Former Vice President and 2023 Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has revealed that he commiserated with victims, people, and the Government of Oyo State following the Ibadan explosion.
Atiku stated this in reply to a statement by Governor Seyi Makinde, who claimed that the former vice president failed to call him over the unfortunate incident.
Recall that Makinde had berated Atiku over his failure to show concern regarding the explosion in Ibadan.
Makinde stated this on Monday when he received the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, at his office in Ibadan.
The governor said the former vice president has neither called nor sent a condolence message to commiserate with him and the people of his state over the explosion.
He stated that President Bola Tinubu, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had called him over the incident, but Atiku, a member of the same political party as him, had not reached out to him.
Reacting in a statement on Monday, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, stated that the former Vice President released a statement to commiserate with victims and the people of Oyo State.
According to him, Makinde has been too busy to take track of media reports on the incident.
The 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 of 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 take 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, which reads as follows:
“‘I wish to express my condolences to the good people and government of Oyo State over the explosion that rocked the capital city of Ibadan late yesterday night.
“‘While the government continues to provide humanitarian support to victims of the explosion, I commiserate with the families of those who might have lost their lives and property to the explosion. -AA’”
