What should have been a celebration of a major infrastructure project linking two South-West states has instead opened another chapter in the increasingly charged political relationship between Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde and the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu.

On Monday, the Federal Government flagged off the reconstruction and dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road at Idi Ayunre in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State. The 56.5-kilometre road is a major inter-state corridor linking Oyo and Ogun states and is expected to improve the movement of people, goods and services while strengthening economic activities across the South-West. The project is valued at about N296 billion. (Tribune Online)

But instead of the road itself dominating the post-flag-off conversation, one political question has taken centre stage:

Why was Governor Seyi Makinde not invited? And perhaps an even more intriguing question is this, If the road connects Oyo and Ogun states, why was Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun present at the ceremony while Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde was absent? That contrast may be the most politically significant feature of the entire controversy.

Abiodun, the governor of neighbouring Ogun State, attended the ceremony and, according to reports, represented President Tinubu at the event. The gathering also included Works Minister David Umahi, Oyo APC governorship candidate Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and other dignitaries. 

Makinde, however, was missing. According to the Oyo State Government, that was not because the governor merely chose not to attend. He was not invited. That allegation has transformed what should have been a routine infrastructure ceremony into a political controversy.

At first glance, the absence of a governor from a Federal Government event might really appear “insignificant”. After all, the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road is a federal project. The Federal Government is funding and executing it, and it therefore has considerable latitude over how the ceremony is organised.However  the circumstances make the question harder to dismiss.

This is not a road entirely within Ogun State. It is not a road entirely within Oyo State. It is a road connecting Oyo and Ogun. The flag-off itself took place in Oyo State, and while the governor of Ogun State was present and played a prominent role at the ceremony, the governor of Oyo State was absent and, according to his government, was not invited.

That creates an obvious political contrast. Why was Dapo Abiodun there? Why was Seyi Makinde not there? Was the difference simply a matter of protocol? Was it because Abiodun was representing President Tinubu? Was Makinde’s absence entirely connected to his reported leave? Or does the contrast reflect the very different political relationships between the two governors and the Federal Government?

There is currently no public evidence establishing the motive behind the decision. Therefore, it would be “irresponsible” to “declare” that Makinde was deliberately excluded because of “politics”. However, it would equally be difficult to ignore the political significance of the contrast. Because in politics, who is invited can sometimes be as revealing as who is not.

Same day, the Oyo State Government has made its position clear. Commissioner for Information Prince Dotun Oyelade condemned Makinde’s exclusion and described it as an unnecessary politicisation of an important infrastructure project. He rejected the explanation that the governor’s absence was connected to his leave, arguing that Oyo had a functioning Acting Governor who could have represented the state. 

That point is central to the Oyo Government’s argument. The state’s position is not necessarily that Makinde had to be physically present at all costs. Rather, it is that Oyo State should have been represented. If the governor was unavailable, why not invite the Acting Governor? That question makes the controversy more difficult to reduce to a simple scheduling issue.

The Oyo Government went further, describing the event as having acquired a political undertone and linking the development directly to the emerging 2027 political contest. Oyelade said, “The course of 2027 is set,” suggesting that the state government itself sees the incident as part of a broader political struggle. 

However, there is an important journalistic distinction to make. The allegation that Makinde’s exclusion was politically motivated is the position of the Oyo State Government. It is not, based on the available reports, an established fact that the Federal Government excluded him because of his political affiliation or 2027 ambitions.

That distinction must remain at the heart of any serious analysis. The controversy is established. The motive remains contested. If Makinde’s exclusion had been the only unusual element of the ceremony, the controversy might have remained a protocol dispute. Yet, another development made the political interpretation considerably more compelling.

Minister of State for Works Bello Muhammad Goronyo reportedly used the occasion to publicly invite Makinde to join the All Progressives Congress. The minister argued that joining the ruling party would enable Oyo State to align with the Federal Government and benefit from President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

That statement changes the political optics of the event. Consider the sequence. A Federal Government project is being flagged off in Oyo State. The governor of Oyo State is absent and, according to his government, was not invited. The governor of neighbouring Ogun State is present and represents the President.

