Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has approved the appointment of three new members to the Oyo State Advisory Council, the body that advises him on governance and development matters, in a round of appointments that also included a new chairman for the state Hospitals Management Board and the reassignment of three officials.
The announcement was made in Ibadan on Friday by the Governor's Special Adviser on Media, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju. The newly appointed members of the Advisory Council are Engineer Abu Salami, Honourable Ezekiel Oyedepo, and Honourable (Mrs.) Lydia Bankole. The appointments take effect from Friday, September 18, 2026.
The Advisory Council is chaired by Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. The council, which Makinde established to advise him on issues relating to development in the state, has been a significant body in the administration's governance architecture. Earlier in 2026, the council was given the mandate to interact with governorship aspirants under the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and provide recommendations for a successor candidate as part of preparations for the continuation of the Omituntun agenda.
Governor Makinde also approved the appointment of Honourable Adekunle Oladapo Bankole as Chairman of the Oyo State Hospitals Management Board. In a related development, three officials were reassigned to new roles. Mrs Adeboyin Elizabeth Oladokun, who previously served as a member of the Oyo State Housing Corporation, has been appointed Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Diaspora Matters. Abiodun Oluwaseun Friday, formerly Senior Special Assistant on Project Delivery, has been appointed Chairman of the Oyo State Project Performance Monitoring Agency, replacing Engineer Muftau Open Salawu, who is the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement. Ajao Ibrahim Akinsanmi, who formerly served on the board of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State, has been appointed a member of the Oyo State Housing Corporation.
The appointments were contained in letters issued by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi. Governor Makinde congratulated the appointees and charged them to discharge their responsibilities with loyalty, commitment, and dedication to the service of the state.
Honourable Lydia Bankole, who serves as the Political Head and Administrator of Oriire South Local Council Development Area, expressed gratitude to Governor Makinde for the appointment, describing it as a great honour and a call to greater service. In a statement made available to journalists, she said the appointment reflected the governor's commitment to inclusive governance, grassroots development, and women empowerment. "I am deeply honoured and humbled by this appointment. I want to sincerely thank His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, for the confidence reposed in me," she said. "This is not just an appointment, but a challenge to contribute more to the Omituntun 2.0 agenda and the overall development of our dear state." She pledged to bring her experience in grassroots administration and community development to bear in advising the government on policies and programmes that will enhance sustainable development across the state, and reaffirmed her loyalty to the Makinde-led administration.
The appointments come amid a period of internal political activity within the Oyo State Advisory Council. In July 2026, a former Chief Whip of the Alliance for Democracy in the House of Representatives and the Babameto of Ibadanland, Babatunde Oduyoye, resigned his membership of the council. Oduyoye, who represented Ibadan North West and South West Federal Constituency between 1999 and 2007, said in a resignation letter dated July 24, 2026, addressed to Governor Makinde through the Chairman of the Advisory Council, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, that personal exigencies had constrained his continued membership. Oduyoye expressed appreciation to the governor for the opportunity to serve and commended the council for its contributions to governance in the state, describing it as a revered body that has played significant roles in the governance system. He wished Oyo State success in its democratic journey.
The resignation followed an exclusive report in July that a breakdown in the relationship between Oduyoye and the governor had occurred over the rejection of the governorship search committee's report. The report said the last straw that created irreconcilable division was the manner in which Makinde treated the report of the screening committee of the Advisory Council on the 2027 governorship candidate.
The Advisory Council has not been immune to the broader political currents sweeping Oyo State ahead of the 2027 elections. In January 2026, a member of the council, Adebukola Ajaja, publicly endorsed Oriyomi Hamzat as the next governor of Oyo State, in a move that was described as dramatic given the council's role in advising the governor. The governor has not officially commented on that endorsement.
The 2027 general elections are less than four months away, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6. In Oyo State, nine governorship aspirants under the PDP were reported to be battling for the party's ticket, with the Advisory Council under Chief Ayorinde's chairmanship mandated to interact with all aspirants and provide recommendations for a candidate to continue the Omituntun agenda. Governor Makinde is completing his second and final term in office and cannot seek re-election, making the succession contest a central preoccupation of the state's political class.
The appointments announced on Friday are part of a continuing effort by the governor to consolidate his administration's governance structure as it enters its final years in office. The Advisory Council, the Hospitals Management Board, the Project Performance Monitoring Agency, the Housing Corporation and the state's diaspora engagement are all part of the machinery through which the administration delivers on its Omituntun 2.0 agenda. The appointees are expected to bring their experience and expertise to bear in their respective roles, as the administration works to complete the projects and programmes it has promised the people of Oyo State.
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