APM governorship hopeful denies link to alleged missing billions, insists he never sat in on the meetings where the money disappeared
Bimbo Adekanmbi, the Allied Peoples Movement’s 2027 governorship candidate in Oyo State, has pushed back against allegations tying him to N30 billion said to have vanished during his tenure as Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning under the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi — arguing the funds in question belonged to local government accounts he had no hand in managing.
Speaking on Arise News’ The Morning Show on Tuesday, Adekanmbi drew a sharp line between the Oyo State Ministry of Finance and local government administration, insisting the disputed transactions fell entirely outside his docket. He said he never once sat in on a Joint Accounts Committee (JAC) meeting — the body responsible for local government finances — and challenged critics to redirect their scrutiny accordingly.
“The 30 billion, I didn’t say it got missing. You must separate the Oyo State Government from the local government. The money went missing in local government. I never attended one JAC meeting. The money is there, the records are there, the resignations should focus on local government of which I have absolutely no impact, none at all,” he said.
The renewed scrutiny comes as Adekanmbi campaigns to succeed Governor Seyi Makinde in 2027, having secured the APM’s governorship ticket at the party’s primary in Ibadan in May.
Rejecting the “Surrogate” Label
Adekanmbi also addressed persistent claims that Governor Makinde handpicked him for the ticket, insisting the process was broader than a single decision from the governor’s office.
“The governor did not just sit down in his office and drop a list. There was a process leading to the emergence of all the candidates,” he said, adding that public consultations across the state’s sectors and regions shaped the final list of governorship, senatorial and legislative candidates.
He pointed to the party’s relative calm since the primary as proof the process was legitimate. “There were a lot of doomsday predictions that once this happens, the party will implode and explode but none of that has happened,” he said.
On running under the banner of “Omituntun 3.0” — a pledge to continue Makinde’s policy agenda — Adekanmbi rejected any suggestion that this makes him a proxy for the governor.
“Am I a surrogate? I’m no surrogate to Governor Makinde. Governor Makinde has made it clear at many fora that ‘Bimbo, don’t inherit my enemies or liabilities; go and chart your own path,'” he said, adding that Makinde had publicly urged supporters to back his bid while stressing that responsibility for any future decisions would rest with him alone.
A Résumé Spanning Four Governors
Adekanmbi, who has served under successive Oyo administrations, framed his candidacy as the product of decades of accumulated government experience — from Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala through Rashidi Ladoja, Abiola Ajimobi and now Makinde.
“If I’m going to be a third term, I’ll be second term to Governor Akala, second term to Ladoja, third term to Governor Ajimobi, and third term to Seyi Makinde,” he said. “I have been able to learn from the four of them and gotten insights on their strengths and weaknesses.”
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