Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has challenged a former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, to provide evidence to support his claim that he received N50bn from President Bola Tinubu following the January 2024 Ibadan explosion.
Makinde had visited President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in January 2024 to submit a report on the explosion, which claimed five lives, injured 77 people and destroyed about 55 houses in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
However, Fayose, during an interview on TVC on Friday, alleged that Makinde received N50bn from the Presidency to manage the aftermath of the incident, adding that the funds were allegedly not paid into the Oyo State Government’s coffers.
The allegation was further amplified by Fayose’s former aide, Lere Olayinka, who claimed on Facebook that although Makinde received N50bn, only N4.5bn was disbursed to victims of the explosion.
“Ibadan Gomina General got N50bn from Tinubu’s govt, only to release N4.5bn to victims of Ibadan explosion of January 2024,” Olayinka wrote.
Reacting to the claims, Makinde’s Chief Press Secretary, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, dismissed the allegations as baseless and challenged Fayose and his associates to substantiate them with concrete evidence.
“There is no substance to the claim. If he (Fayose) has proof that the Federal Government gave N50bn, he should provide it. It is not just about going on air to say rubbish,” Olarenwaju said.
He added, “If he has evidence, he should come forward with it. I don’t think we should waste time on these guys.”
The Oyo State Government maintained that all actions taken by the Makinde administration in response to the explosion were transparent and focused on supporting victims and restoring affected communities.
The January 2024 explosion, caused by illegal storage of explosives, triggered widespread damage in parts of Ibadan and drew national attention, prompting both federal and state interventions to address the humanitarian and security implications of the incident.
