Makinde Accuses Tinubu Administration of Attempting to Blackmail Him Over Federal Funds

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration attempted to blackmail him over funds released to Oyo State by the Federal Government. Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Makinde stated that he refused to bow to the political pressure that allegedly drove other governors to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor urged Nigerians to question why other governors joined the APC while he held firm. “I know the kind of people I’m dealing with. People should ask why governors defected to APC and I stood my ground. President Bola Tinubu’s administration tried to blackmail me as well,” he said.  

Makinde explained that he had anticipated the Federal Government would eventually weaponise the funds allocated to Oyo State against his administration. “You know, when you know the people that you’re dealing with, people should ask, how come governors were defecting to APC? But me, I stood my ground. Did they not try to blackmail me? We knew that they were going to get to that point where they will say, oh, we gave Oyo State this money. So I was waiting,” Makinde stated.

To counter the alleged move when it eventually happened, Makinde noted that he publicly released his own report detailing the financial transaction.

He added that he immediately directed the Oyo State Commissioner for Finance to deploy the money into ongoing state projects to prevent it from being used as political leverage. “And when they said it, I gave out my own report of that transaction. And then I instructed the commissioner for finance, please put this money now on project because they’ve done what we thought they were going to do,” he added.