The Oyo Government protests that its governor was deliberately excluded. Then a Federal Government minister publicly asks Makinde to join the APC and align Oyo with the centre. It would be unrealistic to expect political observers not to connect those developments.

However, it certainly raises the question of whether an infrastructure ceremony also became an opportunity to send a political message to an opposition governor. And that is where the story becomes much bigger than a missing invitation.

Is the real issue Makinde or political alignment? The minister’s appeal is particularly interesting because it introduces the old Nigerian argument about the relationship between political alignment and development. The message, whether intended or not, can be interpreted as suggesting that Oyo State would be better positioned if its governor belonged to the same political party as the Federal Government. That raises a fundamental question about Nigerian democracy, Should access to development be politically neutral?

A Federal Government road should ideally be a Federal Government road regardless of whether the governor of the state belongs to the APC, PDP, APM or any other party. The citizens who will use the road do not change because their governor changes political party. Traders do not become APC or opposition traders because a governor joins the ruling party. A road does not become more necessary because of political alignment. Yet Nigerian politics has repeatedly created the perception that proximity to the centre can determine the speed, scale or visibility of development.

That perception is precisely why Goronyo’s statement matters. It turns the Makinde controversy into a broader conversation about whether political cooperation and political loyalty are becoming intertwined with development.

Who owns the road? There is another question that the controversy exposes. Who actually owns the political credit for the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road? The Federal Government can legitimately claim ownership of the project as a federal infrastructure intervention. President Tinubu’s administration approved and is executing it. The Federal Ministry of Works is supervising it. But the road is being constructed through communities in Oyo and Ogun states. That means the state governments are not irrelevant to its impact.

For Oyo, the road will affect residents, businesses and communities within its territory. For Ogun, the same is true. This makes the presence of Dapo Abiodun particularly interesting. If the Federal Government considered it important to have the governor of one of the two affected states at the ceremony, why was the governor of the other affected state not similarly represented?

That is the question the Federal Government should be prepared to answer if the controversy persists. Not because Makinde is entitled to every federal podium. Not because every federal project requires the physical presence of a state governor. But because the optics of inviting one governor while excluding the other inevitably invite political interpretation.

Dapo Abiodun’s presence deserves more attention than it has received. He was not merely another dignitary in the crowd. Reports indicate that he represented President Tinubu at the ceremony. That gives his presence a dual significance.

He was there as governor of Ogun State, one of the two states directly connected by the road. Also, he was also there in a federal capacity, representing the President.

This makes the comparison with Makinde more complicated, but also more interesting.

Perhaps Abiodun’s presence had nothing to do with party politics. Perhaps the Federal Government simply chose the governor of Ogun because of his role in representing the President. That is a perfectly plausible explanation. However, even then, the question remains, Why was there no equivalent representation from Oyo State?

If Makinde was unavailable because he was on leave, why was the Acting Governor not invited? The Oyo Government has specifically raised this point. That is why the explanation cannot simply end with “Makinde was on leave.” The Acting Governor existed. The project was being flagged off in Oyo, and Ogun had a governor at the ceremony. The political optics therefore remain.

This is where Nigeria’s infrastructure politics becomes particularly interesting. Every administration wants citizens to associate roads, bridges, airports, rail lines and other projects with its leadership. That is understandable. Infrastructure is visible. It is one of the easiest ways for governments to demonstrate performance. A new road is something voters can see. A completed bridge is something they can use. A functioning railway is something they can experience.

Consequently, infrastructure naturally becomes part of political messaging. The Federal Government wants the public to associate the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road with the Tinubu administration. The Oyo Government may want residents to remember its own contributions to road development within the state. The APC wants to use federal projects as evidence of the benefits of its administration. Opposition politicians will naturally scrutinise those projects. And voters will decide whose narrative they believe. The danger is when political ownership becomes more important than public benefit.

