Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has made a startling allegation, claiming that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde received ₦50 billion from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following the deadly Ibadan explosion.
Recall that no fewer than five people died in the January 16, 2024, explosion caused by a water gel-type-based explosive triggered by an electric spark at house number 8, Aderinola Street, rented by one Mahmoud Camara, a Malian engaged in mining and storing explosives in the house.
The incident also saw 78 persons sustain injuries, 335 persons affected, 58 houses damaged, including 16 companies or business operators, churches, mosques, three schools, as well as the University College Hospital.
On January 22, Seyi Makinde visited Aso Rock, where he presented the report of the explosion to the president.
Speaking in an interview on TVC, Fayose alleged that Governor Seyi Makinde received ₦50 billion from President Bola Tinubu following the Ibadan explosion.
Governor Makinde got ₦50 billion in support after the explosion in Ibadan. He never told Nigerians that. So, the President can come out and say the explosion is not worth more than ₦10 billion.
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“The President went ahead and gave you the window to be able to contain those challenges and gave you ₦50 billion. That money did not come from the coffers of Oyo State. It came from your interface with the President.
“You came out to say you met with the President, but you only told Nigerians the part where the President asked you to help organise the APC and you said you could not. You did not tell Nigerians what the President did for you and for the good people of Oyo State,” he said.
When asked if he could verify his claim, Fayose responded: “I am not here to tell stories I cannot support. I do not want to come here and start displaying Federal Government transfer documents on television. I was once a governor, and I must act responsibly. Government documents should not be flying around on TV.”
Fayose’s comment comes days after Seyi Makinde revealed how he declined a request by President Tinubu to help coordinate the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, citing his loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said the issue came up after earlier engagements with Tinubu on the nomination of a minister from Oyo State following the formation of the federal cabinet.
According to him, the president turned to him with a direct appeal.
“He said, ‘Seyi, it’s you that I want to help me organise APC in Oyo State,” Makinde revealed.
Makinde said he flatly rejected the request, insisting that he could not act against his party.
“I told him ‘no, sir, I cannot help you organise APC in Oyo State because I am of the PDP’,” he said.