2027: Makinde defends his choice of successor, Adekanmbi

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State said his priority was to have a capable candidate in place who could take the state forward.
Makinde, who stated this on Wednesday in Ibadan at the International Tourism Summit organized by the state government, said party color would not matter in choosing his preferred successor.
The theme of the summit was: “From foundations to governance: building tourism that lasts”.
Responding to criticism over his decision to choose Abimbola Adekanmbi, Commissioner for Finance during the administration of the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, and a late entry into his cabinet in 2025, the governor said “what matters is competence, provided the candidate is an indigene of the State.
“My role is to recommend a preferred successor for the people of Oyo State. The electorate will decide,” he said.
The governor assured the people of the state that the winners of the 2027 elections will not be determined by the “federal might”.
According to him, the votes of voters will determine the outcome.
Speaking at the summit, Makinde said his administration has put in place important policies, actions and economic facilitators that would make Oyo State the hub of tourism in the South West and one of the major tourist destinations in the country.
According to him, with major infrastructure development projects connecting cities and communities in the state, enhanced security and continued efforts to revitalize major tourist attractions, the number of tourism activities in the state will increase in the coming years.
He explained that another important factor that would make the state a tourism hub involves continuity of policies and ideas.
The governor said policies to support tourism development have been institutionalised, with well-built structures and systems and aligned ideas to support the sector.
He added that his administration has showcased tourism assets and built structures to institutionalize them beyond its mandate, with a deliberate and strategic approach, which goes beyond initiating projects.
Makinde added that his administration created a system where investments were not only possible but structured, protected and long-lasting for investors in the state.
He said investors should have no fears about leadership changes as the populous people of Oyo State will support his team members in the next election cycle so that they can support policies and ideas that have worked well in the interest of the state.
Makinde has mobilized the people of the state, especially the traditional rulers, to continue to support the administration and adhere to his vision and focus for the continued prosperity of the state.
The special guest at the event, former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, noted that tourism only thrives where there is structure, hospitality, clarity of purpose and continuity.
Fayemi said the global tourism sector is no longer peripheral but a strategic tool of economic transformation, cultural diplomacy and global positioning.
He argued that nations spend a lot of time projecting themselves to the outside world.
The former Ekiti governor said the country’s tourism graveyard is not littered with bad ideas, “but littered with good ideas that were never institutionalized or carefully implemented”.
According to him, tourism is successful when “vision becomes politics, when politics becomes system, when systems become institutions and when institutions become applicable structures that survive political cycles”.
Fayemi urged the Makinde administration to integrate tourism into the state’s economic planning to succeed in the sector.
He also advised the government to prioritize good transport systems, other basic infrastructure and effective security.