…. ..No Fight Between Governor Abiodun And His Deputy, Salako-Oyedele
Chairman of the Ogun State House of Assembly Service Commission, Hon. Waliu Taiwo has debunked the rumour going round that Governor Dapo Abiodun of the state and his Deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele are at loggerheads.
Taiwo, who had been a commissioner and member of the state house of assembly said in an interview with the Publisher of Ogun News Express (ONE), Alhaji Malik Ibitoye that the two leaders are working as one.
He also carpeted those insinuating that the Deputy Governor and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tokunbo Talabi had an altercation at an event where he had gone to represent the Governor. Excerpts……
There is news going round the state about the three most important politicians in the state, the Governor, Deputy Governor and the Speaker of the state house of assembly that they have all left for abroad at the same time. We also heard that the deputy governor and secretary to the state government had an altercation at an event, can you tell us what really happened and what you know about the traveling of the governor and his deputy?
I have read a lot about the Governor, Dapo Abiodun and the Deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele as well as the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Olumo, unfortunately I don’t know much about the movement of the Governor and I am not the spokesperson of the Deputy Governor. But she is my sister, we are from the same state and I am very close to her. You will recall that we had the local government elections and the Governor and the Deputy were everywhere. After that, the party congresses took place and this woman was also there and the governor. After that, we did the burial activities of the father of the of the Governor. I know all the while that the deputy governor had been complaining that once all these were over, she would have to go and rest. The deputy governor was physically present at the burial and I later met with her about the problems in our local government and council appointments. She said she would travel and that she would be back before October 2, thinking that we would have had our state congress then. The deputy governor even travelled before the Governor travelled. So, it’s a programme that had been on, there was no friction about it. Immediately she travelled, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly had meetings at the United Nations. I also heard that there were some Chinese businessmen and the Governor would meet with them in London. The governor is a human being, he went everywhere during the local government elections and the burial of his father. He needed to rest as a human being; I don’t why all these noise. We are aware of some governors in the north that would leave their states for months. He travelled to meet with the investors from China.
We heard that the Deputy Governor angrily left the state because the Governor did not transmit power to her?
I don’t know where such happened. They said there was an altercation between the deputy governor and the SSG, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, when the SSG went to represent the Governor, this is not true, these are all lies, it is their imagination. The Deputy Governor even travelled before the Governor. Back at home here, most of our people in Ota said that they wanted to fight for the Deputy Governor, I can say it anywhere that the Deputy Governor wanted to travel before the state congress and she travelled before the Governor travelled. So, what is the fuss about the governor traveling out of the state.. All these are politically motivated… have they asked the deputy governor or we from Ota that?. You see, the governor can delegate responsibilities from anywhere he is all over the world. Why do we have zoom meetings all over the world. We should not create tension where there is none. Gov Abiodun is doing everything to make things work again in Ogun state and we must appreciate him. All these are unnecessary distractions.
We learned that the Governor doesn’t trust the Deputy and that he couldn’t have given power to her, which was why he did what he did?
Who said so? The Governor is close to the Deputy and there are a lot of things he asks her to do and I know that she is happy working with him. We should know that the Deputy Governor is not the same with the Governor and their roles are specified in the constitution. They should tell us if they spoke with the governor, or it was the deputy that complained to them to know about her feelings. All these are not true. But we are entering into the election period; the Governor and the Deputy should expect more of these. But we are here to protect and defend them. We are here to face anything that comes. I would be 70 years old next year, there is nobody I cannot face, if you tell me what is not true, I will ask you to come and tell me, where you heard it from. Pls, it is important we let the people of Ogun state know the truth. These are the facts and if anyone has contrary fact, the person should come out and spill it out. We don’t run a hidden government here. Dapo Abiodun is a true man of God who has come to right all the wrongs of the past administration. He trusts his deputy and they work like siamese twins.
