The Oyo State Government has revealed that the N30 billion released by the Federal Government as intervention support for the January 2024 Bodija explosion has remained untouched in a state bank account, nearly two years after the tragic incident.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, the government disclosed that the funds are held in an infrastructure support account with FirstBank, awaiting the complete release of the total N50 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu.
The explosion, which occurred on January 16, 2024, in the Bodija area of Ibadan, led to widespread destruction of properties and loss of lives. Following the disaster, Governor Seyi Makinde wrote to the President requesting N100 billion in federal assistance for search and rescue, compensation, reconstruction, and environmental assessment.
While the Federal Government approved N50 billion—half of the requested sum—only N30 billion was disbursed in November 2024. The remaining N20 billion has yet to be released, with no official explanation provided to the state.
According to the statement, the state government deliberately refrained from accessing the N30 billion already deposited, citing the incomplete release of the total approved sum.
“As of Thursday, December 31, 2025, the N30 billion remained untouched in the Oyo State infrastructure account with FirstBank,” the Commissioner stated. “The Oyo State Government has deliberately refrained from utilising the N30 billion already released in recognition of the fact that the remaining N20 billion has remained withheld.”
The government further revealed that it has so far spent N24.6 billion from its own resources in response to the explosion, including N20.141 billion on infrastructure reconstruction and N4.085 billion in support and compensation to victims.
Documents referenced in the statement also indicate that Oyo State received one of the lowest allocations from a N915.5 billion federal intervention fund for states, despite the scale of the Bodija disaster.
The state government assured the public of its commitment to transparency and reiterated its demand for the balance of the approved funds to fully address the aftermath of the explosion.
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