Mr Ayodele Ogundele, President of Hoteliers Association of Oyo State, has lauded the state governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, for providing the enabling environment that is turning the state into a 24-hour economy.
Ogundele, who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Davies Hotel, Ibadan, disclosed this in an interview with The People’s Verdict.
According to him, apart from hotels that open for 24 hours, there are now stores that operate round the clock in Ibadan, the state capital.
He said: “Governor Makinde’s policies have been extremely beneficial. When he came, he started with electrification and lighting up the streets (the Light Up Oyo Project).
“There was a lot of talk about him just wasting money. But right now, we can see the benefits of it. Right now, Ibadan is operating on a nearly 24-hour economy.
“You go out at 1am, you can find somewhere to eat, you can find somewhere to drink, you can find somewhere to sleep and you feel safe.
“People leave their places of work, their hotels, at 2am and drive home safely. These are the benefits of his policies.”
Tracing the trajectory of Makinde’s transformation of the economy, the Davies Hotel CEO said: “The first thing Governor Makinde did that was a masterstroke was in 2020 during COVID-19.
“Many states locked down but Governor Makinde gave us a curfew of 6pm to 6am. Just by opening the economy from 6am to 6pm, he saved a lot of businesses and a lot of people. From there, there has been stability.
“You need to come out any day in Ibadan at 9pm or 10pm; it is like 5pm in some states. You can get anything you want at that time. There are supermarkets that are open for 24 hours in Ibadan. That is an important sign.
“When you start having supermarkets springing up and staying open for 24 hours, it is a very important sign that the economy is kicking, that the economy is vibrant.
“I will not keep my store open 24 hours running electricity, keeping staff if people are not coming in to buy. Those are fantastic signs.
“I know, at least, four shops that have opened in Ibadan in the past 18 months that are 24 hours. Those are the indices we look at.”
Ogundele added that before the coming of Makinde, hoteliers had the multiple taxation challenge as various government agencies were always bombarding hotels with different tax claims.
He, however, noted that shortly after the advent of the Makinde administration, the state came up with a harmonised tax, which provides hoteliers with the full picture of their tax obligations to the government.
Ogundele added: “Hotels are beginning to realise that registering with government is beneficial because under Governor Makinde is when we have a harmonised bill.
“This is bringing in more people to be able to accept their responsibility of paying taxes to the government because they are actually seeing that the roads in their areas are being done and security is getting better.
“In Ibadan, we have not had any major security issue in the past four, five years.
“There is a thriving economy moving around the local population in Oyo State. It is because the government is opening up new areas that people are building new hotels in those areas. It is because infrastructure is improving that investment is following.”
On his overview of the Makinde administration, Ogundele said: “The administration of ‘Seyi Makinde has generally been a blessing to Oyo State.
“The new roads that are being laid are a massive blessing to Oyo State. And they are being laid without much fanfare. The governor is giving us a carrot and we are enjoying it. All the roads are being done with perfect drainage. It is fantastic.
“In my own experience, it is the first for a second term governor that probably has close to 24 months in office to be doing this kind of extensive work. This is the first time I am experiencing it. And we thank Governor Makinde for his effort on that.”
Speaking about Makinde’s personality, Ogundele said: “Governor Makinde is a passionate man; he is passionate about his job, his people and passionate to create and leave a legacy. Most importantly, he’s an extremely humble personality.”
