IBADAN, NIGERIA — A major political storm has erupted in the Pacesetter State as Governor Seyi Makinde and former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, trade words over the actual amount of federal relief funds released to Oyo State following the devastating January 2024 Bodija explosion.
The controversy, which has set social media and local political circles abuzz, centers on whether the state government is being transparent about the billions of Naira intended to rebuild one of Ibadan’s most elite neighborhoods.
The Allegation: Fayose Claims N50 Billion Was Received
The fire was ignited during a recent television appearance where Ayodele Fayose alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had approved and disbursed a whopping ₦50 billion to Governor Makinde to handle the explosion’s aftermath.
Fayose further stirred the pot by suggesting that the Governor remained silent about the full amount to “save up” for a rumored presidential ambition in 2027. He challenged the Governor to make his records public, claiming that only a fraction of the money had actually reached the victims.
The Defense: “A Promise is Not a Release”
Responding swiftly, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju, clarified that while the Oyo State Government did indeed request ₦50 billion, the Federal Government only released ₦30 billion.
“The Federal Government did not give Governor Makinde ₦50 billion. What exists on record is a request and a promise, not a disbursement,” Olanrewaju stated.
The state government further alleged that the remaining ₦20 billion was withheld by certain federal interests after Governor Makinde reportedly refused to provide “inducements” tied to the disbursement—a move the Governor’s team describes as standing on high moral ground.
The ₦24.6bn Revelation: Why is the Federal Money “Idle”?
In a new development that has shocked many, sources close to the Agodi Government House suggest that the state has already spent ₦24.6 billion of its own Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) on the Bodija recovery.
According to these reports, the ₦30 billion received from the Federal Government is currently sitting “idle” or untouched in a dedicated account. The state reportedly intends to keep these federal funds as a “special reserve” for long-term reconstruction, while using the state’s monthly ₦24bn stability fund to handle immediate repairs.
This has sparked a fresh row, with critics asking why Oyo is using its limited state funds while federal billions sit in the bank—especially as other South West states are rumored to have “grabbed” interventions as high as ₦150bn for their own infrastructure projects.
Ongoing Reconstruction Efforts
Beyond the political back-and-forth, Dr. Olanrewaju maintained that the funds received thus far have been utilized transparently. He noted that while ₦4.5 billion was disbursed directly to victims, the remaining balance of the ₦30 billion is being actively deployed for site restoration, infrastructure repairs, and the upgrading of security architecture in the Bodija axis to prevent future occurrences.
A Call for Transparency
As the 2027 political season begins to take shape, groups like the Oyo APC and ADC have called for a full independent audit of the funds. For now, the residents of Bodija—many of whom are still rebuilding their lives—remain caught in the middle of a high-stakes financial dispute that shows no signs of cooling down.
