Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, says Atiku Abubakar, 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has not contacted him since an explosion rocked the State weeks ago.
Makinde’s comments follows the visit of Peter Obi, 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP); Aisha Yesufu, an activist ; and some LP chieftains to the State, over the Ibadan incident.
The explosion occurred at Dejo Oyelese Street, Bodija axis of Ibadan on January 16.
The State government put the death toll from the incident at five, with many sustaining injuries.
Makinde had said the explosion which destroyed several houses, was caused by illegal miners who stored explosives in one of the buildings.
The Governor also said some “persons of interest” have been identified concerning the blast.
The PDP Governor however commended Obi for staying above the partisan fray with the commiseration trip.
“I’m particularly grateful. Out of the three musketeers who contested that election, the president had reached out to me, you have reached out to me but my own party’s candidate… not even a call or a text message.
“I’m saying this openly so that our leaders will know that we have time for politics, governance and humanity,” Makinde said.
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Recall that during the buildup to the 2023 presidential election, Makinde was part of the Integrity Group (G-5) governors of the PDP who refused to back Abubakar’s presidential bid.
The G5 Governors, with Nyesom Wike, current minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) leading the pack, had insisted that the Party’s presidential candidate should not come from the same region with the Party’s National Chairman.
Obi, on his part said, “Through the governor, we want to extend our condolences to the bereaved families and to all those who lost their valuable property in the incident and to assure them of our prayers that God will grant those who lost their lives eternal rest. And we want to thank the government for its prompt response and that is what governance has to be.”
Speaking on the economic situation of the country and its effect on the masses, Obi called for a cut in the cost of governance at the Federal level as a necessary sacrifice to move the country forward.
“All of us are now involved, and all of us should work hard and make the necessary sacrifices to see that we turn around the situation. That is why it is necessary when things happen here, and the government responds in a manner government should respond and everybody comes to participate and commend them for doing the right thing.
“It’s a matter of sacrifice, today, elections are over, governance is the key thing and what is required for me is to cut down on the cost of governance, especially at the Federal level, it is unacceptable the way it is going, we need to prioritize critical areas such as education, health and pulling people out of poverty,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, reacting in a statement on Monday, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, stated that the former Vice President released a statement to commiserate with victims and the people of Oyo State.
According to him, Makinde has been too busy to take track of media reports on the incident.
The statement reads: “With due respect to Governor Seyi Makinde, we wish to correct his expression about the response of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar to the recent explosion in the city of Ibadan.
“Atiku Abubakar made a condolence message about the Ibadan explosion, less than 24 hours of its occurrence, where he shared his commiseration and empathy with the good people and government of Oyo State over the incident.
“Perhaps the Governor has been too busy to take track of media reports on the incident. But we wish to put on record that on the 17th of January, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar did make a widely available message on the Ibadan incident, which reads as follows:
“‘I wish to express my condolences to the good people and government of Oyo State over the explosion that rocked the capital city of Ibadan late yesterday night.
“‘While the government continues to provide humanitarian support to victims of the explosion, I commiserate with the families of those who might have lost their lives and property to the explosion. -AA’”
