“President Tinubu’s Rejection Has Turned Seyi Makinde To Emergency Opposition Mouthpiece” – Fayose

By Ayodele Oni

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has again engaged Oyo state Governor Seyi Makinde, who he said has become an emergency opposition mouthpiece after his rejection by  President Bola Tinubu.

“That Seyi Makinde’s derogatory comment against President Tinubu at Osinbajo’s birthday further confirmed that he got a cold shoulder from the President during his last visit to the Villa, Fayose claimed in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Governor Makinde had said that the current situation cannot be compared to the more consultative approach during the tenure of late President Muhammadu Buhari.

Makinde stated this on Saturday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, during the 60th birthday celebration of Samson Ajetomobi, president of The Men of Issachar Vision Incorporated (MIV) and overseer of the Redemption Faith Churches.

Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo also attended the event. Addressing Osinbajo directly, the Oyo State Governor said he missed his leadership as vice-president.

“Sir, I personally miss you in that position. A lot of people may not know why things are not really the same. This is not a political talk because I’m not on that podium,” he said.

Makinde’, had recalled his early months in office during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying Osinbajo’s leadership as chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) influenced his decision not to impose a total lockdown in Oyo state.

He said he had been barely seven months into office when the pandemic struck in February 2020, describing the NEC meeting at the time as tense.

“We were told to go back and lock down our states. But for Oyo State people, why I did not lock down during COVID was because of his decision,” he said.

Makinde contrasted that experience with the current administration’s handling of the controversial tax reform bill, accusing the Federal Government of shutting out dissenting views.

“We had the same situation in this dispensation; it was the tax bill. We said, ‘Bring the tax bill back; let us all have an opportunity to look dispassionately at it,’ but you cannot speak truth to power in this dispensation. The tax bill will go ahead,” Makinde’ stated.

Fayose, while reacting to Makinde’s remarks said “Like I made public, in his attempt to do a damage control on his public speech against the President, Makinde met the shock of his political life when he visited Asiwaju last week.

“It is now obvious that after getting that cold shoulder from the President, Makinde must have realized that end of road has come in terms of reconciliation between him and the President.

“This is moreso that the Asiwaju made it clear that as far as Oyo State is concerned, he will support his party’s candidates in 2027.

“The emergency opposition mouthpiece Makinde is trying albeit unsuccessfully to turn himself to is an aftermath the response he got from the President last week, which I made public.

“Furthermore, it has vindicated me because if Makinde had gotten a soft-landing that he expected from the President, he (Makinde) wouldn’t have gone to make that statement, condemning the Government of President Tinubu, by calling the President a dictator while praising the Buhari’s administration.

“With this assurances too, the APC in Oyo State should now wake up and slug it out with Makinde’s candidate, which he will field under the ADC, knowing full well that PDP won’t be open for him to use.”