Oyo State Governor Engr Seyi Makinde who returned to work on Monday after a 23-day holiday said he wished that Mr Bayo Lawal, the current deputy governor, had been his deputy from the start of his tenure on May 29, 2019.
Despite the nostalgia, Makinde said he was looking forward to working closely with Lawal to finish his current four-year term and run for re-election if elected.
During a brief welcome ceremony at the Oyo governor’s office in Ibadan, Makinde said it is better to be late than never to work with Lawal.
Makinde said partly, “One thing we have demonstrated in Oyo State is that we don’t have strong men or a strong man, we have a strong team.
“For over three weeks, Oyo State people didn’t feel my absence or any gap as anything that has to do with governance went on seamlessly. So we know that in Oyo state, we have selected a very strong team for the state and we know that we are as strong as the weakest in that team.”
“So I want to especially thank the deputy governor for your commitment, show of responsibility and loyalty. We should have done this from the beginning but it is better late than never.
“I thank you and I look forward to us working closely together till the end of this tenure and working hard again together in the next tenure. And finally, one revelation from all of this is that I never went on holiday for three years but next tenure, it will be a yearly thing.”
Welcoming Makinde, the state deputy governor said, in three weeks as acting governor, he realised how daunting and enormous the task of governing the state is.
Lawal thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in him to hand over the governance of the state to him, while he went on vacation.