Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, says the problem with the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, is simply that President Bola Tinubu did not give him a ministerial slot.
Wike stated this while addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday in response to some of the allegations leveled against him by Governor Seyi Makinde in a similar interview last week.
Wike said that the G-5, which included himself and former governors Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State), Samuel Ortom (Benue State), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State), even met with President Tinubu on this matter, and the president promised to take action.
He said, “When we agreed on this, Seyi’s problem was that he was not given a ministerial slot. Even when he was saying it, you could see the anger in him. We told him to ‘calm down.
“That was even the reason we went to see the President. The President said, ‘There are certain factors I may not have considered; however, something has to be done.’ What again? You already had it on your mind.
“In fact, I remember now, the Rivers Ijaw people organised a reception for me in Port Harcourt. So when Ortom said, ‘Look, we are going to support the President for a second term,’ Seyi replied in the newspapers, saying, ‘Why would you say such a thing?’
“And I called him and said, ‘Even if he [Ortom] said so, you shouldn’t have replied in the newspaper. You should have called a meeting so we could debate.
“By doing this, you’re showing as if there’s a division among us…’”
Wike stated that the $1 million Seyi Makinde claimed to have made as a young man is still intoxicating him today, causing him to react to issues unnecessarily.
He added, “But sometimes you know, having made that $1 million so early, he reacts. Because when he looks back, he sees the figure of $1 million. He forgets that Dangote was not the first person who made $1 million, but he is the richest man in Africa today.”
