Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has criticized Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, for not reaching out to him after the recent explosion in the state. During a meeting with Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, in Ibadan on Monday, Mr Makinde lamented that Mr Abubakar had not contacted him to commiserate with the people of Oyo.
The governor noted that President Bola Tinubu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had already reached out to him and that political leaders should be able to balance politics and humanity. “The president has reached out to me, you have reached out to me, but my party candidate, not even a call or text message,” said Mr Makinde. He added, “I’m saying this openly so that our leaders would know that, yeah, you have time for politics, you have time for governance, and you have time for humanity.”
The governor also expressed his appreciation to Mr Obi for his visit.
Mr Obi said his visit to Oyo was to commiserate with Mr Makinde and the state’s people over the explosion that affected no less than 20 residential buildings. At least four persons died, and several others were injured after the blast caused by explosives stored in a private residence by illegal miners rocked the state capital, Ibadan, last week.
Meanwhile, Mr Abubakar had, in a tweet hours after the incident, expressed his condolences to the people of Oyo, especially the families of the victims.
Mr Atiku said, “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.”