The 2027 election is still ahead, but its shadow is already visible. Political parties are positioning themselves. Potential alliances are being discussed. Candidates and political blocs are emerging. And every major government decision increasingly has the potential to become part of the political narrative. Oyo is particularly important because Makinde is not simply another state governor. He has become one of the more prominent political figures in the South-West, and his future political direction has attracted significant attention.

The APC, meanwhile, has an obvious interest in expanding its influence in Oyo. The party will not want to approach the 2027 contest as an ordinary opposition campaign. It will want to challenge Makinde’s political structure. That means the relationship between Makinde and Abuja will inevitably become part of the larger political calculation. The Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road controversy fits neatly into that environment.

Is Makinde being isolated? That is another question worth asking, although it must be asked cautiously. One interpretation is that Makinde’s exclusion represents an attempt to reduce his visibility around Federal Government projects in Oyo. Another is that the Federal Government is simply asserting ownership of a project it is funding and executing. However, the optics are difficult to ignore.

A Federal Government road project is flagged off in Oyo, the Oyo governor is absent, the Ogun governor is present, the Oyo APC governorship candidate is inconsequentially present, Olubadan is present, the works Minister is present, and a Federal Government minister uses the occasion to ask Makinde to join the ruling party. That is a politically loaded picture, whether the organisers intended it that way or not.

What does the APC want from Oyo? The APC’s interest in Oyo is straightforward. It wants to win. That may sound obvious, but it is important. Oyo is politically significant, and Makinde’s influence makes the state an important battleground. If the APC can weaken the governor’s political structure, attract influential politicians and present the Federal Government as the stronger platform for delivering development, it could improve its chances. That is why the minister’s invitation to Makinde matters. “Join APC” is not simply a party recruitment message.

 

In the context of 2027, it is also an invitation to rethink the political relationship between Oyo and Abuja. The minister was effectively presenting political alignment as a possible pathway to closer cooperation with the centre. 

 

 

What does Makinde gain by staying outside? Makinde also has calculations of his own. Remaining outside the APC allows him to preserve an independent political identity. It enables him to argue that Oyo can negotiate with the Federal Government without surrendering its political autonomy. It can also strengthen his appeal among voters who are uncomfortable with the dominance of the ruling party. Also, there is another side.

 

An opposition governor facing a powerful Federal Government and an increasingly organised ruling party may have to work harder to maintain political influence. The 2027 contest could therefore become a referendum not only on Makinde’s record in Oyo but also on his ability to operate independently of Abuja. That makes the political choices ahead increasingly consequential.

 

The road that connects two states has exposed a political divide Perhaps the most ironic part of the entire episode is that the road itself is about connection. It is designed to connect Ibadan and Ijebu-Ode. It is designed to improve movement between Oyo and Ogun. It is designed to promote trade and economic integration.

 

Yet the ceremony marking its beginning has exposed a political distance between Abuja and Ibadan. That contrast should not be lost. A project designed to connect two states has raised questions about why the governors of those two states were not treated in the same way. Ogun’s governor was there. Oyo’s governor was not. And that difference is now part of the political story. But perhaps Nigerians should ask a different question.There is a danger that politicians on all sides will become consumed by who stood on the stage. That would be unfortunate. The road is not being constructed for Tinubu. It is not being constructed for Makinde, It is not being constructed for Abiodun, It is not being constructed for the APC, It is being constructed with public resources for the public.

 

For the truck driver, the trader, the farmer, the student, the commuter and the business owner, the identity of the person who cuts the ribbon is less important than whether the road is eventually completed to standard. That should remain the central issue. Will the project be completed on schedule? Will the quality meet expectations? Will the N296 billion investment deliver value for money? Will communities along the corridor experience genuine economic benefits? Will security improve? Will transport time and costs fall? Those are the questions that should ultimately matter to citizens.

