The Oyo State government has insisted that the N30 billion intervention fund released by the Federal Government for victims of the 2024 Bodija explosion is still intact in a special account and has not been spent.
Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, and Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Musibau Babatunde, said the money is kept in an Infrastructure Support Account with First Bank, pending the release of the outstanding N20 billion balance from Abuja.
They explained that after the January 16, 2024 explosion in Bodija, Governor Seyi Makinde formally wrote to President Bola Tinubu requesting N100 billion to support search and rescue, hospital care, temporary shelter, compensation and reconstruction works in the affected area.
The Presidency later approved N50 billion, describing it as support for the reconstruction of Old Bodija and its environs, and the Central Bank released N30 billion of that amount to Oyo State on November 4, 2024, while N20 billion is still withheld for undisclosed reasons.
According to the commissioners, Oyo State decided not to touch the N30 billion because the remaining N20 billion has not been released and because of what they called the “disgraceful drama” from the Federal Government over the approval in recent days.
They said as of December 31, 2025, the N30 billion remains untouched in the First Bank account and invited interested members of the public to verify the balance with the bank.
The statement also detailed how the state has funded its own response so far, saying Oyo has already spent N24.6 billion from its resources on Bodija and surrounding communities.
Of this, N20.141 billion went into reconstructing infrastructure in Bodija and its environs, while N4.085 billion was paid as support and compensation to victims of the explosion.
The commissioners recalled that immediately after the blast, the state deployed earth moving equipment, ambulances and medical staff, covered all hospital bills, and provided hotel accommodation for displaced residents without waiting for federal money.
They stressed that the federal intervention only arrived almost a year later, in November 2024, and that the state remains committed to securing the outstanding N20 billion so it can complete reconstruction and fully address the damage to public and private property.
They also accused the Federal Government of using former Ekiti governor Ayodele Fayose as a “political agent” to twist the facts for cheap political points, after he claimed Governor Makinde received N50 billion but failed to disclose it during a media chat.
The commissioners argued that documents show only N30 billion has been released to Oyo and pointed out that, out of a total intervention pool of N915.5 billion for states, one unnamed Southwest state got N150 billion, while Oyo received one of the lowest allocations despite suffering one of the worst disasters.
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