The Oyo State Elite Group has faulted former Minister of Power, Elder Wole Oyelese, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State over their criticisms of Governor Seyi Makinde’s handling of local government affairs, urging them to assess the administration’s performance against verifiable projects across the state.

The group said the Oyo State Government’s published register of local government projects documented road construction and rehabilitation, school facilities, bridges, markets, water projects, electricity infrastructure and other interventions across various local government areas.

Oyelese, who convenes the Oyo State Grassroots Financial Accountability Initiative, had challenged Makinde to account for allocations due to the state’s 33 local government areas since 2019, including the amounts received, deductions made, and expenditure incurred.

Reacting to the demand in a statement signed by its Chairman, Segun Adewumi, the Oyo State Elite Group said financial accountability was necessary but argued that assessments of local government performance should also consider projects delivered in communities.

The group also questioned what it described as the APC’s repeated use of local government performance to criticise Makinde’s administration, insisting that such assessments should take account of documented infrastructure projects and their implementation status.

According to the group, the government’s project register, published through the Oyo State Feedback Service and updated as of December 8, 2025, documents projects across Ibadan, Ibarapa, Ogbomoso, Oke-Ogun and Oyo zones.

It said the projects could be independently verified through physical inspections and examination of official records.

Among the road projects listed in the register are the 14.1-kilometre Eruwa–Maya Road rehabilitation in Ibarapa East, the 15.75-kilometre Igbole Express Road project in Ibarapa Central, the six-kilometre Idiko-Ile–Ayegun Road in Iwajowa and the 10-kilometre Omi Adio Junction–Ido Junction Road.

The register also lists the 5.9-kilometre Akobo Ojurin–Olorunda Abaa Road project in Lagelu as completed, alongside the 83.82-kilometre limited rehabilitation of the Iseyin–Saki Road.

The group said these projects, alongside other road interventions documented in the register, underscored the need to consider infrastructure delivery when assessing governance at the grassroots.

It added that the register contained records of drainage works, culverts, bridges and other interventions aimed at improving access and movement within communities.

On education, the group cited the construction of a three-classroom block, headmaster’s office, store and toilet at Ajangba Community Primary School in Irepo, listed as completed in the register.

It also referenced renovation work and the provision of desktop computers at Command Secondary School in Wewe, as well as another three-classroom project at L.A. Primary School, Oke-Amu, in Itesiwaju, which was listed as ongoing.

In the health sector, the register contains entries for health-centre projects at the College of Agricultural Sciences and Renewable Natural Resources, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Iseyin, and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo. Both were recorded as ongoing as of the register’s reporting date.

The group also pointed to market projects, including the reconstruction of the burnt Akesan Market in Oyo East, the Kajola Market project in Ogbomoso South, the modern market at Orile-Igbon in Surulere and the Omituntun Market in Omi-Adio.

Other listed interventions include Olodo Bridge in Egbeda, a pedestrian bridge at Omikunle Community in Ibadan South LCDA, borehole projects, transformers, electricity extensions and solar-powered public lighting.

The register also records the procurement of 99 security vehicles for the 33 local government areas, alongside accommodation for security operatives deployed along highways, which was still ongoing at the time of publication.

The Elite Group urged the APC and other political stakeholders to assess local government performance against available project records rather than relying solely on political arguments.

However, it acknowledged that a project register alone could not establish the precise funding source for every project or replace the need for audited accounts and allocation statements.

The group called for a comprehensive examination of relevant financial records to establish the allocations received by each council, expenditure incurred, projects executed and the status of ongoing works.

It maintained that financial transparency and infrastructure assessment should go hand in hand, adding that residents deserved both proper accounting of public funds and clear information about projects undertaken in their communities.

The group urged Oyelese, the APC and other stakeholders to examine the government’s published project register and subject the listed projects to independent verification.