Makinde, Wike’s aides trade insults over principals’ wealth, achievements

Tensions between Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, escalated on Wednesday after Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, ridiculed Makinde’s claim of earning $1m from a contract at the age of 29.

Makinde had told journalists in Ibadan on Tuesday that his company, Makon, earned its first $1m from a Mobil contract in 1997, around the time Wike had “just left law school.”

In a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, Olayinka shared a picture of Makinde prostrating in a flowing white agbada adorned with the insignia of the Social Democratic Party. He mocked the governor’s business acumen, urging him to show Nigerians how to earn a million-dollar profit.

“Seyi Makinde in 2015, 18 years after he made $1m profit from a $1m contract. He needs to teach Nigerians how to get a $1 m contract and make $1m profit from the contract,” the post read.

Reacting to the comments, the Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Federal Constituency Matters, Mr Dare Adeleke, described Olayinka as a “rabble rouser, ignorant and illiterate.”

Speaking with The PUNCH on Thursday, Adeleke defended Makinde’s wealth and integrity, noting that the governor’s humility and simple dressing were often misinterpreted as a lack of wealth. He stressed that Makinde was financially established long before entering politics.

“Makinde’s wealth predates his political career. He has handled oil contracts across Nigeria, West Africa, and even globally, and built properties in Lagos and the United States many years ago,” Adeleke said.

He added that Makinde had consistently supported community development and business ventures long before venturing into politics, reaffirming his reputation as a wealthy, humble, and principled politician.

“Makinde’s humility is often misunderstood. He would wear jeans to meet Queen Elizabeth rather than dress ostentatiously. He would not lie about his wealth at any stage of his life, whether before or during politics,” Adeleke stated.

Olayinka, however, continued to mock Makinde in another post, arguing that the governor’s lifestyle years after the alleged business success did not reflect such wealth. He claimed Makinde lived in a “two-room low-cost house in Ikolaba, Ibadan, owned by Chief Wole Oyelese,” despite his $1m profit.

“Seyi Makinde in 2017, when he returned to the PDP. A person who got a $1 m contract in 1997 and made $1m profit, yet in 2014, he was living in a two-room low-cost house in Ikolaba, Ibadan. It was six apartments built together; he owned one of the apartments.

“That’s 14 years after he got his $1m contract and made $1m profit from it.

“Those who know Chief Wole Oyelese’s residence will know this place where our 1997 receiver of the $1 m contract was living before he built his present house in 2016. Gomina Lamba General,” Olayinka wrote.

Addressing Olayinka’s claims, Adeleke clarified that the house in question actually belongs to Makinde’s mother, while the governor’s personal residences are in Victoria Garden City, Lagos, and Houston, Texas.

“Lere is just a rabble rouser. The focus should be on attempts to cajole Nigerians into a one-party state, not on personalities. Makinde would never lie against anyone; honesty is his defining trait,” he said.

Adeleke also took a swipe at Wike’s early career, noting, “Wike left law school in 1997, and his first political job was as a local government chairman. Makinde, on the other hand, had long-established businesses and infrastructure projects, including a turbine supplying gas to West African countries, before venturing into politics.”

He added that Makinde’s support for former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja in 2003 highlighted his strong business acumen, including the construction of a hall at his alma mater, which was inaugurated by Governor Lam Adesina.

Adeleke accused Olayinka of politicising the debate, insisting that the real issue was Wike being used by President Bola Tinubu to destabilise the opposition, rather than any personal grievance. (Punch)