The governor said he would be going on vacation from Monday, August 5, 2024 to Friday, September 6, 2024.
The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has transmitted power to his deputy, Bayo Lawal to serve as the acting governor as he goes on vacation.
The governor said he would be going on vacation from Monday, August 5, 2024 to Friday, September 6, 2024.
Makinde made his intention known in a message read on the floor of the House by the Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin during Thursday’s valedictory plenary sitting in honour of Mrs Yetunde Awe, the Clerk of the House, who is retiring from the state civil service.
The letter read: “Annual vacation form 5th September 2024 to Friday September 6th 2024 Pursuant to section 190 subsection 1 of the federal republic of Nigeria, I hereby transmit out that during these period indicated above deputy governor Barr Bayo Lawal shall be active governor and shall be acting Governor and shall be back form the vacation September 7th 2024."
The governor's vacation comes amid the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria nationwide protest which is the citizens' rage against hunger and hardship under the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government.
SaharaReporters had on July 17 reported that the African Action Congress (AAC) demanded the immediate resignation of Makinde for publicly rejecting local government financial autonomy.
The AAC had made the call in a press statement issued by the party's Oyo Chairman, Kayode Babayomi as a response to Makinde’s reaction to the recent judgement of the Supreme Court which upheld financial autonomy for all the 774 councils in Nigeria.
Governor Makinde had stated that a lacuna was created between the Supreme Court judgement granting autonomy to local government councils and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He had emphasised that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) would continue to deposit local government allocations into the States/Local Governments Joint Account as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution.
Reacting to the governor’s remarks on the issue, the AAC Chairman said Makinde was worried because the apex court judgement would stop him from allegedly stealing money meant for the councils in the state.
He wrote: “Makinde's worry about local government financial autonomy shows his administration lacks transparency and is corrupt.
“Makinde should resign from office if local government autonomy doesn’t align with his corrupt governance style. We in the African Action Congress are not surprised by Makinde's reaction from the day the Supreme Court granted local government financial autonomy. It’s obvious Makinde's government lacks accountability and transparency in its dealings, which is why you see him ranting all over the media in the past days."