Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde has lampooned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for failing to express empathy for either the victims of the recent explosion in Ibadan, their families, or the Oyo state government
He said out of the three musketeers who contested the 2023 Presidential election, only Atiku has failed to reach out or condole with the state and victims of the incident.
Makinde expressed dismay at the PDP Presidential flagbearer while receiving the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, who was on a condolence visit to him in his Agodi, Secretariat, office on Monday, January 29.
Lambasting Atiku’s lack of empathy, the governor said it was insensitive for Atiku not to offer any condolences or even acknowledge the tragedy, noting that Atiku’s silence sends a troubling message about his character and judgement.
Makinde said: “Let me use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, former governor of Anambra and Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi for the visit.”
“I thank him because politics didn’t step into this. You came here to commiserate with us over the explosion. Actually, the investigation is going on. It was simply illegal miners storing explosives in an environment where they shouldn’t be.
“It is a place where it’s meant for people to live in. It’s not a mining site. So, all the lapses that allowed such to happen have been looked into.
“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 own 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.”
Earlier, Obi said his visit was to pay condolence to the governor and the people of the state over the recent explosion.
He said: “Through the governor, we want to extend our condolences to the bereaved families and to all those who lost their valuable property in the incident and to assure them of our prayers that God will grant those who lost their lives eternal rest. And we want to thank the government for its prompt response and that is what governance has to be.”
Speaking on the economic situation of the country and its effect on the masses, Obi called for a cut in the cost of governance at the federal level as a necessary sacrifice to move the country forward.
“All of us are now involved and all of us should work hard and make the necessary sacrifice to see that we turn around the situation and that is why it is necessary when things that what happened here happened, and the government responding in a manner government should respond and everybody comes to participate and commend them for doing the right thing.
“It’s a matter of sacrifice, today, elections are over, governance is the key thing and what is required for me, is to cut down on the cost of governance especially at the federal level, it is unacceptable the way it is going, we need to prioritize critical areas such as education, health and pulling people out of poverty,” he added.
