The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo has asked Seyi Makinde, governor of the state, to account for an alleged N50 billion relief fund disbursed by the federal government for the victims of the January 18, 2024, explosion in Ibadan.
In a statement on Sunday, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC publicity
secretary, said people of the state deserve to know how the alleged N50 billion
relief fund was spent.
BACKGROUND
On January 18, 2024, an explosion occurred at Aderinola street in the Bodija axis of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, killing at least five persons and destroying more than 50 buildings.
Authorities blamed the explosion on illegal miners who
reportedly stored explosive devices in one of the buildings in the area.
Days later, Makinde presented a report on the explosion to
President Bola Tinubu.
In May, the Oyo government approved N4.5 billion as
financial support for survivors and victims of the Bodija explosion.
However, during an interview on TVC on Friday, Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti, alleged that Makinde received N50 billion from the federal government in response to the explosion, claiming that the funds did not enter the state government's coffers.
Responding to the allegation, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, chief
press secretary (CPS) to Makinde, dismissed Fayose’s claim as baseless and
asked the former governor to present evidence.
On Sunday, Fayose released a statement alongside the
screenshot of a document purportedly from the office of the accountant-general
of the federation, indicating that N50 billion was requested as “intervention
funding support for the reconstruction of Old Bodija and environs after the
Bodija explosion”.
The statement was shared via X by Lere Olayinka, media aide
to Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
‘THE WHOLE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT HE DID WITH THE MONEY’
Sadare said the governor must account for the alleged N50
billion disbursed as relief to the victims of the explosion, noting that the response by Makinde’s media aide was insufficient.
“On the issue of Ibadan explosion, Gov. Makinde claimed to
have spent N4.5b on the victims even without accountability or proper record to
show who got what,” the statement reads.
“Now that his close friend and fellow party man has
disclosed that a whopping N50 billion was actually paid into the coffers of the
Oyo state government as a relief fund by the federal government, Gov. Makinde
should know that a flippant reaction by his media aide cannot be enough, as the
whole world needs to know what he did with the money.”
He also dismissed comments by Makinde that Tinubu asked him
to “organise” the APC in Oyo state, adding that the least governorship hopeful in
the party is more capable than the governor.
“… it should be on record that there was never a time that
Oyo APC required reorganisation in the hands of Makinde, who has emerged chief
pallbearer of the PDP, which gave him the platform to be a governor for two
consecutive times,” the APC spokesperson said.
“As it stands now, the least amongst the prospective
gubernatorial aspirants in our party possesses greater capacity to be
innovative, creative, and successful as the state governor than the one who
merely celebrates window dressing and inflicts hardship on property owners and
other residents across the state.”
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