By ALABA OLUSOLA OKE

Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says that the exit of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will not have any setback for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Atiku on Wednesday resigned his membership of PDP in Adamawa.

Makinde, who was the keynote Speaker at a Colloquium of the 10th Coronation Anniversary of Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, Deji of Akure, stated this in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Akure.

? I don?t think that will make any dent on PDP as a party. PDP is an institution and you have freedom of entrance and exit,? he said.

The governor said that he did not see the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a threat to PDP but as a mere political party intended to contest in elections as PDP.

Earlier, Makinde described traditional institution as a heritage of the country, asking for government to give it due reverence for nation development.

The title of the lecture was: ?The Role of Nigeria?s Traditional Institutions in Nation Building: Impediments, Impacts, and Prospects.?

He said that traditional institutions are not relics of the past but enduring pillars of identity, legitimacy, and communal cohesion.

?Long before Nigeria?s formal administrative systems took root, traditional rulers dispensed justice, upheld values, coordinated local security, and kept communities united.

?Today, they remain custodians of grassroots trust. And nation-building that ignores them does so at its peril.

?No wonder politicians continue to seek their blessings and validation,? he said.

According to him, strengthening traditional institutions is not simply about cultural preservation but it is strategic governance.

He stated that his government had made deliberate steps to integrate traditional institution into the governance architecture, which resulted into great success in Oyo State.

The governor stated that the nation-building was not about how much oil the country produced but about the strength of institutions, their ability to serve the people justly, and the legacy they leave behind.

Appreciating the governor, Oba Aladelusi said that traditional institution had pivotal role to play in nation building hence the need for the country?s constitution to strengthen it.

The traditional ruler, who said that Akure is one without any division, commended the state government, sons and daughters of the town for their support to the Deji palace.( NAN)

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