Action Alliance (AA) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Adebayo Titilola-Sodo, has accused Governor Seyi Makinde of sidelining key members of his administration in selecting Bimbo Adekanmbi as his preferred successor ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Titilola-Sodo, a former Special Adviser to Makinde and labour leader, said his disagreement with the governor was rooted in what he described as a breach of trust and the exclusion of those who contributed to the administration’s achievements.
He spoke on Monday at an interactive session organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, at Mokola, Ibadan, where he discussed his governorship ambition and plans for the state.
The AA candidate dismissed suggestions that he could be acting as a placeholder for Makinde’s preferred candidate or eventually collapse his political structure to support Adekanmbi.
“Comrade Sodo is not the kind of person to hold fort for anybody. In fact, that is one of my major reasons for dissent with Governor Seyi Makinde, because without recourse to those who helped achieve the vision he is celebrating today, he has chosen a successor,” he said.
Titilola-Sodo argued that he and other members of Makinde’s team played significant roles in building the administration’s reputation, particularly in workers’ welfare and pension administration.
He said he might have remained in the governor’s political camp had he, or one of his colleagues who worked hard to build a good reputation for the Makinde regime, been considered for succession, adding that Adekanmbi was not among those who worked with the administration to achieve its current standing.
According to him, Adekanmbi joined the party as a contractor involved in the Ibadan airport upgrade, rather than as a member of the original team.
The AA candidate said the workers’ welfare sector, which he described as one of the administration’s most celebrated achievements, was a collective accomplishment.
“That area, which is our area that nobody can challenge, the area of the welfare of workers and pensioners, we did it together. We did that area together; that area is the most successful sector that this government cannot say a sentence without referring to it,” he said.
How Sodo says he helped Makinde avert labour crisis
Titilola-Sodo also recounted his role in preventing an early confrontation between Makinde’s administration and organised labour over the national minimum wage.
He recalled that Makinde, during his inauguration at Liberty Stadium in 2019, declared that he would not pay the minimum wage, citing his understanding of federalism and opposition to the Federal Government dictating what states should pay.
According to Titilola-Sodo, the declaration immediately generated tension among labour leaders present at the ceremony.
He said he subsequently approached the governor privately before his first official appearance at the state secretariat, helping to facilitate discussions on labour relations and local government administration.
The former labour leader also criticised the state government’s approach to local government autonomy, maintaining that resources meant for councils were being diverted through centralised procurement and contracts awarded to non-resident contractors.
He explained that when contractors execute projects in a local government but take their profits to other locations, the host communities lose economic benefits that could have remained within their areas.
“When we say something is being evacuated, I’m using it in the parlance of the contractor handing in a job not being a resident of that place in which he is discharging the services,” he said.
Titilola-Sodo argued that Section 7 of the Nigerian Constitution provides for local government administration and oversight but does not authorise the removal of councils’ responsibilities and their transfer to other authorities.
He, however, acknowledged that Makinde’s administration had recorded some achievements, insisting that Oyo State could have achieved more, given its revenue from the Federal Government and internally generated revenue.
Sodo promises cottage industries for farmers
Outlining his economic development plans, the AA candidate promised to establish at least one cottage industry in each local government area to support agricultural production and value addition.
He said the proposed initiative would target rural and agrarian communities across Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa and Ogbomoso, encouraging farmers to organise into groups and establish processing facilities.
Titilola-Sodo said the government would complement farmers’ contributions rather than leave agricultural processing entirely to private operators.
Using a proposed N20 million cottage industry as an example, he said farmers who collectively raised N10 million could receive a matching N10 million contribution from the government.
He said the arrangement would enable communities to process agricultural produce locally before transporting it to other markets, thereby retaining more economic value within the producing areas.
Earlier, Correspondents’ Chapel Chairman Yinka Adeniran said the forum was designed to give governorship candidates equal opportunities to present their programmes to the electorate.
Adeniran said the chapel, whose members are professional journalists and not affiliated with political parties, would make its platform available to candidates willing to engage with the media and contribute to democratic development.
