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“The ballot is not a prayer mat to be rolled out for the highest bidder of sentiment. It is a contract signed with competence.” — Chief Obafemi Awolowo, 1978
_“O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives.” — [Qur’an 4:135, Surah An-Nisa]
The agitation that “Oyo State’s next governor must be a Muslim” suffered a fatal blow on Wednesday 29 April, 2026 after the Oyo State Governor, Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde FNSE dismantled the narrative with historical facts, statistical evidence, and a spiritual charge at the Hajj Camp, Olodo, Ibadan.
In a move that has now drawn the public commendation of leading Islamic bodies, the Governor’s disclosure during the farewell ceremony for Oyo State’s 2026 Hajj intending pilgrims has been described as “a courageous affirmation of truth over tribalism, and performance over pulpit politics.”
This comes one week after this platform published the investigative report, “2027 Oyo Governorship: Muslim Community Warns Against Voting Religion Over Performance”, in which prominent Muslim leaders cautioned against the weaponization of faith. Today, both the Governor and the Muslim community are speaking with one voice.
Rising from an emergency consultative session in Ibadan on Wednesday evening, a coalition of Islamic scholars, technocrats, and community leaders across the five zones of the state, under the aegis of the Pacesetter Muslim Professionals for Good Governance, PMPGG declared full support for Governor Makinde’s position and launched a scathing attack on “religious jobbers and political termites” attempting to mislead the Governor.
In a communiqué signed by the Chairman, Alh. Abdul-Ganiyy Olanrewaju Adeleke, and the Secretary, Dr. Ismail Opeyemi Aderibigbe, the coalition stated:
“We have listened to His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, at Hajj Camp today. We have reviewed his statistics. We have examined his submission. And we declare, without equivocation, that the Governor spoke the mind of Allah, the mind of the Qur’an, and the mind of every sincere Muslim in Oyo State.
Those disturbing the Governor with ‘Muslim Governor’ agitation are not speaking for Islam. They are speaking for their stomachs. They are the same political termites who ate the future of a business tycoon and billionaire in Oyo State. They must not be allowed to eat in Oyo State.”
Addressing thousands of intending pilgrims, Governor Makinde had said:
“There has been a lot of discussion going on right now, that in Oyo State, the next governor should be a Muslim. I want to urge you that you should pray because the heart of the King and the Chiefs is in the hand of God. Pray that God should choose for us in Oyo State. That God should choose someone who will continue the good work that we are doing to move forward. I have told them to bring statistics for me and I will share it at the appropriate time.
But presently, all the senators representing Oyo State at the Red Chamber in Abuja, three of them are Muslim. Senator Sharafadeen Alli, Yunus Akintunde, and Fatai Buhari.
In the last Six Years, the Three Senators that represented Oyo State are Muslim. Senator Kola Balogun, Fatai Buhari, and Teslim Folarin.
In the last ten years before the last term, the Senators who represented Oyo State as well are Muslim. Senator Ridwan Soji Akanbi, Mosurat Sunmonu, and Fatai Buhari. Was it only Muslim votes that made them emerge and win as Senators?
So, let’s unite. The progress and forwardness of Oyo State is what you should pray for and our prayers shall be answered.”
The coalition noted that Governor Seyi Makinde’s reference to nine Muslim Senators, Sharafadeen Alli, Yunus Akintunde, Fatai Buhari, Kola Balogun, Teslim Folarin, Ridwan Soji Akanbi, and Monsurat Sunmonu, spanning three electoral cycles, is “the burial of religious blackmail in Oyo politics.”
Chairman Alh. Abdul-Ganiyy asked pointedly, _“If Oyo voters were religious bigots, how did Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, a Muslim woman, defeat Christian opponents in Oyo Central? How did Fatai Buhari win Oyo North three times? Was it only Muslim votes? The answer is no. So why are these jobbers now disturbing Governor Seyi Makinde?”
Secretary Dr. Ismail added, “Qur’an 4:135 commands us to stand for justice, even against ourselves. Is it justice to say a Christian cannot govern if he performs? Is it justice to ignore 12 years of Muslim Senators and then claim marginalization? That is not Islam. That is manipulation.”
The PMPGG commended Governor Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde FNSE for “listening to the Muslim community’s warning last week and responding with superior facts this week.”
The group recalled its position in last week’s report, that competence, equity, and continuity must define 2027. “The Governor has now given us the data to defend that position. He is not just a listening Governor. He is a teaching Governor,” the communiqué read.
In a rare, direct rebuke, the coalition attacked unnamed political actors “disturbing” the Governor.
“We know them. They are the same men who told a Man, a business tycoon and billionaire, that he would be Governor without structure. They are the same men who now run to Makinde to say ‘declare a Muslim or you will lose our support.’
We say to them; Leave Governor Seyi Makinde alone. You did not make him Governor in 2019. You did not re-elect him in 2023. The people did. Muslims and Christians did. Stop using Islam to cage Oyo State. Stop using the Qur’an to chase contracts.
As Governor Makinde said, ‘the heart of the King is in the hand of God’, not in your pocket.”
While praising the Governor, PMPGG also warned His Excellency, Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde FNSE. _“Your Excellency, the same mouths singing ‘Muslim Governor’ today will sing ‘Betrayal’ tomorrow if you don’t anoint them. These are political termites. They ate others. Don’t let them eat you. Audit your circle. Choose truth over sycophancy.”
The coalition concluded that Makinde’s call to prayer, “Pray that God should choose someone who will continue the good work” has reset the 2027 debate.
“APC, PDP, NNPP, LP, Accord must note: Oyo will not be governed by agitation. It will be governed by the aggregation of results. The era of ‘it is our turn’ without ‘this is our record’ is dead,” Alh. Abdul-Ganiyy declared.
As Oyo’s 2026 Hajj pilgrims depart for Saudi Arabia, they carry a message from their Governor and their clerics. “The progress and forwardness of Oyo State is what you should pray for.”
Last week, the Muslim community warned. Today, the Governor affirmed. Now, the religious jobbers must retreat.
In the words of Chief Awolowo, the ballot is a contract. In the words of Qur’an 4:135, the contract must be justice. In the words of Governor Seyi Makinde, the decision belongs to God.
Signed:
Alh. Abdul-Ganiyy Olanrewaju Adeleke
Chairman, Pacesetter Muslim Professionals for Good Governance, PMPGG
Dr. Ismail Opeyemi Aderibigbe
Secretary, Pacesetter Muslim Professionals for Good Governance, PMPGG
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