Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, revealed that Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, has not reached out to him regarding the explosion that shook the state.
The explosion occurred on January 16 in the Bodija area of Ibadan. According to the state government, five people lost their lives, and many sustained injuries in the blast, which also caused extensive damage to nearby houses.
Makinde attributed the explosion to illegal miners who had stored explosives in one of the buildings and stated that individuals of interest had been identified in connection with the incident.
During a visit by Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the last election, activist and politician, Aisha Yesufu, and some LP leaders to Ibadan on Monday, Makinde praised Obi for his non-partisan gesture of solidarity.
Expressing gratitude to Obi, Makinde highlighted the lack of communication from his party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in contrast to the support he received from other political figures during the aftermath of the explosion.
“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,” Makinde said.
“I’m saying this openly so that our leaders will know that we have time for politics, governance and humanity.”
Makinde is a member of the G5 governors of the PDP who opposed Abubakar’s presidential candidacy in 2023.
The group insisted that the party’s presidential candidate should not hail from the same region as the party’s national chairman.
They also advocated for a southern candidate to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, to uphold principles of fairness, equity, and representation.
In the 2023 presidential election, Oyo State, governed by Makinde’s PDP, voted in favour of Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate from Lagos State.
