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The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, on Monday faulted the presidential candidate of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, for not reaching out to commiserate with him over the recent explosion in Ibadan.
The governor expressed his regret while praising the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi, who visited him at the Government House in Ibadan to condole him on the January 16 explosion that killed about five persons and destroyed several properties.
Makinde said while two of the other main contenders in the February 2023 presidential election including President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Obi have reached out to him, Atiku is yet to call or text him over the incident.
“On behalf of the government and good people of Oyo State, I thank His Excellency Peter Gregory Obi, former governor of Anambra State and also the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last presidential election.
“I thank you because politics didn’t sip into this. You came here to commiserate with us over the explosion. Though investigation details are still going on, it was simply illegal miners storing explosives in an environment where they shouldn’t. It is a place meant for people to live in not a mining site.
“So, all the lapses that allowed such to happen are being looked into. I am particularly grateful because you are three musketeers that went into that election. The president has reached out to me, you have reached out to me but my own party candidate, not even a call or a text message.
“I am saying this openly so that our leaders will know that you will have time for politics, you have time for governance and you have time for humanity. So, we want to say thank you so much sir and we appreciate this visit,” Makinde said.
In his speech, Obi said he was in Ibadan to commiserate with the governor on the recent explosion and to be able to through him, brief families and all those who lost their valuable properties.
He assured them of “our prayers that God will grant all those who lost their lives eternal rest.”
The LP chieftain also thanked “the governor for his prompt response. That is what governance should be. When there is a problem like I have told him privately, he might not bring back the lost lives or replace properties that were lost, but that response gives assurances and confidence to the people that there is a government, a system that cares for them.
“So, we thank you for that response and also ensuring that a proper investigation starts in earnest and also setting up a kind of support facilities to be able to support people who are going through problems, that’s basically why we are here.”
Many houses were damaged in the Ibadan explosion, which spanned a 14-kilometre radius.