Makinde had said that Atiku neither called nor sent him a text message to commiserate with him and the people of his state over the explosion that rocked the state capital a few weeks ago.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde’s claim that he (Atiku) has neither called nor sent him a text message over the explosion that rocked a part of Ibadan, the state capital.
SaharaReporters on Monday reported that Governor Makinde said that Atiku neither called nor sent him a text message to commiserate with him and the people of his state over the explosion that rocked the state capital a few weeks ago.
Governor Makinde made the claim when the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the election, Peter Obi, visited him to commiserate with him over the explosion.
He said that President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had called him over the incident but Atiku, a member of the same political party as him, had not reached out to him.
The governor, who expressed gratitude to Obi said that Nigerian leaders should understand that there is time for politics, time for governance and time for humanity.
But in response, Atiku in a statement issued by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, in Abuja, said less than 24 hours after the explosion occurred, he made a condolence message about it, sharing his commemoration and empathy with the government and people of the state.
The former Vice President in the statement 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 on Monday 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.’”
source: Sahara reporters
