Get Guardian on GoogleThe All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2027 Oyo State election, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has unveiled his manifesto, tagged ‘My Pact’, promising to grant local government autonomy from his first day in office if elected.
Alli also pledged to establish a ₦10 billion youth fund, make Oyo State one of Nigeria’s top three state economies, and raise its internally generated revenue (IGR) to ₦150 billion annually without increasing the financial burden on residents and businesses.
The governorship hopeful made the promises on Tuesday while presenting the manifesto to representatives of community development associations, professional bodies, artisans, traders, political groups, labour leaders and other stakeholders in Ibadan.
He said the manifesto was built around seven pillars under the acronym ‘Oyo AHEAD’, covering local government autonomy, infrastructure development, healthcare reform, education and employment, agriculture and export, the digital economy and security.
According to Alli, the agenda is designed to transform the state’s economy, improve public service delivery and ensure that residents feel the impact of government across the 351 wards in the 33 local government areas.
He said Oyo, with its landmass, population and agricultural potential, should be feeding the South-West and exporting produce to international markets.
Comparing the state’s revenue performance with that of neighbouring Ogun State, Alli said Oyo generated less than ₦100 billion in IGR in the previous year, while Ogun raised nearly three times that amount.
He also cited poverty among residents as a major challenge, saying about 3.8 million people in the state were living in poverty, based on national statistics.
He said: “We will make Oyo one of the top three state economies in Nigeria. Our first target on the way is ₦150 billion a year of our own revenue, and the market woman will pay no more than she pays today.”
On infrastructure, Alli promised to complete ongoing road projects and construct access roads to facilitate the movement of farmers and agricultural produce.
He said every new road constructed under his administration would carry a 20-year warranty.
The APC candidate also pledged to fully constitute the state electricity regulator, generate electricity within Oyo and provide dedicated power supply to industrial and agricultural corridors.
He promised to audit faulty transformers and ensure their replacement every six months, while restoring potable water to 100 communities and connecting at least 100 rural communities to electricity for the first time.
Alli also pledged to expand the state’s bus fleet, modernise the Pacesetter Transport Company and work with the Federal Government and private investors to provide affordable housing for low- and middle-income earners.
On healthcare, he promised to build general hospitals in the six local government areas yet to have them and recruit more doctors and other health workers to address staffing shortages in public health facilities.
He said his administration would ensure that vacancies in health institutions, including primary healthcare centres, were consistently filled.
He also promised free health insurance for infants, pregnant women and residents aged 70 and above, with a target of increasing enrolment from the current 271,000 to 500,000 within his first two years in office.
On education, Alli pledged to maintain a maximum of 30 pupils per classroom, recruit more teachers, expand school infrastructure and establish skills acquisition centres in each of the state’s zones.
He also promised to introduce an apprenticeship law to strengthen vocational training and employment opportunities for young people.
Under his economic and job creation agenda, the governorship candidate said he would establish industrial parks, revive the Oluyole Free Trade Zone and create a credit guarantee fund to improve small businesses’ access to loans.
He said the proposed Oyo Youth Fund would commence with ₦10 billion, while digital hubs would be established in the state’s five geopolitical zones.
In agriculture, Alli promised to revive farm settlements, provide insurance coverage for 10,000 farmers and establish a produce board through the proposed Oyo Export Council to support farmers and improve access to markets.
He also pledged to restructure the state’s security architecture to strengthen the protection of lives and property.
