Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of turning into what he described as an “emergency opposition mouthpiece” after allegedly being rebuffed by President Bola Tinubu during a recent visit to the Presidential Villa.
In a statement posted on X, Fayose claimed that Makinde’s recent criticism of Tinubu, made during the 60th birthday celebration of Samson Ajetomobi, President of The Men of Issachar Vision Incorporated (MIV) and attended by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday, was a fallout of the cold reception he allegedly received from the president.
The former Ekiti governor alleged that Makinde had sought reconciliation with Tinubu but was disappointed by the outcome of the meeting.
“Like I made public, in his attempt to do damage control on his public speech against the President, Makinde met the shock of his political life when he visited Asiwaju last week,” he stated.
According to Fayose, the encounter made it clear that there would be no political alignment between the two leaders ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“It is now obvious that after getting that cold shoulder from the President, Makinde must have realised that the end of the road has come in terms of reconciliation between him and the President,” he said.
He added that Tinubu had resolved to support only APC candidates in Oyo State.
Fayose further argued that Makinde’s recent remarks, in which he reportedly criticised Tinubu’s administration while praising former President Muhammadu Buhari, would not have happened if the Oyo governor had received favourable assurances from the president.
“If Makinde had gotten the soft landing he expected, he wouldn’t have gone to condemn President Tinubu’s government by calling him a dictator while praising Buhari’s administration,” the former governor said.
He also advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State to prepare for a tough contest in 2027, alleging that Makinde would sponsor a candidate under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“With these assurances, the APC in Oyo State should wake up and slug it out with Makinde’s candidate, which he will field under the ADC, knowing full well that the PDP won’t be open for him to use,” Fayose stated.
