Paul Ibe, the media adviser to 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has responded to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, noting that, contrary to Makinde’s assertion, Atiku commiserated with the people and the state government over the Ibadan explosion.
On January 16, an explosion occurred in Ibadan, causing fatalities, several injuries, and considerable damage to properties worth millions of naira.
Chronicle NG reports that 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.”
In response, Atiku’s media adviser issued a statement on Monday clarifying that the PDP’s 2023 presidential contender sympathized with the victims, the people, and the state government. He also speculated that Makinde was too preoccupied to keep up with the media coverage of 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.”
In a January 17 post on Facebook, Atiku 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.”
