The controversy trailing the level of participation of Oyo State government in the burial of former governor Abiola Ajimobi took another turn on Tuesday as the family of another former governor Kolapo Ishola revealed that late Ajimobi did not pay them a dime following his demise.
The family made the announcement in a statement signed by their spokesman, Mr. Amos Akinlabi Ishola in reaction to a claim by the former chief of staff to late former governor Abiola Ajimobi, Dr. Gbade Ojo.
Ojo was, while fielding questions on an Ibadan based private radio station, IBR 92.5 FM Radio last Saturday, quoted as saying that more than N30million was released to the family of late governor Ishola by the Ajimobi’s administration to support the burial of the former governor.
The statement by the family’s spokesman read in parts: ”The family position becomes imperative to put records straight and disabuse the minds of the innocent public, whom Dr. Gbade Ojo had fed with deliberate falsehood on the burial of Chief Ishola.
”For the avoidance of doubt and sake of emphasis aside the facts that no single dime was given to the Ishola family during the burial of our dearly beloved dad, the family also stated without fear of contradiction that the government of governor Ajimobi did not participate nor were they represented at the week long burial obsequies on August, 2011.
“Chief Kolapo Ishola of blessed memory during his life time was a peaceful and peace loving statesman and as a peace loving family, we would ordinarily not want to join issues on the raging controversies between the Oyo state government and the family of late governor Ajimobi, but for the need to put the record straight, and to disabuse the minds of the innocent public.”
The spokesman also noted that he expected someone of Dr. Gbade Ojo’s academic, intellectual, and social standing to always present his positions and arguments on empirical facts based on sound unbiased research efforts.
He wrote further: “The family of former governor Kolapo Ishola has also been vindicated through a letter written by the Oyo state government in 2013 by the permanent secretary, ministry of finance. In the letter dated 7th March, 2013 and addressed to the eldest son, Barrister Adekunle Ishola and signed by D.O. Olatunde for the honourable commissioner for finance stated: I wish to refer to your letter with reference no KIC /11/2013 dated 8th January, 2013 on the above subject matter and inform you that the state government did not appropriate any fund in respect of the burial expenses of late Chief Kolapo Olawuyi Ishola since the family turned down government gesture.”
He added that the family had to turn down the government’s gesture when it became certain they were playing politics with it.
