Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde has said that raising a new generation of youthful leaders in governance has become imperative.
Makinde, who stated this at the 2024 Omituntun Mega Praise and end-of-year Thanksgiving programme, themed “Extravagant Praise” (Iyin Ola-Nla) and held at the Government House Arcade, Agodi, Ibadan, explained that it was important for the next generation of leaders to exhibit their talents and contribute their meaningful quotas to the development of the state and the country.
The governor, who noted that his political future solely depends on God, stated that his present focus was to deliver on the mandate given to him by residents of Oyo State.
He equally maintained that there was every reason to thank God in 2024 despite the challenges faced by the state because God commanded that we should praise him in all situations.
The 2024 edition is the 10th in the annual praise series organised by Governor Makinde since 2014.
The governor said: “With all our challenges in 2024, we still need to thank God. Two weeks into this year, we had the Bodija explosion, which could have been avoided.
“Again, about five days ago, we had deaths caused by stampedes at the Islamic High School, but despite all of that, we must praise God for being alive.
“Despite past losses in a bid to become the governor of the state, I have always thanked God because God said we should give thanks to him in every situation. We lost in 2015, but we did not stop and kept praising God—the same thing happened in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“In 2019, I became the governor of Oyo State and will leave this seat at 59. Let me say this: my vision for Oyo State is to create a new set of leaders. I will not take any position to deprive any of these young people from coming up to exhibit their talents.”
The governor stated that though his administration had done quite a bit across different sectors, he would remain focused on delivering more.
“Even though we have done quite a bit, we still have a lot more to do for the people of Oyo State, and I am focusing on delivering the mandate that the Oyo people gave to me.’’
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