Governor Abiola Ajimobi has assured the people of Oyo State that he will never be swayed by the political antics of former governor Rashidi Ladoja.
According to Ajimobi, spoke at a meeting with Ibadan traditional rulers and also attended by Ibadan senior chiefs, members of the Ibadan Elders’ Forum, chairmen of the 11 local governments and 14 local council development areas in Ibadan as well as members of the state executive council on Wednesday.
He, however, vowed not to be intimidated by what he called Ladoja’s pull-him-down syndrome and self-centredness.
Ajimobi, who described the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, as a good man, with liberal disposition, however, expressed the regret that he had allowed his palace to be hijacked by those he called failed politicians and serial losers, “especially the Accord Party leader, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja, to relaunch his faded political career.”
He said that their plans were not only to heat up the polity but also to return Ibadan metropolis to the dark days when arson, violence and brigandage reigned supreme, all targeted at the 2019 general elections.
The governor added, “Reports at our disposal indicate that the crisis that had trailed the appointment of new obas in Ibadan and the gun attack on the Olubadan palace on Monday might have been masterminded by these failed politicians.
“They have taken advantage of Kabiyesi’s advanced age to carry out their nefarious activities and use the palace as the centre of opposition to the government. What they failed to achieve through the ballot box, they want to achieve through the back door.
“Our government is not for violence. We don’t encourage brigandage. It is people like Ladoja who have been promoting violence that were behind the attack on Olubadan’s palace. It was during Ladoja’s regime that gunmen shot into the late Baba (Lamidi) Adedibu’s house because of his opposition to him.
“Ladoja’s supporters caused mayhem in Akure (Ondo State) when he lost out in his bid to be endorsed as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party. During his administration, even the governor’s office became a theatre of war. All these are on record.”
