Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose says Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde is positioning himself as an “emergency opposition mouthpiece” following an alleged cold reception from President Bola Tinubu during a recent visit to the Presidential Villa.
Makinde had said he missed former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s leadership.
The governor said this while speaking at the 60th birthday celebration of the president of The Men of Issachar Vision Incorporated (MIV) and overseer of the Redemption Faith Churches, Samson Ajetomobi, in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, where Osinbajo was also in attendance, on Saturday, January 24, 2026.
He said: “Sir, I personally miss you (Osinbajo) in that position (as vice president).
“A lot of people may not know why things are not really the same. It’s not a political talk because I’m not on that podium.”
Reacting via a statement issued on Sunday, Fayose said Makinde’s comments further confirmed that the governor was displeased after what he described as a disappointing encounter with Tinubu during his last visit to the president in Abuja.
Fayose stated: “Like I made public, in his attempt to do a damage control on his public speech against the President, Makinde met the shock of his political life when he visited Asiwaju last week.
Fayose: Makinde lacked courage to face Tinubu alone
“It is now obvious that after getting that cold shoulder from the President, Makinde must have realized that end of road has come in terms of reconciliation between him and the President. This is moreso that the Asiwaju made it clear that as far as Oyo State is concerned, he will support his party’s candidates in 2027.
“The emergency opposition mouthpiece Makinde is trying albeit unsuccessfully to turn himself to is an aftermath the response he got from the President last week, which I made public.
“Furthermore, it has vindicated me because if Makinde had gotten a soft-landing that he expected from the President, he (Makinde) wouldn’t have gone to make that statement, condemning the Government of President Tinubu, by calling the President a dictator while praising the Buhari’s administration.”
Fayose also urged the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to prepare for a fierce political battle ahead, saying Makinde would field a candidate under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would no longer be available for him to use.
“With these assurances too, the APC in Oyo State should now wake up and slug it out with Makinde’s candidate, which he will field under the ADC, knowing full well that PDP won’t be open for him to use,” the former governor said.
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