Ibadan explosion: Atiku replies Makinde, says ‘I commiserated 24hrs after’

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has insisted that he expressed his condolences to the people of Oyo State within 24 hours of the explosion that occurred in the Bodija area of Ibadan.

This response comes after Governor Seyi Makinde claimed that Atiku had not reached out to him regarding the incident.

The explosion on January 16 in Bodija resulted in the tragic death of five individuals, with 70 others sustaining injuries.

Governor Makinde attributed the explosion to illegal miners who had stored explosives in one of the buildings.

During a meeting with the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Makinde expressed dissatisfaction with Atiku’s alleged lack of communication.

In contradiction to Makinde’s claim, Atiku’s aide, Paul Ibe, countered the statement, asserting that Atiku had indeed issued a widely accessible message addressing the Ibadan explosion. Ibe’s statement reads: “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 after 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 keep 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.”