 

Yet politics cannot simply be wished away

The fact that the road should be about development does not mean politics will disappear from it.The 2027 election will increasingly shape how governments present their achievements. The Federal Government will want to showcase infrastructure.The APC will want to convert federal performance into electoral support. Makinde will want to defend his political record. The opposition will challenge the Federal Government’s narrative.

 

And voters will be presented with competing claims about who is delivering development. The Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road may therefore become one of those projects around which political narratives are built. The APC could say: Look at what the Federal Government is bringing to Oyo.Makinde ‘s camp could respond: Development should not require political submission to Abuja.The electo rate may then ask a more practical question:

 

Who can deliver?That may ultimately determine the 2027 outcome more than any flag-off ceremony. So, is this another sign of the 2027 battle? Perhaps. But the responsible answer is that the incident is a sign of an increasingly political environment, rather than definitive proof of a coordinated 2027 strategy. Makinde’s exclusion has been condemned by the Oyo Government as deliberate and political.

 

The Federal Government’s position on the alleged motive has not been established in the reports reviewed. Dapo Abiodun’s presence is explainable by his role as Ogun governor and, according to reports, as the President’s representative. The fact that the road connects Oyo and Ogun, however, makes the different treatment of the two governors politically noteworthy. And the subsequent public invitation to Makinde to join the APC makes the timing even more intriguing.

 

That is why the controversy deserves attention. Not because an invitation is the most important issue in Nigerian governance. But because small political signals can sometimes reveal the larger direction of political competition. The question now is whether this was merely an awkward protocol decision or the first visible sign of a deeper struggle over Oyo State ahead of 2027.

If the latter is true, then Monday’s road flag-off may eventually be remembered for something other than the road. It may be remembered as one of the moments when the political lines between Abuja, Ibadan and the emerging 2027 contest became impossible to ignore.

And perhaps the most revealing question will remain the simplest: If the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road belongs to both Oyo and Ogun, why was one governor on the platform while the other was not? That question may not have an official answer yet. But politically, it is already being asked.

 

What should have been a celebration of a major infrastructure project linking two South-West states has instead opened another chapter in the increasingly charged political relationship between Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde and the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu.

On Monday, the Federal Government flagged off the reconstruction and dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road at Idi Ayunre in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State. The 56.5-kilometre road is a major inter-state corridor linking Oyo and Ogun states and is expected to improve the movement of people, goods and services while strengthening economic activities across the South-West. The project is valued at about N296 billion. (Tribune Online)

But instead of the road itself dominating the post-flag-off conversation, one political question has taken centre stage:

Why was Governor Seyi Makinde not invited? And perhaps an even more intriguing question is this, If the road connects Oyo and Ogun states, why was Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun present at the ceremony while Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde was absent? That contrast may be the most politically significant feature of the entire controversy.

Abiodun, the governor of neighbouring Ogun State, attended the ceremony and, according to reports, represented President Tinubu at the event. The gathering also included Works Minister David Umahi, Oyo APC governorship candidate Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and other dignitaries. 

Makinde, however, was missing. According to the Oyo State Government, that was not because the governor merely chose not to attend. He was not invited. That allegation has transformed what should have been a routine infrastructure ceremony into a political controversy.

At first glance, the absence of a governor from a Federal Government event might really appear “insignificant”. After all, the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road is a federal project. The Federal Government is funding and executing it, and it therefore has considerable latitude over how the ceremony is organised.However  the circumstances make the question harder to dismiss.

This is not a road entirely within Ogun State. It is not a road entirely within Oyo State. It is a road connecting Oyo and Ogun. The flag-off itself took place in Oyo State, and while the governor of Ogun State was present and played a prominent role at the ceremony, the governor of Oyo State was absent and, according to his government, was not invited.

That creates an obvious political contrast. Why was Dapo Abiodun there? Why was Seyi Makinde not there? Was the difference simply a matter of protocol? Was it because Abiodun was representing President Tinubu? Was Makinde’s absence entirely connected to his reported leave? Or does the contrast reflect the very different political relationships between the two governors and the Federal Government?

