‘Tinubu Government Tried To Blackmail Me With Federal Funds Given To Oyo To Join APC’ – Governor Makinde

Makinde said he was aware of the kind of political actors he was dealing with and had anticipated that the Nigerian government would eventually use the money released to Oyo State as a political weapon against him.

The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration attempted to blackmail him over funds released to the state by the Federal Government, saying he refused to succumb to pressure despite the political moves that reportedly influenced other governors to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Makinde said he was aware of the kind of political actors he was dealing with and had anticipated that the Nigerian government would eventually use the money released to Oyo State as a political weapon against him.

The governor made the disclosure while speaking in an interview with Arise Television, where he reflected on the political pressure surrounding governors who had defected to the APC and explained why he chose to remain firm despite the alleged attempts to blackmail him.

According to Makinde, Nigerians should question the circumstances surrounding the wave of defections by governors to the ruling party, particularly why he chose to remain in his political position while others moved to the APC.

“I know the kind of people I’m dealing with. People should ask why governors defected to APC and I stood my ground. President Bola Tinubu’s administration tried to blackmail me as well,” he said.

Explaining how he anticipated the alleged move, Makinde said he knew the Federal Government would eventually raise the issue of money released to Oyo State and attempt to use it against his administration.

He said he was prepared for such a development and decided to make the details of the transaction public when the issue was eventually raised.

“You know, when you know the people that you’re dealing with, people should ask, how come governors were defecting to APC? But me, I stood my ground. Did they not try to blackmail me? We knew that they were going to get to that point where they will say, oh, we gave Oyo State this money. So I was waiting,” Makinde stated.

The governor further disclosed that when the issue was raised, he responded by releasing his own report detailing the transaction, rather than allowing the money to become a tool for political pressure.

He said he subsequently instructed the Oyo State Commissioner for Finance to ensure that the funds were deployed to ongoing projects in the state.

“And when they said it, I gave out my own report of that transaction. And then I instructed the commissioner for finance, please put this money now on project because they’ve done what we thought they were going to do,” he added.