The Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde has denied reports of him participating in the Labour Party’s presidential rally, which took place in Ibadan on Saturday.
Thousands of residents in Ibadan yesterday defied the Oyo Police Command directives not to stage any walk or match pre-INEC approved time, to organise a one-million march for Peter Obi, a presidential aspirant ahead of 2023 elections.
With placards in hands, chanting solidarity songs, the ‘Peter Obi’ supporters, most especially youth were sighted calling on passersby and creating awareness about the importance of voting for the right candidate.
Meanwhile, Governor Makinde’s denial of participating during the match is coming on the heels of some fake media reports, which state that he had joined the match.
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, who mentioned that a news story had indicated that the Oyo Governor attended a rally of the Labour Party in honour of its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, described such as a compelling falsehood, aimed at deceiving the ignorant.
He therefore declared that Governor ‘Seyi Makinde was in no way present at the rally because he was yet to return to Ibadan, from a meritable leave when the said ‘rally’ took place.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to an online publication, which indicated that Governor Makinde was spotted among the Obidients during a rally in Ibadan, on Saturday, September 3, 2022.
“To say the least, the publication is a falsehood, packaged to deceive the unsuspecting”, he added.
He, however said it is not possible for a person to be in two places at the same time and that dragging the reputation of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde, will not be tolerated.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Makinde was nowhere near Ibadan when the said rally was held. A Yoruba adage says one person cannot stand in twos. How is it possible for the governor who was observing the last days of his leave outside the country to be spotted among the so-called Obidients in Ibadan?
“While we will not begrudge the Obidients’ desire to propagate their candidate, we will not oblige anyone the luxury of dragging the reputation of the Governor of Oyo State on accounts of false claims”, he said.