Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has rated President Bola Tinubu’s administration 34 per cent on performance, saying it has made progress in some areas but has not done enough to address Nigeria’s wider challenges.
Makinde gave the assessment on Friday during an interview with ARISE News.
Explaining his rating, the governor said the score reflected the proportion of Nigerians who voted for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
“It’s just about the same percentage of the people that supported him in 2023. Thirty-four per cent,” Makinde said.
He said the President needs to win over Nigerians who did not support him in 2023 to successfully implement his policies.
“You need the 67 per cent of Nigerians that were against him in 2023 to be on board. This is a massive number,” he said.
Despite the rating, Makinde commended Tinubu for advancing the proposal for state police, which he has consistently advocated.
“The President has done well with the formation of the state police,” he said, adding that states should be allowed to establish their own police based on capacity and readiness.
On education, Makinde acknowledged the Federal Government’s student loan scheme but said funding for students is only a small fraction of needed reforms.
“Having money for students to go to school… is a small fraction of what they’re supposed to do,” he said.
He said government must also address teachers’ welfare and security in schools to ensure quality education and equip young Nigerians with skills to be employable or become entrepreneurs.
“If you have three or four pockets and one is being addressed, I would say it’s a movement in the right direction. But that alone will not solidly ensure that our children have skills and knowledge that can either make them employable or turn them into entrepreneurs,” he said.
Makinde has criticized the administration’s economic policies for not translating into jobs, improved incomes and better living conditions, though he acknowledged some macroeconomic stabilisation. He has proposed his ‘Reset Nigeria’ agenda as an alternative.