The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has expressed his dissatisfaction with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for rejecting the Oyo State indigene he nominated for ministerial appointment.
During a media chat with journalists on Tuesday, the governor revealed that he had nominated a qualified indigene of the state for the role, after Tinubu told him he wanted an Oyo indigene to occupy the position.
“When the President said nominate somebody who may be appointed as a minister, I said, sir, what position do you want to give us? Then he said that we are looking for developmental economists who can be ministers of budget and economic planning.
“I looked for the best, and I sent somebody’s name who is a state indigene, and I said it to him. The individual wasn’t selected. Rather, they selected the current minister of power. He wasn’t taken into the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. He was taken to the Ministry of Power,” said Makinde.
He added that the President revisited the topic when he (Makinde) went to the President to seek approval for the upgrade of the Ibadan airport.
“A subsequent meeting with the President, actually, I think I must have gone to him to seek approval for the upgrade of Ibadan airport. He said, ‘I will sign it for you; I’ll give you my nod. But sit down. What’s happening politically? I heard you’re upset because your nominee was not given the ministerial slot.’
“I said, sir, in Yoruba land, if you don’t want the pregnancy to be aborted, you won’t want the baby to die, because it’s easier to abort a pregnancy than to kill a baby. I said you will decide at the end of the day who you want to work with. We can only suggest people, but if it’s about the kind of individual you want in your cabinet, we are just here to support you,” Makinde added.
During the 2023 elections, Makinde, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), publicly campaigned for and supported Tinubu for the highly contested seat in Aso Rock, despite being from a different party.
As the 2027 elections draw nearer, Makinde has retraced his steps, announcing that he regrets supporting Tinubu in the 2023 elections and that Tinubu did not meet his expectations.
“I said it earlier, I’m human. I supported the current president, even though in another party at that time, because I thought he would do what was right for the country. But unfortunately, that is not what we’re seeing. I regret that action. Yes, I do,” Makinde confessed.
