2027: Atiku, Makinde camps tackle Fayose over VP negotiation claim

Ex-Ekiti gov’s claim “reckless and malicious fabrication,” says Atiku’s aide

Fayose’s comment baseless, divisive tale from the master of mischief himself-Makinde’s ally

Emeka Agu Jnr and Stephen Gbadamosi

The camps of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, berated former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, for claiming that the meeting in Minna, the Niger State capital, on Tuesday, between the former Vice President and Oyo State governor was to negotiate vice presidential slot for Makinde under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) with Atiku as presidential candidate in the 2027 general election.

Recall that Fayose had in a statement titled, “Between Atiku and Makinde, Untold Story of What Happened in Minna Yesterday,” posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, claimed that Gov Makinde of Oyo State had agreed to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on the condition that he would emerge as the party’s vice-presidential candidate for Atiku in the 2027 general elections.

Reacting to the claim, the camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described Fayose’s claims regarding a meeting in Minna between Atiku and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde as a “reckless and malicious fabrication.”

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the publication as a “tissue of lies” authored by a “serial purveyor of political gossip,” asserting that no such negotiations or financial transactions took place during the visit to former military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida IBB.

“At no time did former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engage in the imaginary horse-trading described in that laughable script.

“There were no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets. There were no discussions about ₦10 billion contributions. There were no zoning manipulations. There were no delegate-delivery guarantees. And there is certainly no clandestine ‘Dubai meeting’ on any such agenda”, said Shaibu.

He accused Fayose of attempting to drag other political actors into what he described as a fabricated narrative in a bid to create controversy.

“The story is not insider information. It is insider fiction — manufactured to mislead, distract, and provoke.

“His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s political engagements are broad-based, principled, and national in scope — not the narrow, transactional theatrics invented in that publication,” he added.

He urged members of the public to disregard the report, insisting that the former vice president does not engage in secretive or transactional politics.

“We advise the public to treat the publication with the contempt it deserves,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, Dare Adeleke, and an ally of Gov Makinde, has taken former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, to the cleaners over his comment on a meeting he (Makinde) held in Minna, Niger State earlier this week with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Adeleke, in a statement he signed and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Thursday, entitled; “Fayose’s Tale of Self Humiliation: Seyi Makinde Remains In PDP,” said the former Ekiti State governor lied about being privy to what transpired at the meeting.

“The world already knows that Ayo Fayose is an unpretentious, impervious character. We will continue to expose the clown whose second name might as well be ‘shameless.’

“The claim that Seyi Makinde is gunning for the vice-presidential slot of the ADC is yet another diabolical falsehood being peddled by the Ekiti political vagabond, Ayo Fayose – a baseless, divisive tale from the master of mischief himself.

“On his Twitter handle, Fayose falsely claimed that Governor Seyi Makinde’s visit to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was to negotiate a ₦10 billion deal for the ADC vice-presidential ticket.

“It is disappointing, though hardly surprising, that this political jobber turned errand boy continues to push blatant misinformation simply to stay relevant.

“Fayose will stop at nothing in his already scuttled plans to wreck the PDP and hand over whatever remains to (President) Tinubu.

“It is disgraceful that Ayo Fayose keeps burrowing deeper into filth and soot, like the beggarly street urchin he has become in service to the APC.

“In Nigeria’s political history, no former two-term governor has sunk so low as to become the de facto spokesperson – the loud, shameless mouthpiece – for a federal minister, even leaking what should be confidential matters to the public just to lend his lies a veneer of credibility.

“Fayose’s desperation and utter lack of self-respect have reduced him to a political cretin, lower than a motor-park tout. That a man who benefited so lavishly from the PDP would now kowtow before Nyesom Wike, content to feed on crumbs from the minister’s table, speaks volumes about the poverty of his character.

“Since Makinde emerged as the leader of the PDP in the South-West, Fayose’s hostility has risen to almost satanic levels. He has stopped at nothing to disparage the governor, and each day his envy seems to sprout new and darker horns.

“Makinde’s decision to break away from the so-called G-5, once he realised their agenda, was about grabbing power at the centre rather than protecting the party’s interests, exposed their selfishness and double standards before the public. That is why they have not relented in their attacks on him, even when those attacks undermine the PDP itself.

“Makinde scuttled the plans of Wike, Tinubu’s devious side kick, Wike and his cohorts. Now the entire world sees them for who they are – disgraced traitors who sold their birthright for a pot of miserly porridge. Where will Wike’s political career go after Tinubu? Definitely to the dogs. He is finished after 2027, just as Fayose is now the prodigal son of Ekiti.”

Adeleke added that Governor Makinde was a national figure and remained a leader of the PDP.

“Let it be known to the political villain, Fayose, that Makinde is a national figure and leader of the PDP. While he, Fayose’s, career is lost and facing a disastrous sand storm that awaits him after Tinubu; Seyi Makinde is waxing stronger in a stronger PDP, and not even the evil plot from the presidency and APC can bring down the Iroko.  

“Fayose has no inkling of what was discussed between Atiku and Makinde. A former governor has become an ‘amebo’ peeping through keyholes and spreading outright lies, what a pity! Fayose is an evil that never stops until he is totally consumed by his evil ways and that day is coming soon. 

“Fayose remains persona non grata in the PDP – a pitiable, serial fabricator whose words should always be taken with a pinch of salt,” he said.