The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticized Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over his early political trajectory, alleging that Makinde lacked political structure despite possessing financial resources at the time.
Speaking during an event, Wike claimed he had influence over the Oyo political structure in previous election cycles and declined to support Makinde during his earlier pursuits for office.
Wike recounted that Makinde contested for Senate in 2007 under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but lost, and later sought the Oyo State governorship on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform in 2015 without success.
He alleged that despite having what he described as “$1 million,” Makinde was unable to secure the needed structure to win.
According to Wike, it was not until 2019 that an agreement was reached to grant Makinde access to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structure in Oyo State, which eventually led to his victory.
“I didn’t choose to be a contractor. I chose power. I was already grounded in politics without $1 million, while the man with $1 million was still seeking structure,” Wike stated.
Governor Makinde has yet to respond to the minister’s claims at the time of filing this report.
