The Oyo State Government has offered a detailed explanation on why Governor Seyi Makinde did not publicly announce the receipt of a N30bn federal intervention fund approved after the January 2024 Bodija explosion, insisting that the money remains untouched and fully accounted for.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said special intervention funds are capital grants that must pass through formal budgeting processes and therefore do not require public announcements upon receipt.
According to the state government, the N30bn released by the Federal Government in November 2024 is still sitting in a dedicated account and has not been spent because the balance of N20bn from the N50bn approved for the reconstruction of Old Bodija and its environs has yet to be released.
The clarification followed comments by former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, who alleged during a television interview that Governor Makinde had received and spent N50bn intervention funds without accountability.
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Responding earlier through his media aide, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Governor Makinde confirmed that while N50bn was approved, only N30bn had been released. Oyelade expanded on this position, stating that the funds were deliberately left untouched pending the release of the outstanding balance.
“Out of the approved N50bn, the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria released N30bn to Oyo State on November 4, 2024,” Oyelade said.
“As of December 31, 2025, the N30bn remains untouched in the Oyo State Government Infrastructure Support Account with FirstBank of Nigeria. Interested members of the public may verify this information with the bank.”
He added that the state chose not to access the funds because the remaining N20bn has been withheld by relevant federal agencies without any formal explanation.
“Given the recent drama around the approval and release of the funds, the Oyo State Government is convinced that its decision to wait and see was wise,” he said.
Oyelade noted that almost two years after the Bodija explosion, the Federal Government is yet to release the balance of the approved intervention, despite the scale of destruction caused by the disaster.
Providing background, the commissioner recalled that Governor Makinde formally wrote to President Bola Tinubu on January 19, 2024, just three days after the explosion, requesting N100bn in federal support. The request was later scaled down to N50bn approval by the President.
The letter detailed emergency actions already taken by the state, including search and rescue operations, medical treatment for victims at government expense, temporary accommodation for displaced residents, debris clearance, and early reconstruction efforts.
Despite the delayed federal intervention, the Oyo State Government said it did not wait for Abuja before acting.
“As of January 1, 2026, Oyo State has spent N24.6bn from its own resources in response to the Bodija explosion,” Oyelade disclosed.
This includes N20.1bn spent on rebuilding infrastructure in Bodija and surrounding areas, and over N4bn paid as compensation and support to affected residents.
The state government also raised concerns over what it described as an uneven distribution of federal intervention funds nationwide, noting that some states received as much as N150bn while Oyo, despite suffering one of the most devastating disasters, received one of the lowest allocations.
Oyelade stressed that special intervention funds are treated as capital grants and reflected in state financial statements after budgetary approval, adding that other states that received larger sums also did not publicly announce the inflows.
“The Oyo State Government has nothing to hide,” he said, accusing desperate political actors of exploiting the Bodija tragedy for political gain.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and pledged to continue engaging the public while working to secure the release of the outstanding N20bn to fully address the impact of the explosion.
