Atiku commiserated with Oyo, aide replies

The Media Aide to 2023 Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, has countered the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, stating that Atiku, contrary to his claim, commiserated with the people and State Government over the Ibadan explosion.

On January 16, an explosion occurred in Ibadan, resulting in fatalities, numerous injuries, and significant damage to properties valued in millions of naira.

Makinde on Monday, while hosting the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan, lamented that, unlike others, Atiku had not called or sent a message to commiserate with the people of the state regarding the explosion in Ibadan.

Makinde stated “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 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.”

Reacting, Atiku, in a statement by his media adviser on Monday, clarified that the PDP’s 2023 Presidential candidate commiserated with the victims, people, and the State Government. He added that Makinde may have been too busy to keep track of media reports on the incident.

The statement read in part “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 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.”

Verification by our correspondent indicates that Atiku did, on January 17, express condolences through his verified Facebook page to the people and government of Oyo State concerning the blast.

Atiku in his Facebook post of January 17 said “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.”