Adebayo Abdulrahman
The immediate past communications minister, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, has revealed that he doesn’t know the ‘special relationship’ that existed between ex-governor Abiola Ajimobi and Mrs Hannah Ogunesan, who is the immediate past head of service in the state.
The saki-born former minister asked this question as part of the many accusations he leveled against the nomination and appointment of Ajimobi as deputy national chairman (south) of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Shittu made this known in a letter to the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomole, as a rejoinder to an advertorial published in The Nation newspaper of March 2, 2020 titled “RANDOM RESPONSES TO THE TANTRUMS OF EX-GOVERNOR AJIMOBI’S MINIONS”.
Shittu, in the letter made available to OYOINSIGHT.COM also asked that what justification Ajimobi had to have promoted Ogunesan to a permanent secretary position and then to head of service “over about seven of her seniors in the civil service.”
“In paragraphs 7 and 8 of the letter under reference, the immediate Former Deputy Governor (Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo) under Abiola Ajimobi was unfairly castigated as not meriting the opportunity of being Deputy Governor twice. But the big question to ask at this juncture is: In what way is Abiola Ajimobi better than Alake Adeyemo but for crass opportunism? Who were those (Alake Adeyemo’s) people who preferred someone else? A case of calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it,” he explained.
He explained further: ,” Come to think of it: What justification did Abiola Ajimobi have for subjugating Deputy Governor Alake to the whips and caprices of an ordinary civil servant in person of Mrs Wumi Ogunesan who Abiola Ajimobi promoted to Permanent Secretary and then to Head of service over and above about seven seniors in service?
“What Special relationship existed between ex- Governor Ajimobi and Ogunesan, wife of my erstwhile senior at Baptist High School, Saki to have transformed Wumi into a behemoth of a goddess that Ajimobi undeservedly and meritoriously transformed her into? One wonders whether Ajimobi really has a conscience and his minions like Chief Akin Oke and others never saw anything wrong in Ajimobi perpetual wickedness. A clear evidence that Chief Akin Oke has never had any relationship with the Yoruba adage that “Agba kii wa loja, ki ori omo tuntun o wo”.
“If indeed former deputy governor Alake Adeyemo is a liability to APC as described in the paragraphs under reference, how do you then describe political neophyte Chief Akin Oke and his paymaster, the constituted authority himself whose “authority” flatly failed to rescue him in his self- centred bid for the 9th Senate? Perhaps, a more acceptable APC candidates could have won the seat for our party.
“As for a reference to the purported attempt by Alake Adeyemo to contest for Oyo State Governorship, I believe the only offence of Alake Adeyemo which warranted his being frustrated by Abiola Ajimobi and his minions out of the race is the fact that Alake is from Oke Ogun, a zone which Abiola Ajimobi relishes in calling awon Ara-Oko (i.e. Bush people). He has similarly referred to me as “Ara-Oko” and so, not deserving to become the Oyo State Governor. Whereas many of us from Oke Ogun and other non- Ibadan areas are as intelligent and patriotic as the Ibadans, and certainly brought-up better, in areas of morality and incorruptibility, than Sen. Abiola Ajimobi.”
Shittu added that, “If not for Ajimobi’s wickedness, what did Alake Adeyemo do to justify the extent of oppression, insults and marginalisation visited upon an extremely loyal Deputy such as Alake Adeyemo?”
Shittu’s letter is part of the ongoing war of words between factions of the APC in Oyo State over Ajimobi’s recent appointment into the National Executive Council of the party.
