Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has revealed that President Bola Tinubu asked him to take ownership of Adebayo Adelabu’s ministerial appointment after rejecting his recommendation of former Oyo State Commissioner for Finance, Bimbo Adekanmbi.
Makinde made the disclosure on Sunday during a media chat with Fresh FM in Ibadan, where he also discussed the G5 governors’ alliance with Tinubu ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
The governor said Tinubu had initially asked him to recommend a development economist for the budget and economic planning portfolio.
He said he nominated Adekanmbi because he believed the former commissioner had played a significant role in stabilising the administration of former Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
According to Makinde, Tinubu later informed him that he had decided to appoint Adelabu, whom he contested against in the 2019 Oyo governorship election.
Recounting their conversation, Makinde said: “I said, ‘Okay, I know Bayo.’ I contested against Bayo in 2019. He is 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 suggestion, insisting that the appointment should be acknowledged as Tinubu’s decision rather than his own.
“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 added that he later discovered that other state governors had also been asked to adopt ministerial nominees selected by the President.
“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,” he said.
Makinde also disclosed that most members of the G5 alliance did not receive ministerial appointments under Tinubu’s administration.
“The G5, minus, of course, Wike, was not given ministerial appointments,” he said.
The G5 comprised Makinde, Nyesom Wike, Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu. The five governors, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), opposed the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2023 election amid disagreements over the party’s leadership.
Makinde’s comments come as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The governor, whose second and final term in office ends in May 2027, is the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
At the APM North-East 2027 Town Hall Meeting in Yola, Adamawa State, on Sunday, Makinde promised to establish a four-year transitional Government of National Unity if elected president in 2027.
