……..Atiku aide replies Gov Makinde, Says PDP Presidential candidate shared a condolence message
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has revealed that out of the three leading presidential candidates in the 2023 election, it is only the presidential candidate of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who has not commiserated with the people of the state over the recent explosion in Ibadan, the state capital.
Makinde made the revelation in Ibadan while receiving the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, during his visit to the Governor’s Office, to commiserate with the government and the good people of the state.
He said: “Let me use this opportunity to thank the former Governor of Anambra and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi for the visit.
“I thank him because politics didn’t seep into this. You came here to commiserate with us over the explosion. Investigation is going on. It was simply illegal miners storing explosives in an environment where they shouldn’t be.
“It is a place where it’s 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, 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 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.”
Earlier, in his speech, Obi said his visit was to pay condolence to the governor and the people of the state over the recent explosion.
Obi 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.”
Obi used the platform of the visit to reiterate his backing for a cut in the cost of governance at the Federal level, saying it as a needed 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 happen here, and the government responds in a manner 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 on 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 further said.
Meanwhile, Paul Ibe, the Media Adviser to Atiku has said his principal immediately sent out a condolence message to the people of Oyo State.
Ibe said in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday that the former Vice-President shared a personally sighed message as early as January 17.
Ibe said: “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 of 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 take 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, which reads as follows:
“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. -AA”
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