Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde on Wednesday described the exit of former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a good riddance to bad rubbish.
Governor Makinde stated this after speaking at the colloquium to mark the 10th anniversary of the rulership of Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade, the Deji of Akure, at the Federal University of Technology, Akure.
Governor Makinde highlighted the strategic role traditional institutions play in governance, conflict resolution, and community development.
Specifically, Makinde emphatically said it is better for anybody holding the PDP down to quit.
His words: “Politics is a game of interest. I don’t think that his exit will make any dent on PDP as a party. PDP is an institution. We have freedom of entrance and exit. Anyone who holds PDP down, it is better for such an individual to quit.”
The Governor emphatically dismissed the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as an alternative to the PDP, Makinde, saying “I don’t see ADC as a threat to PDP. The goal is about the same. If you are not happy about the tempo and pace of governance, you are free to associate and see what can be done. But one thing we must all realise is that players will come and go, governors will come and go, Presidents will come and go but our state and country will remain.”
Besides, Governor Makinde highlighted the strategic role traditional institutions play in governance, conflict resolution, and community development.
“Too often, traditional institutions are misunderstood. Some imagine frail old men who have outlived their relevance. Others view them as mere instruments of political endorsement. That mindset must change.
“Traditional institutions are not relics of the past. They are enduring pillars of identity, legitimacy, and communal cohesion. Long before Nigeria’s formal administrative systems took root, traditional rulers dispensed justice, upheld values, coordinated local security, and kept communities united.
“Today, they remain custodians of grassroots trust. And nation-building that ignores them does so at its peril. No wonder politicians continue to seek their blessings and validation.”
Governor Makinde cited the example of Oyo State, where traditional institutions have been integrated into the governance architecture, including the State Security Council, and have helped resolve conflicts and promote peace.
The governor noted that while there are challenges, such as jurisdictional conflicts and political capture, traditional institutions deliver measurable impact, including conflict resolution, community policing, and development ownership.
“Reforming legal frameworks to provide clarity on the roles, rights, and recognition of traditional councils. Strengthening our security architecture to formalise community policing strategies rooted in traditional structures. Elevating cultural diplomacy and tourism, placing our traditional institutions at the heart of heritage, arts, and youth engagement”, the governor stressed.
Makinde called for a recalibration of the relevance of traditional institutions, purposefully integrating them into broader development systems, and strengthening partnerships between traditional and modern institutions.
He emphasised that true nation-building is not about natural resources, but about the strength of institutions, their ability to serve the people justly, and the legacy they leave behind.
In his remark, Vice President, Kashim Shettima, represented by Dr. Tope Fasua, SA to the Vice President on Economic Affairs congratulated the Deji for his impactful leadership on the throne, highlighting the need for stronger, smarter partnerships between the traditional throne and the government.
Also, Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa represented by the SSG, Dr Taiwo Fasoranti said Oba Aladetoyinbo’s decade on the throne has attracted numerous achievements to Akure kingdom, noting that strengthening traditional institutions is not simply about cultural preservation — it is strategic governance, which the coastal state under his leadership has continued to imbibe.
Keyamo Slams Atiku for Poor Timing
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, berated Atiku for making public his letter of resignation from PDP at a time the nation was mourning President Muhammadu Buhari, who died on Sunday.
Keyamo also faulted Atiku for using the federal government’s Coat of Arms in his private capacity, 19 years after leaving office as vice president.
He stated, “Excellency, @atiku, whilst I acknowledge that it is within your constitutional right to change political parties at any time you may wish, however, releasing your letter of resignation from the PDP during this week of the mourning of our immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, is clearly an attempt to draw the spotlight away from such a solemn occasion and direct it on yourself.
“In fact (as the image below shows) you prepared, typed, signed and delivered that letter the morning after the passing away of the former president was announced.”
Keyamo said, “With the greatest respect to you, this clearly demonstrates that your obsession with your perennial presidential ambition knows no sympathy or empathy.
“And since we are on the issue of your letter, it is both morally and legally wrong to continue to use the Coat of Arms of the federal government in your private or political communications when you stopped being a functionary of the federal government more than 18 years ago.
“Section 6 of the Flag and Coat of Arms Act, Cap. F30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 makes this an offence. Morally, it is also reprehensible to use a symbol suggesting that you are acting on behalf of the authority which that symbol represents.
“It borders on impersonation. Imagine a situation where all former government functionaries continue to use the Coat of Arms of Nigeria in their personal, political or private communications, there would certainly be confusion everywhere.”
Group: Anyanwu’s Recall Finished PDP
National Alliance for Democratic Governance (NADG) said the resignation of Atiku and other PDP bigwigs from the party had vindicated its earlier prediction that Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s reinstatement as the party’s National Secretary, against the position of the South East Caucus of PDP, had finally destroyed the party.
Reacting to Atiku’s resignation, NADG insisted that the 100th PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting sentenced an ailing party to a preventable death by handing the party’s structures to those who were allegedly conniving with external forces to undermine it, even openly.
The group, in a statement in Abuja by its President and National Coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, said, “Nemesis has finally caught up with the PDP for the mistreatment meted to the South East, a region that sacrificed all for the party and remained fiercely loyal for the last 27 years.
“As earlier stated, denying the South East the 2023 presidential ticket, which the likes of Atiku and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, were accomplices, was clear perversion of justice.
“But throwing an entire region under the bus by reinstating Anyanwu against party convention and practice, was not just a total humiliation and injustice taken too far against the South East, but an orchestrated and choreographed move to finally annihilate the party.
“The bottom-line is that as predicted, the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagun, has secured his place as the chief undertaker in the funeral of the party, which was once the largest political party in Africa.”
ADC: Suffering Nigerians Don’t Need APC Any Longer
ADC said suffering Nigerians were more than ever before convinced that they did not need the APC-led government beyond 2027 in order to regain their basic needs in life.
ADC said its desire was to reduce the cost of living in Nigeria, if voted into office in 2027. It emphasised that the government that could be callous in its first term in office would do worse things if given another chance.
Interim National Publicity Secretary of ADC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, who stated that, assured that the main target of the party was to ensure that the prices of petroleum products in the country were drastically reduced.
ADC urged Nigerians, particularly the electorate, to rally round it to win the 2027 general election and kick out the President Bola Tinubu-led APC government that had no feelings for the people.
Abdullahi stated, “The most important thing is that our job is half done with the current hunger in the land. The major task we have is to convince Nigerians that we are the alternative.
“They can see the difference in the lifestyle of the people in government that have no iota of human feelings, except for themselves and members of their families. The gap between those in government and the people have become so widened.
“What is clear is that Nigerians don’t want APC anymore. Any Nigerian, who is suffering today, knows that they don’t want APC anymore. We shall and must convince Nigerians that we represent the alternative.
“So a hungry person knows he doesn’t want to continue to be hungry. A person who can’t afford to pay hospital bills knows that he doesn’t want to continue. So, we don’t have any problems convincing Nigerians that have suffered enough like never before and are still suffering.
“Certainly, Nigerians cannot continue this way. The people need to be rescued and the ADC is on a mission to rescue Nigerians from the clutches of so-called leaders without human feelings.
“It is really painful to see Nigerians in agony as they cannot pay their hospital bills, feed as expected, can’t pay their children school fees and cannot afford the cost of transportation and worst of it, increased and uncontrolled insecurity in the land is quite troubling.”
Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale and Fidelis David
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