Claim: An X user, @ishaqsamaila5, shared a post claiming that Gov. Seyi Makinde has stripped Wike of the “honour” conferred on him by the Oyo State government. Verdict: True. The only formal honour Makinde conferred on Wike was naming the 8.3 km Idi-Ape/Akobo-Olorunda Abaa Road after him in 2023. Governor Makinde has officially withdrawn that
Claim: An X user, @ishaqsamaila5, shared a post claiming that Gov. Seyi Makinde has stripped Wike of the “honour” conferred on him by the Oyo State government.
Verdict: True. The only formal honour Makinde conferred on Wike was naming the 8.3 km Idi-Ape/Akobo-Olorunda Abaa Road after him in 2023. Governor Makinde has officially withdrawn that honour.
Full Story
Governor Makinde and former Rivers State governor and now FCT minister Nyesom Wike were part of the “G5 Governors” (Makinde, Wike, Ortom, Ikpeazu, and Ugwuanyi) who opposed the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in 2023, demanding power rotation to the South.
In June 2023, shortly after President Tinubu’s election victory, Makinde named the Akobo-Olorunda/Abaa road in Ibadan after Wike.
By 2025, tensions escalated during preparations for a PDP zonal congress in Jos, with Wike’s ties to another party fuelling mistrust. The crisis deepened after the controversial PDP convention in Ibadan (Nov 2025), which produced rival leadership structures. Makinde’s camp backed the constitutionally recognised PDP leadership, while Wike’s faction supported an alternative caretaker committee.
This split reflects a fundamental divide: Makinde wants PDP to survive as a credible opposition, while Wike prioritises personal influence within APC. Makinde even accused Wike of pushing for a “one-party state”, warning of risks to Nigeria’s democracy.
Recently, Makinde reportedly described Wike as a “vagabond” in the PDP after Wike threatened to take over party affairs in Oyo State.
Against this backdrop, social media posts began circulating, alleging that Makinde had stripped Wike of the honour previously conferred on him. The claim spread across Facebook, Instagram, and another blog. sparking mixed reactions.
Joshua Orum described the alleged act as “childish behaviour”. @OluchiPres13836 also got worried about the situation, asking, “When will they make peace? This is getting out of hand ”.
Bode Okunfulire also found the alleged stripping dishonourable on the part of the governor, saying, “…this is childish idea politics with bitterness.”
See the screenshot of the claim below
NDRFactCheck verified the truth of this claim.
Verification
NDRFactCheck reviewed available information and found no credible mainstream news outlet reporting that Makinde stripped Wike of the honour.
Rather, stories have focused on Makinde’s resistance to Wike’s alleged attempts to meddle in Oyo politics ahead of 2027, and a factional PDP congress in Ibadan aligned with Wike. None of these reports mentioned the stripping of honours.
Meanwhile, we found that the alleged stripping was published only by verified social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and another blog.
Digging deep, we traced the claim to a YouTube video, confirming the road named after Wike had been renamed “Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu Road.”
However, the video used in most of the social media reviewed turned out to be a recirculated clip of the original 2023 honouring ceremony.
No recent video confirmed the new development.
See the screenshot of the video
When we checked the Oyo State Government’s official website for official confirmation, we found no related information.
NDRFactcheck then contacted Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, the Special Adviser on Media and the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Seyi Makinde via SMS; no response was received.
We then contacted the state government via @FeedbackOYSG on WhatsApp; the claim was confirmed, thus:
Thank you for contacting us. Governor Seyi Makinde has renamed the 8.3km Akobo-Olorunda Abaa Road to Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu Road, from its initial name, Governor Nyesom Wike Road.
In conclusion, while we confirmed that the only formal honour Governor Makinde conferred on Wike was naming the 8.3km Idi-Ape/Akobo-Olorunda Abaa Road after him in June 2023, the investigation shows that the governor has officially withdrawn that honour.
Official sources and verified social media platforms confirmed the renaming story.
Hence, the claim that Makinde stripped Wike of the honour is verified.
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