Ogun APM candidate promises emergency education plan if elected

Rotimi Babajide, the Allied Peoples Movement’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, has promised to declare a state of emergency in education if elected governor in 2027. Babajide made the pledge while addressing journalists at a press conference in Abeokuta on Saturday. He said urgent action was needed to reverse what he described as a serious decline in the state’s educational standards.

“If elected by the grace of God come May 29, 2027, I am going to declare a state of emergency in education,” Babajide said, according to Punch Nigeria. He argued that Ogun’s educational tradition had suffered significant decline and retrogression. The candidate referred to the state’s historic association with education, citing figures including Obafemi Awolowo, Tai Solarin, Wole Soyinka and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.

He said missionaries had established schools in Ogun and that children from the state had previously performed remarkably well. Babajide described the current situation as unfortunate and said Ogun could not afford to lose its educational legacy. He called the decline a shame for the state’s indigenes, whom he said were known for scholarship.

He also promised that a government led by him would introduce digital tools and modern facilities for teaching and learning. The stated aim, he said, would be to help students compete with their peers globally. The town planning expert additionally endorsed the APM’s presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.

Babajide said he believed Makinde was competent to lead Nigeria at the national level. The pledges were made ahead of the 2027 governorship election. The source material contains no response from other candidates, the current state government or education-sector officials to Babajide’s proposals.