A controversy over the use of the historic Mapo Hall in Ibadan for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign took a fresh turn on Tuesday after Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, directed that the facility be released to the All Progressives Congress, hours after the party’s request for the venue was rejected on the grounds that it had already been booked.
The development has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the initial refusal, particularly as Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, is one of Tinubu’s challengers in the 2027 presidential election.
The APC had applied to use the premises of Mapo Hall for its presidential campaign rally in Oyo State, where Tinubu is scheduled to campaign on November 21.
According to a letter from the Ibadan Local Governments Properties Company Limited, the agency responsible for the facility, the party’s application could not be granted because another applicant had earlier booked the venue.
The letter, signed by the agency’s Principal Executive Officer 1, Akano Musibau, acknowledged an APC request dated October 20, 2026.
“I have the directive of the management to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 20th October, 2026 with respect to the above subject matter,” the letter read in part.
The agency added that “the proposed date is not available based on the fact that it has been booked by another applicant earlier.”
The refusal quickly generated political interest because of the increasingly competitive relationship between the APC-controlled Federal Government and Makinde, who is seeking to unseat Tinubu next year.
Makinde formally entered the presidential race earlier this year and has since emerged as one of the opposition candidates campaigning against the President.
As controversy over the rejection gathered momentum on Tuesday, Makinde distanced his administration from any suggestion that opposition parties could be prevented from using public facilities in the state.
The governor said no political party should be denied access to government-owned facilities provided it complied with the established conditions governing their use.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Makinde said public assets belonged to the people of Oyo State and should be administered transparently and without partisan considerations.
“No political party should be denied access to public facilities in Oyo State provided the established requirements for their use are duly satisfied,” the governor said.
He added that his administration was committed to providing a level playing field for political parties, insisting that organisations which fulfilled the conditions for using public facilities should not face discrimination or unjust restrictions.
But the governor went beyond the declaration of principle.
Later on Tuesday, he directed the management of the Ibadan Local Governments Properties Company Limited to release the Mapo Hall premises to the APC for the presidential rally.
Makinde also directed the agency to provide a suitable alternative venue for the applicant who had reportedly booked the facility earlier.
The directive effectively resolved the immediate dispute over whether the APC would be able to hold its rally at Mapo Hall, but it also introduced another dimension to the controversy.
The dispute comes less than a month before Tinubu is expected in Oyo State as part of the APC’s nationwide campaign ahead of the 2027 general election.
The party’s campaign timetable schedules its Ibadan rally for November 21, with the President expected to attend personally.