There is currently no public evidence establishing the motive behind the decision. Therefore, it would be “irresponsible” to “declare” that Makinde was deliberately excluded because of “politics”. However, it would equally be difficult to ignore the political significance of the contrast. Because in politics, who is invited can sometimes be as revealing as who is not.

Same day, the Oyo State Government has made its position clear. Commissioner for Information Prince Dotun Oyelade condemned Makinde’s exclusion and described it as an unnecessary politicisation of an important infrastructure project. He rejected the explanation that the governor’s absence was connected to his leave, arguing that Oyo had a functioning Acting Governor who could have represented the state. 

That point is central to the Oyo Government’s argument. The state’s position is not necessarily that Makinde had to be physically present at all costs. Rather, it is that Oyo State should have been represented. If the governor was unavailable, why not invite the Acting Governor? That question makes the controversy more difficult to reduce to a simple scheduling issue.

The Oyo Government went further, describing the event as having acquired a political undertone and linking the development directly to the emerging 2027 political contest. Oyelade said, “The course of 2027 is set,” suggesting that the state government itself sees the incident as part of a broader political struggle. 

However, there is an important journalistic distinction to make. The allegation that Makinde’s exclusion was politically motivated is the position of the Oyo State Government. It is not, based on the available reports, an established fact that the Federal Government excluded him because of his political affiliation or 2027 ambitions.

That distinction must remain at the heart of any serious analysis. The controversy is established. The motive remains contested. If Makinde’s exclusion had been the only unusual element of the ceremony, the controversy might have remained a protocol dispute. Yet, another development made the political interpretation considerably more compelling.

Minister of State for Works Bello Muhammad Goronyo reportedly used the occasion to publicly invite Makinde to join the All Progressives Congress. The minister argued that joining the ruling party would enable Oyo State to align with the Federal Government and benefit from President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

That statement changes the political optics of the event. Consider the sequence. A Federal Government project is being flagged off in Oyo State. The governor of Oyo State is absent and, according to his government, was not invited. The governor of neighbouring Ogun State is present and represents the President.

The Oyo Government protests that its governor was deliberately excluded. Then a Federal Government minister publicly asks Makinde to join the APC and align Oyo with the centre. It would be unrealistic to expect political observers not to connect those developments.

However, it certainly raises the question of whether an infrastructure ceremony also became an opportunity to send a political message to an opposition governor. And that is where the story becomes much bigger than a missing invitation.

Is the real issue Makinde or political alignment? The minister’s appeal is particularly interesting because it introduces the old Nigerian argument about the relationship between political alignment and development. The message, whether intended or not, can be interpreted as suggesting that Oyo State would be better positioned if its governor belonged to the same political party as the Federal Government. That raises a fundamental question about Nigerian democracy, Should access to development be politically neutral?

A Federal Government road should ideally be a Federal Government road regardless of whether the governor of the state belongs to the APC, PDP, APM or any other party. The citizens who will use the road do not change because their governor changes political party. Traders do not become APC or opposition traders because a governor joins the ruling party. A road does not become more necessary because of political alignment. Yet Nigerian politics has repeatedly created the perception that proximity to the centre can determine the speed, scale or visibility of development.

That perception is precisely why Goronyo’s statement matters. It turns the Makinde controversy into a broader conversation about whether political cooperation and political loyalty are becoming intertwined with development.

Who owns the road? There is another question that the controversy exposes. Who actually owns the political credit for the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road? The Federal Government can legitimately claim ownership of the project as a federal infrastructure intervention. President Tinubu’s administration approved and is executing it. The Federal Ministry of Works is supervising it. But the road is being constructed through communities in Oyo and Ogun states. That means the state governments are not irrelevant to its impact.

For Oyo, the road will affect residents, businesses and communities within its territory. For Ogun, the same is true. This makes the presence of Dapo Abiodun particularly interesting. If the Federal Government considered it important to have the governor of one of the two affected states at the ceremony, why was the governor of the other affected state not similarly represented?

