After I addressed a press conference today, Monday, December 07, 2009, in Lagos during which I revealed what transpired at the security meeting held at the Government House in Abeokuta on Sunday, December 6, 2009, where the Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, was trying to divert police attention and investigation from the truth, and trying to link the riot by the youths of Ijebu-Ife who were protesting the killing of one of them by members of the Vigilante Group, to Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon.Dimeji Bankole and Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye.
That the Governor insisted severally at the meeting that it was the youths brought to ago-Iwoye during the visit of the Honourable Speaker that stayed back and caused the mayhem at Ijebu Ife.
TV Continental Lagos reported the press conference in its prime news edition of today, Monday, December 07, 2009 at 9:45 p.m. The TV station got in touch with the Ogun State Government and a media aide of Governor Daniel, one Ambrose Okoh spoke to TVC in a telephone conversation.
AMBROSE OKOH said:
1. That my allegation was baseless
2. That I have demonstrated incompetence in the administration of the local government.
3. That I made those allegations to cover up the said incompetence.
4. That “they” (the Government) have confirmed information that I have ran to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole
5. And that what I said at the press conference was the case of a piper that has been paid and that it shows that somebody was actually dictating the tune (a veiled reference to Hon. Dimeji Bankole).
MY RESPONSE:
The said Ambrose Okoh is not in position to say what he has said as he did not participate in the security meeting at the Government House in the afternoon of Sunday, December 6, 2009
I will prefer the following people - Governor Gbenga Daniel; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Gbemi Onakoya; Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mr. Lamidi Odulanwa; the Ogun State Commissioner of Police; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Aare Tunde Alabi; Kabiyesi Oba A.A. Oguntayo, the Ajalorun of Ijebu-Ife, Director of State Security Service (SSS); the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Abayomi Majekodunmi and a Brigade Commander – who were at the meeting to come out and deny my statement that the Governor was trying to persuade the security meeting that the matter should be linked to Bankole and Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye.
RUNNING TO HONOURABLE BANKOLE
Close to two years now, I have never met, seen or exchanged any correspondence either directly or indirectly, by text or telephone conversation with Hon. Dimeji Bankole. That I ran to him, as claimed by the State Government is obviously a figment of their imagination. Of course the white lie exposed the wild and mean machination of those at the helms of affairs at the state level.
The lie about my running to Speaker Dimeji Bankole is a further confirmation of the plan to rope in the Speaker of the House of Reps which I have vowed never to be part of.
ALLEGATION OF INCOMPETENCE
I seriously doubt if Mr. Ambrose Okoh understands the meaning of incompetence. Having being rehabilitated with his present position not long ago by Otunba Gbenga Daniel, he is obviously yet to settle down to understand the terrain in which he is working.
Otherwise, how will Mr. Okoh and his paymaster justify the spurious allegation of incompetence against my leadership of Ijebu East in view of the following indubitable facts:
1.The monitoring committee set up by the State Government last year reported back that Ijebu East Local Government was the overall best local government in Ogun State in a report submitted to Governor Gbenga Daniel who congratulated me in a text message.
2. The Media Assessment Team set up by the Otunba Gbenga Daniel administration, and headed by Segun Sowunmi, voted Ijebu East as the Best in Information management for two consecutive years.
3. The Gateway Mirror newspapers owned by Otunba Gbenga Daniel, after deep research and public opinion, returned Ijebu East as Best Local Government in Ogun State for Year 2008 and 2009.
4. The NIPR, Ogun State branch honoured Ijebu East as the Most Outstanding Local Government in Ogun State, 2008.
5. The National Association of Nigerian Students, Ogun State chapter last week Friday honoured me as the Best Local Government Chairman.
6. The Nigerian Tribune on the occasion of its 60th anniversary has nominated me among top five chairmen in Ogun State, and according to the Managing Director, Rev. Sam Adesua, I am on top of the five. And to demonstrate this, Rev. Adesua was scheduled to conduct a facility tour of my local government on Tuesday, December 8, 2009.
7. All the Governor’s praises and encomiums poured on me when he visited my local government on October 30, 2008, were well recorded for posterity.
ADDITIONAL AND INCONTROVERTIBLE FACTS ABOUT MY ADMINISTRATION
• On December 27, 2007, I met a debt portfolio of about N32 million
• I cleared this debt within five months of my administration
• As at today, my local government does not owe any money to any bank, not even one naira. Our account at First Bank Nigeria Plc, Ogbere-Ijebu, confirms this.
• As at today, the local government has more than N6 million in its account.
• As I am writing this, works are going on simultaneously in various parts of the local government on the rehabilitation of streetlights, renovation of a block of two classrooms at Oke-Araromi, Imobi.
• Construction of a brand new health centre at Orita J4 which is ready for commissioning. This health centre was requested from Otunba Gbenga Daniel by the people of Ajibandele Ward during his second term electioneering.The local government had to move in to construct it with its funds in view of the symbiotic relationship between the two levels of government in the state produced by the same party.
• The last local government that asphalted a road was that of Otunba Adebola Adekoya, about 20 years. The present administration has asphalted three roads. They were handled by reputable construction firms within 15 months of our administration.
• As at now, we still have ten 500/33KVA transformers, bought by the local government, which are awaiting installation.
FINALLY, OUR SAD OBSERVATION:
Up till the point of writing this report (11:30 p.m., Monday December 7, 2009), and going by all the media reports (print and electronic, government and private) about this incident, the Executive Governor and Chief Security Officer of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has not deemed it fit to commiserate with the government and good people of Ijebu East Local Government over the unfortunate incident that led to the death of ACP Omolodun, and several youths. It is even more so when the exact number of casualties from that ugly incident is yet to be ascertained.
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