We Gave Makinde Structure To Be Oyo Governor Despite His $1m Earning — Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has claimed that he played a decisive role in the emergence of Engr Seyi Makinde as Governor of Oyo State in 2019.

Wike maintained that Makinde only became governor after he and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) handed over the PDP structure in Oyo State to him.

The FCT minister made the assertion on Monday during an end-of-the-year media chat with journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to Wike, Makinde did not make any financial contribution when he (Wike) contested the PDP presidential primary, reacting to Makinde’s claim of having made $1 million while in law school.

“I ran for the presidential primary of the PDP. I didn’t see Seyi use one thousand Naira in my primaries. I did not see it even once.

“Secondly, it’s only in Nigeria that I’ve seen someone awarded a job worth one million dollars, and nobody is talking about it.

“But he came to the man who didn’t have one million dollars to help him get structure. We said no, we will not give it to you. We gave it to Teslim. He went to SDP to run as governor and failed with his one million dollars.

“Then, before 2019, he came back. We said no, we are ready to give you structure. I was very grounded in politics, but I had no one million dollars with me.

“But the man who made one million dollars is going around looking for people to help him build a structure. It was when we gave him that structure that Seyi became governor in 2019,” Wike added.

Wike and Makinde, who were once political allies, have traded accusations ever since their fallout, which has been marked by disputes over leadership, reconciliation agreements, and competing ambitions.