President Bola Tinubu on Thursday assured residents of Oyo State that the schoolchildren and teachers abducted during coordinated attacks on Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, in Oriire Local Government Area on Friday, May 15, 2026, would be rescued unharmed. Speaking in Ibadan during the inauguration of the newly remodelled and redeveloped Premier Hotel, a landmark national icon originally built by the founding fathers of the old Western Region on Mokola Hill, the President emphasized that the Federal Government is deploying all available measures, including international collaboration and enhanced technological surveillance, to secure the victims’ release and combat the upswing in banditry and kidnapping. Tinubu urged South-West governors to preserve the developmental legacy of their predecessors by driving inclusive prosperity through platforms like the South West Development Commission, the DAWN Commission, and the Odu’a Investment Company Limited, which manages the historic hotel. While highlighting that Nigeria’s foreign reserves have attained their highest level in two decades due to ongoing, difficult structural economic reforms, the President maintained that sustainable economic development can only flourish in an atmosphere of absolute peace and security, thereby prompting his administration to heavily fund the nation’s security architecture, improve inter-agency intelligence gathering, and support a pending National Assembly policing bill. He called on citizens, traditional rulers, and faith-based institutions to work collaboratively with security agencies through intelligence sharing to ensure the country becomes increasingly secure and attractive for global leisure, culture, and business investments. Also speaking at the event, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Misbau Babatunde, alongside the Group Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Bimbo Ashiru, commended the successful modernization of the hotel, describing the magnificent facility as a radiant beacon of South-Western grandeur and a major vote of confidence in Nigeria’s prosperous future under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
