Southwest PDP condemns Fayose over Oyo attack claim

A political dispute has erupted within the Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria’s southwest following controversial statements by former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose. The PDP’s zonal leadership has strongly condemned Fayose for alleging that a recent bandit attack in Oyo State’s Oriire Local Government Area was orchestrated by Governor Seyi Makinde to blackmail President Bola Tinubu.

Fayose made the allegation during a televised program, questioning the Oyo State government’s response to the kidnapping of pupils and teachers. The Southwest PDP, through its publicity secretary Chief Sanya Atofarati, described the statement as reckless, insensitive, and politically dangerous. The party said such comments weaponize insecurity for partisan advantage at a time when Nigerians are being killed and abducted nationwide.

The criticism extended to what the PDP called Fayose’s glaring double standards and selective outrage. Officials pointed to a recent attack in his home state of Ekiti, where armed men killed a visiting pastor and abducted worshippers at a church in Eda-Oniyo, a community near Fayose’s hometown. They noted that Fayose did not publicly accuse Ekiti’s Governor Biodun...