The first one-on-one meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, following months of public tension, has ignited a major political controversy after a different account of the private discussion was released by former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose.
Governor Makinde, who met with the President at the Aso Rock Villa on Thursday, had told waiting State House correspondents that the encounter was cordial and focused on governance.
He described his relationship with President Tinubu as “harmonious,” insisting that political differences should not hinder cooperation on national issues.
“The President is the President of Nigeria, not the President of APC, and we’re talking about governance here. There’s nothing that I’ve said in the past that says we’re not enjoying a harmonious relationship”, Makinde told State House correspondents.
However, in a direct contradiction hours later, Fayose issued a statement claiming the meeting was “not a smooth sail” for the Oyo State governor and provided a blow-by-blow account of what he alleged was a pointed exchange.
According to Fayose, President Tinubu was direct with his visitor. The former governor alleged that Makinde was told he could not “come to the closet on political matters to eat his words, while saying another thing to the public.”
On 2027 Politics: “The President told Governor Makinde that he was not expecting any support from him regarding 2027, and that he should also expect that he (President) will support his party.”
On Courage: “Governor Seyi Makinde demonstrated that he lacked enough courage to face the President alone. He had to enlist the support of the Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang.”
On Nyesom Wike: “The President made it clear to Makinde that Wike is someone whose support and consistency he (President) can’t deny or wish away. Therefore, if Makinde has issues with Wike, that is between the two of them, I should be left out of it.”
On Official Matters: Tinubu reportedly said he would only listen if the discussion was about “official matters regarding Oyo State.”
Fayose concluded by challenging Makinde to inform the public if he had returned the N30 billion he admitted to receiving from the Federal Government as an intervention fund for victims of the January 2023 Bodija explosion in Ibadan—a revelation Fayose first made public last month.
The Villa meeting was the first since Governor Makinde’s media chat last month, where he declared he would not support President Tinubu in the 2027 election. He had also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of fueling crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to create a one-party state, and alleged the President did not keep to certain agreements for his support in 2023.
When pressed by reporters after the meeting on whether his visit signaled a new political alignment, Governor Makinde downplayed the notion.
“Politics is politics. We belong to different political parties, but Nigeria is a project that all Nigerians must be concerned about,” he said, listing insecurity, poverty alleviation, and citizen welfare as cross-party concerns.
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