That is the question the Federal Government should be prepared to answer if the controversy persists. Not because Makinde is entitled to every federal podium. Not because every federal project requires the physical presence of a state governor. But because the optics of inviting one governor while excluding the other inevitably invite political interpretation.

Dapo Abiodun’s presence deserves more attention than it has received. He was not merely another dignitary in the crowd. Reports indicate that he represented President Tinubu at the ceremony. That gives his presence a dual significance.

He was there as governor of Ogun State, one of the two states directly connected by the road. Also, he was also there in a federal capacity, representing the President.

This makes the comparison with Makinde more complicated, but also more interesting.

Perhaps Abiodun’s presence had nothing to do with party politics. Perhaps the Federal Government simply chose the governor of Ogun because of his role in representing the President. That is a perfectly plausible explanation. However, even then, the question remains, Why was there no equivalent representation from Oyo State?

If Makinde was unavailable because he was on leave, why was the Acting Governor not invited? The Oyo Government has specifically raised this point. That is why the explanation cannot simply end with “Makinde was on leave.” The Acting Governor existed. The project was being flagged off in Oyo, and Ogun had a governor at the ceremony. The political optics therefore remain.

This is where Nigeria’s infrastructure politics becomes particularly interesting. Every administration wants citizens to associate roads, bridges, airports, rail lines and other projects with its leadership. That is understandable. Infrastructure is visible. It is one of the easiest ways for governments to demonstrate performance. A new road is something voters can see. A completed bridge is something they can use. A functioning railway is something they can experience.

Consequently, infrastructure naturally becomes part of political messaging. The Federal Government wants the public to associate the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road with the Tinubu administration. The Oyo Government may want residents to remember its own contributions to road development within the state. The APC wants to use federal projects as evidence of the benefits of its administration. Opposition politicians will naturally scrutinise those projects. And voters will decide whose narrative they believe. The danger is when political ownership becomes more important than public benefit.

The 2027 election is still ahead, but its shadow is already visible. Political parties are positioning themselves. Potential alliances are being discussed. Candidates and political blocs are emerging. And every major government decision increasingly has the potential to become part of the political narrative. Oyo is particularly important because Makinde is not simply another state governor. He has become one of the more prominent political figures in the South-West, and his future political direction has attracted significant attention.

The APC, meanwhile, has an obvious interest in expanding its influence in Oyo. The party will not want to approach the 2027 contest as an ordinary opposition campaign. It will want to challenge Makinde’s political structure. That means the relationship between Makinde and Abuja will inevitably become part of the larger political calculation. The Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road controversy fits neatly into that environment.

Is Makinde being isolated? That is another question worth asking, although it must be asked cautiously. One interpretation is that Makinde’s exclusion represents an attempt to reduce his visibility around Federal Government projects in Oyo. Another is that the Federal Government is simply asserting ownership of a project it is funding and executing. However, the optics are difficult to ignore.

A Federal Government road project is flagged off in Oyo, the Oyo governor is absent, the Ogun governor is present, the Oyo APC governorship candidate is inconsequentially present, Olubadan is present, the works Minister is present, and a Federal Government minister uses the occasion to ask Makinde to join the ruling party. That is a politically loaded picture, whether the organisers intended it that way or not.

What does the APC want from Oyo? The APC’s interest in Oyo is straightforward. It wants to win. That may sound obvious, but it is important. Oyo is politically significant, and Makinde’s influence makes the state an important battleground. If the APC can weaken the governor’s political structure, attract influential politicians and present the Federal Government as the stronger platform for delivering development, it could improve its chances. That is why the minister’s invitation to Makinde matters. “Join APC” is not simply a party recruitment message.

 

In the context of 2027, it is also an invitation to rethink the political relationship between Oyo and Abuja. The minister was effectively presenting political alignment as a possible pathway to closer cooperation with the centre. 

