Wole Olanipekun, Taiwo Oyedele to South-west Governors: Maximise Tinubu Presidency for Regional Growth

Wole Olanipekun, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential fiscal policy and tax reforms committee, have urged south-west political leaders and governors to take urgent advantage of President Bola Tinubu’s tenure to accelerate infrastructure, industrialisation, and economic progress in the region.

They spoke in Akure, the capital of Ondo, on Monday during a public lecture organised as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the state’s creation.

Olanipekun warned that the current political advantage, with a south-west president in power, is temporary and will end after Tinubu’s second term in 2031.

“Tinubu will not be there forever. He will only be there till 2031,” Olanipekun said.

“Let’s put ourselves together, be united. There should be cohesion, there should be unity, there should be love, there should be respect, and there should be thoughtfulness.”

He said the south-west region must rise above partisan politics, form a unified front, articulate a shared economic agenda, and engage the federal government proactively on critical areas such as rail transport, port development, agriculture, and mineral resource exploitation.

“If we fail to organise ourselves now, we may not have another opportunity of this magnitude,” he said.

On his part, Oyedele traced Ondo state’s founding principles to education, integrity, and collective advancement, qualities he said have helped it record impressive outcomes despite a relatively small budget.

Citing National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, he said Ondo currently has the lowest proportion of people living in multidimensional poverty among Nigerian states.

“This is not because we are the richest state, but because we invested in what truly matters — education, health, and dignity,” Oyedele said.

He proposed a long-term blueprint tagged “Agenda 2076″ for the state, centred on industrialisation, technology adoption, security, youth empowerment, and strong institutional governance.

“The next 50 years must be about value creation, not dependence on federation allocations,” he added.

“Ondo State must move from cocoa to chocolate, from crude extraction to industrial processing, and from subsistence farming to agro-industrial production.”