EXCLUSIVE: Council Chairmen Meet, Withdraw Appointment Of Olopoeyan’s Allies

To show their loyalty to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde, council chairmen have allegedly agreed to withdraw the appointments of supervisors and special advisers identified with the camp of Allied Peoples Movement (APM) chieftain, Alhaji Adebisi Olopoeyan.

This was disclosed by one of the affected appointees in a telephone conversation obtained by OYOINSIGHT.COM, who alleged that the 33 local government chairmen had met and agreed that political appointees loyal to Olopoeyan should be removed.

The woman, whose identity is being withheld, said her involvement in Olopoeyan’s camp had become a subject of confrontation with the chairman of the local government where she served.

She alleged that the chairman challenged her participation in Olopoeyan’s political activities and subsequently stopped her salary, adding that she was later told the directive to remove Olopoeyan’s loyalists was coming from “power from above.”

According to her, she eventually had to sign an undertaking before she could receive her August salary, but said she had refused to resign her appointment.

She added that after hearing about the alleged decision involving the 33 council chairmen, she contacted the chairman of the local government where she served, who she said confirmed that the directive was genuine.

The development comes amid the lingering crisis within the APM over the forthcoming local government elections, particularly the allocation and emergence of chairmanship candidates.

Olopoeyan’s camp has insisted that candidates who emerged from the party’s August 3 primary should retain their mandates, while rival candidates linked to the Governor Seyi Makinde camp have emerged in the dispute. The matter is currently before the court. OYOINSIGHT.COM had reported.

Olopoeyan had earlier said the disagreement was rooted in the distribution of political positions, alleging that his group had sought a share of positions, including local government chairmanship and councillorship slots, but was sidelined.

The affected appointee further alleged that the pressure had forced her to participate in the APM campiagn.

“They didn’t want to pay me for August. I had to beg. I have not been paid for September. They are so harsh on us,” she alleged.

She also alleged that other appointees associated with Olopoeyan were facing similar pressure, although OYOINSIGHT.COM could not independently establish whether all 33 council chairmen had implemented the alleged decision or whether the reported directive applied uniformly across the state.

A source close to Olopoeyan said the politician had started paying some of the affected appointees from his personal purse. “He pays supervisors N100,000 each while special assistants get N75,000. He has paid them for two months running,” he said.