 

 

What does Makinde gain by staying outside? Makinde also has calculations of his own. Remaining outside the APC allows him to preserve an independent political identity. It enables him to argue that Oyo can negotiate with the Federal Government without surrendering its political autonomy. It can also strengthen his appeal among voters who are uncomfortable with the dominance of the ruling party. Also, there is another side.

 

An opposition governor facing a powerful Federal Government and an increasingly organised ruling party may have to work harder to maintain political influence. The 2027 contest could therefore become a referendum not only on Makinde’s record in Oyo but also on his ability to operate independently of Abuja. That makes the political choices ahead increasingly consequential.

 

The road that connects two states has exposed a political divide Perhaps the most ironic part of the entire episode is that the road itself is about connection. It is designed to connect Ibadan and Ijebu-Ode. It is designed to improve movement between Oyo and Ogun. It is designed to promote trade and economic integration.

 

Yet the ceremony marking its beginning has exposed a political distance between Abuja and Ibadan. That contrast should not be lost. A project designed to connect two states has raised questions about why the governors of those two states were not treated in the same way. Ogun’s governor was there. Oyo’s governor was not. And that difference is now part of the political story. But perhaps Nigerians should ask a different question.There is a danger that politicians on all sides will become consumed by who stood on the stage. That would be unfortunate. The road is not being constructed for Tinubu. It is not being constructed for Makinde, It is not being constructed for Abiodun, It is not being constructed for the APC, It is being constructed with public resources for the public.

 

For the truck driver, the trader, the farmer, the student, the commuter and the business owner, the identity of the person who cuts the ribbon is less important than whether the road is eventually completed to standard. That should remain the central issue. Will the project be completed on schedule? Will the quality meet expectations? Will the N296 billion investment deliver value for money? Will communities along the corridor experience genuine economic benefits? Will security improve? Will transport time and costs fall? Those are the questions that should ultimately matter to citizens.

 

Yet politics cannot simply be wished away

The fact that the road should be about development does not mean politics will disappear from it.The 2027 election will increasingly shape how governments present their achievements. The Federal Government will want to showcase infrastructure.The APC will want to convert federal performance into electoral support. Makinde will want to defend his political record. The opposition will challenge the Federal Government’s narrative.

 

And voters will be presented with competing claims about who is delivering development. The Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road may therefore become one of those projects around which political narratives are built. The APC could say: Look at what the Federal Government is bringing to Oyo.Makinde ‘s camp could respond: Development should not require political submission to Abuja.The electo rate may then ask a more practical question:

 

Who can deliver?That may ultimately determine the 2027 outcome more than any flag-off ceremony. So, is this another sign of the 2027 battle? Perhaps. But the responsible answer is that the incident is a sign of an increasingly political environment, rather than definitive proof of a coordinated 2027 strategy. Makinde’s exclusion has been condemned by the Oyo Government as deliberate and political.

 

The Federal Government’s position on the alleged motive has not been established in the reports reviewed. Dapo Abiodun’s presence is explainable by his role as Ogun governor and, according to reports, as the President’s representative. The fact that the road connects Oyo and Ogun, however, makes the different treatment of the two governors politically noteworthy. And the subsequent public invitation to Makinde to join the APC makes the timing even more intriguing.

 

That is why the controversy deserves attention. Not because an invitation is the most important issue in Nigerian governance. But because small political signals can sometimes reveal the larger direction of political competition. The question now is whether this was merely an awkward protocol decision or the first visible sign of a deeper struggle over Oyo State ahead of 2027.

If the latter is true, then Monday’s road flag-off may eventually be remembered for something other than the road. It may be remembered as one of the moments when the political lines between Abuja, Ibadan and the emerging 2027 contest became impossible to ignore.

And perhaps the most revealing question will remain the simplest: If the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road belongs to both Oyo and Ogun, why was one governor on the platform while the other was not? That question may not have an official answer yet. But politically, it is already being asked.