OYO 2023: SPN RE-ELECTION OF ENGR SEYI MAKINDE NEVER A DECISION OF THE MAJORITY
SPN cautions against continuous illusion and urges the working people to be united and get prepared to resist anti-people policies of Makinde-led government!
The Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, Oyo State Chapter rejects the false impression and erroneous belief that the re-election of Engr Seyi Makinde as the Governor of Oyo State, after having secured 563,756 votes, in the March 18th gubernatorial election is the decision of vast majority of the Oyo State working people.
According to the results as announced by the INEC, the total figure of votes cast in the election is just about 889,592 out of the 3.27 million total registered voters in the state. This shows that just about 27 percent of the eligible voters actually participated in the election. As far as we are concerned the outcome of an election which was boycotted by over 70 percent of the electorate cannot be said to be the decision of the majority!
Rather, such an outcome can only be best described as a vote of no confidence against all the pro-capitalist politicians, including re-elected Governor Seyi Makinde, that participated in the election. This is more so when there was a decline in the turnout percentage from 30 percent in 2019 election.
Again, that the 563,756 votes scored by Makinde is equivalent to just 17.2% of the registered voters doesn’t show that he is the true choice of mass majority of the working people and youth in the state. Rather, it suggests mass discontent against his anti-people policies and actions. Therefore, it’s very likely the outcome of the election could have been different if there was a pro-people politician with genuine mass alternative to him at the poll.
However, the huge propaganda machinery consciously and calculatedly built around Makinde’s so called achievements which in our opinion are largely tokenistic, cosmetic and conceived to loot public funds, no doubt formed the basis for an illusion currently enjoyed by the Makinde-led regime among some layers of the working people in the state.
The SPN cautions against continuous illusion and fake hope in Makinde-led government. Given its pro-capitalist orientation, the chances are high that things will be tougher for mass of the working people in the coming period. The current huge debt profile of the state, which is around N200 billion at the present time, and the increasing decline in the Federal allocation to the state owing to the global economic slowdown and Nigeria’s economic crises, may mean that a chunk of the state share of Federal allocation will be squarely dedicated to debt servicing and repayment.
This therefore suggests that the funding of social services like education and health care under the second term of Makinde-led government may suffer further reductions. This will be done side by side an aggressive imposition of obnoxious taxes on mass of the working people under the pretence of generating revenue internally for the state something which in the long run will either be looted or devoted for the servicing and maintenance of the opulent lifestyle of the pro-capitalist politicians and their acolytes.
As a matter of fact, the introduction of the so called #30,000 drilling permit fee by Makinde-led government few months ago for a borehole is a glimpse of what could be the overall fate of the working people in its second term in office.
Again, the 80% slash in the Subvention for all the tertiary institutions in the state, the delay in the payment of salary against the 25th of every month promised by the Governor, the non-remittance of cooperative deductions and check-off due including planned handling over of the Government College Ibadan, GCI, to Wale Babalakin-led GCI Old Boys Association are clear indications that Makinde’s second term could not be trusted for an adequate defence and satisfaction of the interest of mass of the working people in the state.
Therefore, we call on mass of the working people particularly the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state to begin to prepare for the struggle to resist the anti-people policies that await the mass of the working people in the second term of Makinde-led government.
Finally, it is important to state that such struggles must be linked to the building of a mass working people party with socialist policies to contest and wrest political power in the state and nationally. This is with a view of enthroning a working people government that could satisfy the overall interest of mass of the working people in the state.
Ayodeji Adigun
Oyo State SPN Secretary
E-mail: [email protected]