Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticized Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State over his claims of early financial success and business history.
In a post on his X handle on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, Olayinka scrutinized the Governor’s narrative of his rise to wealth, specifically mocking his claim of becoming a millionaire in his late twenties.
He alleged that despite Makinde’s assertion that he earned one million dollars profit from a major contract in 1997, he was still residing in a modest two-room low-cost apartment in the Ikolaba area of Ibadan as late as 2014.
Olayinka noted that this residence, located near Chief Wole Oyelese’s house, was part of a six-apartment block, questioning why a supposed millionaire would wait nearly twenty years to build his current mansion in 2016.
He wrote, “Seyi Makinde in 2017, when he returned to the PDP. Person wey been get $1m contract in 1997 and made $1m profit. As at 2014, he was living in a TWO ROOM Low Cost House in Ikolaba, Ibadan. It was a SIX apartments built together, he owned one of the apartments.”
This personal attack was a direct response to a media chat held by Governor Makinde in Ibadan on Tuesday, where he first detailed the origins of his wealth to draw a contrast with his political rivals.
During the session, Makinde revealed that he made his first one million dollars at the age of 29 in 1997 after securing a major engineering contract with the oil giant Mobil.
He used this milestone to take a swipe at Minister Wike, stating that while he was already financially established in the late nineties, Wike was at that time still struggling to secure a position as a local government chairman.
Makinde used this history to assert his independence, declaring that his early financial success meant he could not be bought or intimidated by current political figures.
The Governor further addressed the rift with Wike by alleging that the FCT Minister had secretly promised President Bola Tinubu that he would “hold the PDP down” to ensure the President’s smooth re-election in 2027.
Makinde expressed his shock at this revelation, which he claimed occurred during a meeting with the President, and used the media chat to formally announce that he would not be supporting Tinubu’s second term.
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