Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu rejected his nomination of former Oyo State Commissioner for Finance, Bimbo Adekanmbi, for a ministerial position and instead appointed Bayo Adelabu as Minister of Power.
Makinde spoke during a media chat with Fresh FM on Sunday, where he also discussed the political implications of the G5 governors’ alliance with Tinubu ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
According to the governor, Tinubu had initially asked him to recommend a development economist for the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
Makinde said he nominated Adekanmbi, who served under former Oyo governor Abiola Ajimobi, because he believed he had played a significant role in stabilising the administration’s finances.
However, Tinubu eventually opted for Adelabu, whom Makinde contested against in the 2019 governorship election.
Makinde said he acknowledged Adelabu’s competence but refused to take credit for an appointment made by the President.
He recalled that Tinubu had asked him to publicly present Adelabu as his own choice, but he declined, insisting that the appointment should be attributed to the President.
The governor said his responsibility was to recommend capable individuals who could contribute to the administration, leaving the final decision to Tinubu.
Makinde added that he later discovered that other governors had similarly been asked to adopt ministerial nominees selected by the President.
He also alleged that the G5 governors, except Nyesom Wike, who is now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, were not offered ministerial appointments.
The G5 was an alliance of five Peoples Democratic Party governors who opposed the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 election over disagreements concerning the party’s leadership.
Other members of the group were Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu.
Makinde further criticised Tinubu’s approach to federal appointments, arguing that political loyalty and connections played a significant role in determining who received positions.
He said the concentration of appointments in the South-West had attracted criticism, but argued that the issue went beyond ethnicity, alleging that many appointees were selected because of their political affiliation with the President.
According to him, although many of the appointees are Yoruba, their selection was largely influenced by their connections to Tinubu’s political circle.