deputy governor, Barr. Bayo Lawal, expressed appreciation to the governor for the confidence he reposed in him, adding that: “I just took so many things for granted when I watch him performe and sometimes when I opened my phone at night, I see him online on WhatsApp 2am, 3am, I didn’t know it was such a serious task. So, in the last two weeks, I realised that it is not a child’s play. My wife even said to me that my eyes are getting swollen. And I said to her that if you observed, I had to call people at night, so how will my eyes not be swollen.”
“Though your prayers have been answered but my own are more answered by the almighty than yours because I have my principal and boss back hale and hearty. I must be happier than you all because the responsibility of carrying on the affairs of the state in these past weeks were enormous and I didn’t know.
“So, we thank God for bringing our boss back safe and sound. Your excellency, you’re heartily welcome and I speak on behalf of everybody in Oyo state not only appointees that are here but on behalf of every citizens. We appreciate you, we love and adore you.”
“Now finally, you have given me that responsibility, you’ve given me so many rights and privileges which are yours and I have kept those rights and privileges and now I give it back to you.
“Welcome Our amiable governor Oluwaseyi Makinde back to seat. I need to say that on the departure of his excellency, I think on the 11th of August, while seeing him to the tarmac, we branch at a place and he said well, I transfer all the powers to my deputy governor, who will now serve as the acting Governor even the power of immunity, I don’t have. So that struck me profoundly which I reflected over seriously knowing the depth of that statement.
“I thank you your excellency for having the trust to invest me with powers of acting Governor, I have by virtue of that appointment written in gold your gesture, magnanimity and trust on me. Now it is enough to say that his excellency has been away on vacation and I believe he’s back reenergize, he has gone to restrategise and when I saw him this morning, I knew he enjoyed his vacation because he was full of smiles,” Barr. Lawal said.
Packaged by Kunle Gazali
