Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday dismissed claims by former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, over an alleged political deal involving Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as “desperate” and “baseless.”
Fayose, however, threatened to expose details of the Minna meeting with former Head of State, Gen Ibrahim Babangida.
The reaction followed reports of a closed-door meeting between Atiku and Makinde at Babangida’s Minna residence, which sparked speculation about a possible 2027 political arrangement.
Following the meeting, Fayose claimed in a Wednesday statement that Makinde had offered to join the African Democratic Congress as Atiku’s 2027 running mate, promising N10bn to help the party get started and to deliver delegates to secure Atiku’s ADC presidential ticket.
Fayose concluded that the duo had fixed another meeting for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to conclude negotiations.
Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said he did not engage in any of the alleged horse-trading as alleged by Fayose.
He emphasised that no discussions took place regarding N10bn contributions or zoning arrangements.
Late on Thursday, in a reply to Atiku’s reaction on his X account, Fayose promised more details if the former vice president did not retract the statement.
He said, “I saw the response of one Paul Ibe, one of the media aides to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to my release on what transpired at his (Atiku’s) meeting in Minna, with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and I can’t but be amused.
“However, because of my respect for Atiku, I will want to assume that he did not authorise the press statement, and I expect that after seeing it, he will, within 48 hours, cause a rebuttal to be issued on it.
“Should Atiku not publicly disown the statement within the next 48 hours, I will have no option but to spill more beans (the facilitators and executioners) of the Minna meeting, particularly what was said about Wike) and by then, I will be doing so without any atom of respect for him. Till then, we keep our gunpowder dry.”
The development comes as the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State traded accusations on Thursday over Makinde’s alleged deal with Atiku.