Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has aroused fresh controversy after alleging that the recent abduction of pupils and teachers in parts of Oyo State was politically orchestrated to embarrass President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Fayose made the explosive allegation during a television interview while reacting to the Friday kidnapping incident that shocked residents and drew nationwide outrage.
Gunmen had abducted pupils and teachers in some local government areas of the state, prompting swift intervention from the Federal Government.
Following the attack, President Tinubu dispatched a high-level delegation to the affected communities and assured residents that efforts were ongoing to secure the victims’ freedom.
Reacting to the development, Fayose insisted that security challenges at the grassroots level should first be addressed by local and state authorities before blame is shifted to the presidency.
“Let me branch to Oyo State, before you get to the president in the hierarchy of leadership and governance, there is local government, there is state, state has security votes and there are people that are supposed to be working,” he said.
The former governor also accused Governor Seyi Makinde of failing to act swiftly, alleging that political interests took precedence over the crisis.
“In Oyo State, I strongly believe though I might be wrong but this sometimes might be orchestrated. The governor of Oyo State had his nomination and that of his candidates in the face of this abduction,” he said.
“He did not take any action, no steps were taken, it was after those nominations that he went to the families to visit them.”
Fayose went further to suggest that the incident may have been deliberately designed to paint the Federal Government in a bad light.
“I sometimes believe that the abduction at Oyo School was orchestrated by the Oyo State Government to blackmail President Tinubu,” Fayose stated.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Governor Makinde nor the Oyo State Government had officially responded to the allegation.
The incident has continued to generate heated reactions from political stakeholders and security experts, with renewed calls for stronger security measures to protect schools and curb rising insecurity across the country.
