Dare Babalola
Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has released a document to back his allegation that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde received N50 billion from the Federal Government, led by President Bola Tinubu, as relief funds for victims of the January 2024 Ibadan explosion.
During an interview on Channels Television on Friday, Fayose accused Makinde of failing to disclose N50 billion in support from the presidency.
The former governor went further, alleging that the N50bn wasn’t exactly a straightforward deposit into Oyo State’s accounts, but rather a sneaky payoff linked to Makinde’s meeting with Tinubu.
Responding, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Makinde rubbished the claim, demanding that the governor back his allegation with a proof.
In another statement on Sunday, Fayose presented a document as evidence to back his claim that Makinde’s administration failed to account for the substantial allocation.
However, the letter, which was written by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and directed to the Minister of Finance, failed to specify the actual amount released to Governor Makinde.
The document showed that while a total of N915.5 billion was requested by some state governments from the Special intervention funds, only N450.7 billion was disbursed by the Federal Government.
In his Sunday statement, Fayose claimed that the sum of N4.5bn was released to Makinde, accusing the governor of diverting the funds to his presidential ambition.
He wrote, “Meanwhile, only N4.5bn was released to victims of the Ibadan Explosion. Rather, he diverted this fund and many others to his Presidential ambition, which is the reason for the crisis in the PDP and his attacks on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government.”
Fayose revealed that it was necessary for him to publicly engage Makinde, which was against his belief, but noted that he had to do this “so that Nigerians will know who is saying the truth, and who has not been sincere with the people of Oyo State.
“Most importantly, if as a governor, you have elected to go on national television to disclose part of what transpired in private meetings you had with the President, it becomes the duty of well-meaning Nigerians to give full disclosure.”
He added, “Lastly, I challenge Governor Seyi Makinde to sue me on this. Let me also tell him that there are proofs of other intervention funds received from Tinubu’s administration by the Oyo State Government, which the governor refused to disclose to the people.
“Also, there are documentary evidences on the actual Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Oyo State, as against Governor Makinde’s claim, but we will keep our gunpowder dry for now.”
“My name is still Ayo Fayose, I don’t say what I can’t prove,” the former governor declared.
