The Oyo State chapter of the African Democratic Congress has called on Governor Seyi Makinde to give a full account of the N50 billion intervention funds reportedly requested from the Federal Government following the January 2024 Bodija explosion in Ibadan.

The party made the call in a statement issued on Sunday and signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Bimpe Adelowo, where it accused the state government of being unaccountable, deceptive, divisive, and misleading in its handling of public funds.

The demand followed revelations by former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, who disclosed that the Oyo State Government had requested N50 billion from the Federal Government for reconstruction and relief efforts for victims of the explosion.

Although media aides to Governor Makinde later clarified that only N30 billion was received, the ADC insisted that the public was deliberately kept in the dark until Fayose brought the issue to the fore.

The party said there were inconsistencies between the amount reportedly received and the figures disclosed as having been spent on the victims of the explosion.

According to the ADC, while Governor Makinde claimed that about N4.5 billion was directly disbursed to affected victims, there was no explanation regarding the remaining balance of N25.5 billion.

“Oyo state governor claimed he had disbursed about N4.5 Billion directly to the victim of Bódìjà explosion but failed to account for the balance of sum of N25.5 Billion,” Adelowo stated.

The party further questioned whether the Oyo State House of Assembly was aware of the unaccounted funds or if the money had been diverted to other projects not covered by the original purpose of the intervention.

It added that “it is safe to say that the entire disbursed N30 Billion was misappropriated and unlawfully diverted to projects which were not the purpose the money was disbursed for in the first place.”

While acknowledging that the document referenced by Fayose only showed a request and not proof of disbursement, the ADC argued that Governor Makinde’s failure to disclose the N50 billion request until he was pressured raised serious concerns about transparency.

The party therefore urged the governor to make public a detailed breakdown of how the N30 billion intervention funds were spent.

“He should own up and apologise to the people of Oyo for taking them for a ride. He should release the details of the disbursed N30 Billion intervention funds for public scrutiny; after all, he holds the power in trust for them, and they deserve to know,” Adelowo concluded.

The Bodija explosion, which occurred on January 16, 2024, claimed several lives and caused extensive damage to properties, and the ADC maintained that the utilisation of federal intervention funds must be subjected to the highest standards of accountability.

In response to the allegations, the Oyo State Government clarified that it received N30 billion, not N50 billion, from the Federal Government following the January 2024 Ibadan explosion.

The clarification was made on Sunday by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, amid the allegations raised by former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose.

Olanrewaju, while giving his opinion on Oyo State affairs, dismissed Fayose’s claims as misleading and unfounded.

“Recent comments attributed to former Governor Ayodele Fayose, alleging that the Federal Government handed N50 billion to Seyi Makinde and that the governor stayed silent to save it for his presidential ambition, are not only misleading, they are deliberately disingenuous.

“The Federal Government did not give Governor Makinde N50 billion. This is why Fayose was unable to provide evidence. In fact, the memo he shared shows what was not disbursed,” he said.