UPDATED: Makinde absent as Atiku's campaign suffers low turnout in Ibadan

• Published date: 19 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde was conspicuously absent at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign rally in Ibadan, the state capital on Thursday.

His absence also robbed the rally of the usual heavy crowd that normally attends governorship and presidential campaign rallies.

Though the presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his team members hailed the Governor for allowing the rally to hold, and for mobilizing supporters to attend, the crowd fell heavily short of what is usually experienced at Mapo Hall during governorship and presidential campaigns.

Crowds of supporters usually fill up to 500 meter radius around the hall while vehicular movements are usually hindered up to about 700 metres.

But Thursday's crowd only filled the frontage of the hall while residents were going about their normal businesses around the hall.

The rally, which held at the historic Mapo Hall, attracted the national leadership of the party in attendance. The party's presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his running mate Governor Ifeanyi Okowa were also joined by Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto); Ademola...