How Tinubu picked Adelabu as minister over Adekanmbi — Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde. Photo: Oyo State Govt

The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu failed to accept his nomination of Bimbo Adekanmbi, the now-governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement in the state.

Makinde said the President instead chose Bayo Adelabu and made him the Minister of Power.

The governor made this known on Sunday during a media chat with Fresh FM, where he also said Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, became the ultimate beneficiary of the G5 governors’ alliance with Tinubu.

Makinde said Tinubu initially asked him to recommend a development economist for the budget and economic planning portfolio.

Makinde said he nominated Adekanmbi because he believed he played a significant role in stabilising the previous administration in Oyo under the then-governor, Abiola Ajimobi.

However, he said Tinubu later informed him that he had decided to appoint Adelabu, whom Makinde ran against in the 2019 governorship election.

“I said: ‘Okay, I know Bayo. I contested against Bayo in 2019. He is a first-class material’.

“And then the president eventually said: ‘Well, since I’ve taken this decision to appoint Bayo, you should go and take ownership of him, like go out and say it was your choice.’”

Makinde said he rejected the request, insisting Tinubu made the appointment.

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“So I said, ‘No, sir. Bayo is your choice, and let it be known to the people that it is your choice.

“I’m supposed to help you by nominating people who can add value to your administration. If you’ve seen somebody who can do that, that’s good.’”

The governor said he would soon discover that other governors had also been asked to adopt ministerial nominees handpicked by Tinubu.

“The G5, minus, of course, Wike, was not given ministerial appointments.

“The point I’m trying to make is that most of my colleagues, not just those in the G5, my governor colleagues, right, were given people and asked to adopt those people as theirs.”

The G5 was a political alliance between five Peoples Democratic Party governors and Tinubu, who was the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate in the 2023 election.

Members of the G5 included Makinde, Wike, Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

The five governors refused to support their party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over disagreements about PDP leadership and zoning of the presidency to the Southern bloc.