The Oyo State Government has said the controversy generated over its proposal to spend the sum of ₦63.4 billion to overhaul and reconstruct the 70-year-old state Government House was misplaced.
Justifying its decision on the ₦63.4 billion proposal, it stated that the amount was meant for the reconstruction and overhauling of 21 Structures within the Government House premises.
The state Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, made the clarification on the proposed spending while fielding questions from a BBC reporter.
He declared that not once did the government use the word ‘renovation’ in its press release on the proposed reconstruction work, but rather emphasised total overhauling and reconstruction of the old Government House.
The controversy concerning the amount of money to be spent on reconstructing the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan was triggered after a press release signed by the commissioner after the last Executive Council meeting held on Tuesday, 17 June, 2025.
Prince Oyelade however stated that the section of the media that touted the impression that the Government House was going to be renovated was either ignorant or mischievous.
“Not once in the 21-paragraph press release, did we use the word ‘renovation,’ whereas we emphasised total overhauling and reconstruction of the old Government House,” he said.
The commissioner also said the Governor ‘Seyi Makinde-led administration has over 200 ongoing projects.
The projects, he added, included the Samuel Ladoke Akintola International Airport, the 110KM Circular Road, LAUTECH Iseyin Campus, Fashola Agro-industrial hub and several other infrastructural development projects across the seven zones of the state.
He said the overhauling and reconstruction of the state Government House is one of the several projects.
“The ‘Seyi Makinde administration is the least that can be accused of not getting its priorities right. For six years, the government has nurtured the finance of the state efficiently
“This is such that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has increased by over 300 per cent within this period from about ₦1.5 billion to ₦7.8 billion, as at the end of May 2025.
“The administration has also vigorously pursued the welfare of its workers such that it would pay over ₦174 billion annually in salaries and wages at ₦14.5 billion monthly, to the largest state workforce in Nigeria.
“An administration that has employed over 27,000 workers, spent a record ₦13 billion on gratuities and pension for the aged, subsidizes the transportation fare of over 42,000 commuters everyday till date and promoted 45 permanent secretaries in one fell swoop cannot be accused of profligacy,” he said.
On the reconstruction and overhauling of the Government House itself, the commissioner clarified that 21 structures would be affected.
“The decrepit Presidential Lodge and the Banquet Hall, which will be ready for the state’s 50th anniversary celebration next year February, will be totally reconstructed.
“The Governor and the Deputy Governor’s main residences will be overhauled and structural, architectural, mechanical and electrical works will be comprehensively carried out.
“Also affected are several quarters and chalets for visitors, senior and junior staff, whose duties would necessitate dwelling in the Government House,” he said.
According to Prince Oyelade, the mosque, church, external botanical garden, roadworks, landscaping, fencing and furniture within the Government House are also parts of the proposed reconstruction.
“It is instructive that the new Government House will also accommodate a helipad to allow VIP visitors, including the presidency, fellow governors, important dignitaries and the Host Governor himself to commute seamlessly to and from their destinations in helicopters.
“In arriving at this decision, the state governor had factored-in the pride of the state, a befitting official residences for the numbers one and two citizens of the state and a legacy of a beautiful ambience for a place that once had the likes of Sir John Rankin, Sir Adesoji Aderemi and others as tenants,” he said.
The Commissioner for Information described as laughable and kindergarten the suggestion by a potential governorship candidate in 2027 that the people of Oyo State would be better served by distributing ₦3 million of the ₦63.4 billion to 20,000 citizens.
“Those who live in Oyo State know that, that is a poor imitation of the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) programme of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde that is impacting effectively in the lives of the people since the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“The overhauling and reconstruction of the Government House is yet another legacy that the Seyi Makinde administration will bequeath to the people of Oyo State,” he concluded in a press release on Friday.
