Paul Ibe, the media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, responded to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s claim that Atiku had not offered condolences or reached out regarding the January 16 explosion in the Old Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
Makinde made this statement in Ibadan during a condolence visit from Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last general elections, over the tragic incident. Makinde expressed gratitude to Peter Obi for the visit and emphasized that the explosion was a result of illegal miners storing explosives in an inappropriate environment, and investigations were ongoing.
“It is a place meant for people to live in; it’s not a mining site. So, all the lapses that allowed such to happen have been looked into.
“I am particularly grateful because the musketeers that went for the presidential election have reached out to me. The President has called me, and you have reached out to me, but my own party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has not called or even sent a text message.
“And I am saying it openly so that our leaders will know that there is a time for politics. You have a time for governance, and you have a time for humanity. So, we want to say thank you so much, sir. We appreciate this visit.”
Reacting to Makinde’s statement, Ibe clarified that Atiku had indeed offered condolences to the people of Oyo over the incident. He stated, “With due respect to Governor Seyi Makinde, we wish to correct his expression about the response of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar to the recent explosion in the city of Ibadan.”
“Atiku Abubakar made a condolence message about the Ibadan explosion less than 24 hours after its occurrence, where he shared his commiseration and empathy with the good people and government of Oyo State over the incident.
“Perhaps the Governor has been too busy to keep track of media reports on the incident. But we wish to put on record that on the 17th of January, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar did make a widely available message on the Ibadan incident.
“Atiku has blamed his defeat in the 2023 presidential election on the refusal of Makinde and four other PDP governors to support his ambition. Makinde and the other PDP governors, who called themselves G-5 governors, supported President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
“Meanwhile, Obi, during his visit to Ibadan, said, ‘Through the governor, we want to extend our condolences to the bereaved families and to all those who lost their valuable property in the incident and to assure them of our prayers that God will grant those who lost their lives eternal rest. And we want to thank the government for its prompt response, and that is what governance has to be.’
“Speaking on the economic situation of the country and its effect on the masses, Obi called for a cut in the cost of governance at the federal level as a necessary sacrifice to move the country forward.
‘All of us are now involved, and all of us should work hard and make the necessary sacrifices to see that we turn around the situation. That is why it is necessary when things happened here, and the government responded in a manner the government should respond and everybody comes to participate and commend them for doing the right thing.
‘It’s a matter of sacrifice; today, elections are over, governance is the key thing and what is required, for me, is to cut down the cost of governance, especially at the federal level. It is unacceptable the way it is going; we need to prioritize critical areas, such as education, health, and pulling people out of poverty,’ he said.”
