JUST IN: Makinde awaits commissioner, special adviser nominees from Ajimobi/Adelabu group
Yinka ADETUNJI
The Senator Abiola Ajimobi Coalition (SENACO), a formidable leg in the Oyo state All Progressives Congress (APC) has been given concession to nominate one commissioner and six special advisers to be considered for approval into the Oyo state cabinet, ogbomosoinsightonline.com can reveal.
The “booty” is to be shared with the Accord Party “adventurers” who left APC for the Accord Party after Chief Adebayo Adelabu was played out of reckoning in the race for the APC gubernatorial ticket towards the 2023 general elections.
In the Accord Party Adelabu popularly known as Penkelemesi and who was APC gubernatorial flag bearer in 2019 picked the ticket to contest against APC standard bearer Senator Teslim Folarin and Engr Seyi Makinde the incumbent governor who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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It was a complex game, as Makinde, it is an open secret, worked vigorously for the victory of APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu (who is now president) while SENACO members allegedly ditched their party’s candidate Folarin for Makinde who went on to attain victory. The Penkelemesi camp in Accord Party also was said to have put the sail out of their candidate’s drive to support Makinde’s electoral success for a second term but they all worked for the victory of Tinubu.
“Everybody owes everybody,” that is how a party chieftain who spoke on condition of anonymity put it while speaking with ogbomosoinsightonline.com.
“That is why President Tinubu asked Governor Makinde to nominate a minister which though fell through and reciprocally why the latter had requested a commissioner and five or six special adviser nominees from the SENACO/Penkelemesi group.”
ogbomosoinsightonline.com had reported that Makinde alloted two commissionership slots to the group as well as that the governor was shopping for a Muslim as Secretary to the State Government (SSG) which former First Lady Florence Ajimobi however vehemently debunked through a press release titled “No overtures from Governor Makinde on commissionership slots,” which were widely circulated.
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But today a Muslim Professor Olanike Kudirat Adeyemo is SSG even as out of seventeen commissioners proposed to be appointed 15 had been appointed remaining two slots according to the Oyo state government official website – commissioners for youth and sports development as well as for health.
ogbomosoinsightonline.com could not reach Senator Ayo Adeseun a leader in the SENACO/Penkelemesi group to speak on the matter as calls made to his mobile lines were not picked as at the time of filing this report.
But speaking on behalf of Mrs. Ajimobi, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, former Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy, said though the group had learnt of it through the social media there was no such offer on the table as at present.
He had spoken with ogbomosoinsightonline.com on phone during which he further said something like that however was not strange in politics averring if it turned out to be true that it would have to be considered on the basis of merit with the future in view.
“We are also reading it on social media. It is in the governor’s discretionary power to offer such and it is not something that is strange and it is also the prerogative of the recipient to either accept or reject depending on whatever we have on the table, we will have to consider what will pay everybody.
“If put on the table the committee set up to work on it will be appropriately informed and they will make the right choice but right now I can tell you that we are also hearing it like other people are hearing it. But as at now we have not heard anything like that,” Tunji Submitted.
