The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District in the 2027 general election, Hon. Ayoade Raimi Baale, has pledged to make the creation of Ibadan State his “star project” if elected to the Senate.
Baale spoke with journalists at his residence in Ibadan, declaring that the continued denial of statehood to Ibadan amounted to “a disservice to the ancient city and Nigeria as a whole”.
He argued that Ibadan deserved urgent consideration for state creation, stressing that the process should not be delayed until the federal government embarks on another general exercise of creating new states.
According to him, “The creation of Ibadan State is so urgent and desirable that it is not a process that must be made to wait till other states will be created.
“The process for Ibadan’s own must be fast-tracked to compensate for the long years of neglect and unjust denial.”
Baale said the demand for Ibadan State should not be viewed as a sectional or purely Ibadan agenda, but as a national cause capable of producing wider social and economic benefits for Nigeria.
“The struggle is not something to be seen as an Ibadan agenda but a national struggle. This is because of the position providence has placed on the ancient city as a mini country within the larger Nigerian context,” he said.
He noted that Ibadan had historically occupied a significant position in Nigeria, pointing out that it remained the only regional capital of both pre-independence and post-independence Nigeria’s Western Region that had yet to attain state status.
“Her then counterparts, Kaduna, then capital of Northern Region, and Enugu, then of Eastern Region, had since both become states on their own,” he said.
The SDP candidate promised to work with other senators and stakeholders from Oyo State and across the country to advance the state creation agenda if given the opportunity to represent Oyo South.
