The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, has unveiled a manifesto promising a ₦10 billion youth fund, free healthcare for vulnerable groups, agricultural processing facilities and greater transparency in government spending.
Alli said he would not seek a second term if, by the end of his first, the state had not recorded measurable improvements against the targets contained in his manifesto.
He presented the proposals on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, opposite the University College Hospital on Queen Elizabeth Road, Ibadan.
The event attracted party leaders, candidates seeking various elective positions and other dignitaries, including Remi Oseni, Faruk Arisekola, Kemi Alao-Akala and Segun Ogunwuyi.
Outlining his employment programme, Alli said the proposed Oyo Youth Fund would publish its beneficiaries’ names to promote transparency. He also pledged to train 50,000 young people in digital skills and establish a digital hub in each of the state’s five geopolitical zones.
He proposed industrial parks and a women’s empowerment fund offering loans at single-digit interest rates.
Presenting his assessment of the economy, Alli claimed that nine out of every 10 working people in Oyo had no employment contract or pension, while the state recorded no foreign investment in 2023.
He promised to revive the Oluyole Free Trade Zone, establish a loan guarantee fund for small businesses, rebuild markets, including Ajekunle and Bola Ige International Market, and end double taxation on small traders.
On agriculture, Alli said inadequate processing facilities were depressing farmers’ earnings. He cited a truckload of cassava which, according to him, previously sold for ₦600,000 but now struggled to fetch ₦40,000.
His proposed response includes cassava processing facilities in Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa, a cashew factory, a mango processing plant in Ogbomoso and cold storage facilities.
He also pledged to establish an Oyo Export Council, revive nine farm settlements, provide insurance for 10,000 farmers and prioritise purchases from farmers within the state.
Healthcare featured prominently in the manifesto, with Alli promising free care for infants, pregnant women and residents above 70 years under an initiative he called the “Oyo Care Guarantee.”
He said the programme would expand health insurance coverage from approximately 271,000 people to at least 500,000 within his administration’s first two years.
Alli pledged functional primary health centres in every ward, equipped with medicines and working equipment, alongside a public dashboard through which residents could monitor their status.
He said rural maternity centres would receive solar power, while local government areas without general hospitals would receive priority in the provision of new ones.
The APC candidate also promised to recruit doctors, beginning with hospitals without any, and improve remuneration to retain health workers.
He set a target of reducing maternal deaths by at least 30 per cent, with annual publication of the figures to allow public assessment.
Illustrating the difficulties some residents face in accessing treatment, Alli recalled a retired headmistress who, he said, told his team that she divided her blood pressure tablets to make them last longer.
On education, Alli claimed that some public primary classrooms accommodated about 100 pupils. He also put the number of out-of-school children aged three to 17 at approximately 674,000, describing it as the highest in the South-West.
He further claimed that seven out of every 10 children aged seven to 14 could not perform basic arithmetic.
Alli promised to reduce class sizes to 30 pupils, repair schools across all 33 local government areas, strengthen special needs schools and introduce scholarships for gifted children from disadvantaged homes.
His proposals also include an apprenticeship law and a skills centre in each geopolitical zone.
Addressing security, Alli cited figures which, he said, showed that 85 people were kidnapped in Oyo between July 2025 and June 2026, more than in any other South-West state during that period.
He recounted the experience of an Oke-Ogun farmer who had reportedly avoided his farm for two planting seasons because of fear.
Alli proposed drone surveillance over forest belts and farming corridors, a published community policing budget for each council, and legal recognition and insurance for hunters and vigilantes.
He also pledged farmer-herder mediation councils, improved school security and monthly meetings involving security chiefs.
On workers’ and pensioners’ welfare, he promised salary and pension payments on the 25th of every month, full payment of the 13th-month entitlement and prompt settlement of gratuities.
He said he would formalise the monthly payment commitment through an agreement with the Nigeria Union of Pensioners.
Alli also pledged to raise state revenue from below ₦100 billion to ₦150 billion without placing an additional burden on residents.
To strengthen accountability, he proposed a public data portal showing government projects, their contractors and costs, alongside an audit of every state contract.
He promised quarterly revenue publications and performance reports, saying he would not sign a contract for any project he could not track.
Alli further pledged to visit all 33 local government areas and conduct a statewide census to support planning. He noted that the last national census was held in 2006 and said available population estimates for Oyo differed by about one million people.
Outside the hall, a medical check-up stand was provided for party members and other residents attending the programme.
