Oluseyi Makinde, the newly elected governor of Oyo State, has publicly declared his assets.
In declaring the assets public, Mr Makinde has fulfilled one of his campaign promises he made while seeking the exalted office.
Politicians who seek elective positions in the country often promise to publicly declare their assets when elected but refused to fulfill the promise when sworn-in. One of such persons is President Muhammadu Buhari who made the promise when he sought the position in 2015.
Mr Buhari who has been re-elected for another term of four years is yet to publicly declare his assets as at press time.
The governor who made his declaration known to the public through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, said he is worth N48billion with cash and properties inclusive.
The worth is contained in the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) form 1 with the name Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, retrieved and by the governor when he visited the Ibadan office of the bureau on Monday.
The declaration was made at a High Court sitting in the state on May 28, 2019. The assets declaration form, marked OYSE/2019/001 contained details of cash at hand, in the bank, landed properties (developed and undeveloped), household items, share, and bonds owned by the Governor, his wife, Omini Makinde as well as his companies.
According to the documents, the Governor of Oyo State had cash at hand and in the bank worth N234,742,296.01, as at May 28, 2019.
In dollar terms, the Governor has cash valued at $30,056.99 as at the same date.
Properties, including the developed and undeveloped as well as household items indicated on the asset forms, showed that the Governor is worth N2, 624,800,500(two billion, six hundred and twenty-four million, eight hundred thousand, five hundred Naira as at the date of asset declaration.
In Dollar terms, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor also declared properties, developed and undeveloped as well as household items valued at $4,400,000(four million, four hundred thousand dollars only.
In South African Rands, the Governor declared buildings and household items worth four Million, four hundred and fifty-seven thousand, five hundred and fifty-four and four South African Rands.
The houses declared by the Governor include nine buildings in Nigeria, two in the United States of America and One in South Africa.
One of the properties in the United States is described as “jointly owned.”
The details showed the current value of Makinde’s companies stand at N48, 150,736,889 (forty-eight billion, one hundred and fifty million, seven hundred and thirty-six thousand, eight hundred and eighty-nine Naira), with 33, 730,000 units of shares as at May 28, 2019.
The Governor also has existing Bonds (Eurobond) worth $3, 793, 500 as well as shares, debentures and other securities valued at N120,500,000(One hundred and twenty million, five hundred thousand naira).
The companies listed by the Governor include Makon Engineering and Technical Services Limited; Energy Traders and Technical Services Limited; Makon Oil and Gas Limited; Makon Group Limited, Makon Construction Limited and Makon Power System Limited.
The asset declaration form indicated that Governor Makinde’s four companies have additional assets denominated as loan notes including Makon Engineering and Technical Services Limited(N1.7 billion); Makon Power System Limited(N148.4 million); Makon Oil and Gas Limited(N341 million); Energy Traders and Technical Services Limited(N1.159bn) totalling N3.389 billion.
Addressing newsmen after picking the document, Makinde said: “I came here to collect the photocopy of the form that I signed in fulfillment of the campaign promise to the people that I will declare my asset publicly and release the document to the public.
“I will encourage all the members of my cabinet to do the same thing but in as much they stay within the ambit of the law, I will encourage them to do the same.”
Meanwhile, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP in this year’s election has commended the governor for his action.
“@seyiamakinde, the trailblazing PDP governor of Oyo State’s feat in publicly declaring his assets is a testament to integrity and accountability worthy of emulation,” the former vice president said in a tweet on Tuesday.
