Akeredolu, deputy trade words over aide’s death

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has described his deputy, Agboola Ajayi, as mischievous over the death of his Chief of Protocol (CoP), Tosin Ogunbodede.

Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Segun Ajiboye, stated on Thursday in Akure that Ajayi and his media aide were making efforts to mock the dead.

The deputy governor had faulted the governor for condoling only with the family of Ogunbodede, who lost his life alongside his driver on Akure/Ilesha road on Saturday.

In a statement, Media Adviser to the Deputy Governor, Allen Sowore, flayed the governor for not condoling with the family of the driver too.

“Governor Akeredolu callously issued a statement through the Commissioner for Information, Donald Ojogo, attributing the death of Tosin Ogunbodede to a private visit to Ibadan to see his sick uncle,” Sowore stated.

The CPS fired back at the deputy in a statement entitled ‘Allen Sowore’s leaders and the dance to no songs and drums’, saying they always lie against the governor.

“It is no longer strange to see Allen Sowore jump onto the opinion box to raise spurious issues, especially as long as Governor Akeredolu is involved,” he said.

He stressed that the deputy governor and his aide were playing politics with the unfortunate incident of the CoP’s death. Ajiboye added: “However, the innocent and unsuspecting reading public deserves to be spared of a narrative that spins lies fed by endless wallow in pains.”

He absolved the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, of any blame in the condolence message, saying: “For emphasis, the statement was clear enough. Only those in the ilk of Allen and his leaders would warp the statement to suit their purposes and motive that are unhidden. Clearly, it does appear the statement halted the trajectory of their narrative as soon as the accident that led to the death of the CoP was reported.”

He explained: “If higher officers such as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief of Staff, Head of Service and even cabinet members communicate with the governor through telephone conversations and mails, commonsense was most unkind not to have interceded on behalf of Allen and his masters who are still in pain over their ignoble past and unholy paths.” ( The Guardian)