Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, didn’t have a complete knowledge about how Raufu Olaniyan, his deputy who was removed last week, emerged as his running mate in the build up to the 2019 election, Saka Balogun, a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state has revealed.
Nigerian Tribune quoted Balogun, a former chief of staff in the administration of late former governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, as making this revelation while fielding questions from reporters after leading a delegation of leaders, elders and political appointees of the PDP administration on a courtesy call on Bayo Lawal, who replaced Olaniyan, at the Agodi government secretariat yesterday.
The historian appealed to the people of the Oke Ogun zone of the state to see both the former and current deputy governors of the state as one and same from a family.
Apparently reacting to insinuations of rancour and bitterness among the people of Okeogun occasioned by the removal of Olaniyan and the swearing-in of Lawal as a replacement, Balogun said there should not be any issue since both are from the same Oke Ogun zone of the state.
Pleading for calm and togetherness among the people of the Okeogun, Balogun said “The governor did not mince words, he complained that the emergence of the former deputy governor Olaniyan was not completely to his knowledge and he felt a little trick to it. Maybe that was the basis of lack of complete understanding between him and the former deputy governor.
“We don’t want that type of situation to repeat itself. We know some of the details, we had an opportunity of intervening. But, so far so good, now, with the new deputy governor, of course, there will be some complaints here and there from the same Okeogun, but we will try our best to make sure that since the replacement is also from Okeogun, they should see it as part of the whole and that there should be no rancour.
“Maybe if the replacement is from another zone, there could be justification for complaints of being unfair to them. But, with this, we have been able to know how to deal with them so that we can work together. My appeal is to the people of Okeogun to see Lawal and Olaniyan as one and the same, coming from the same family of Oke Ogun.”
Speaking on the purpose of the visit to the new Deputy Governor, Balogun said the group came on a solidarity visit to assure Lawal of the support of the Ogbomoso people in his new task.
He said: “The purpose of our visit is to show solidarity with one of us, the new Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal. He is from Kishi, Kishi is from Oke Ogun, Oke Ogun is part of the Oyo North senatorial district.
“Ogbomoso is the second arm of Okeogun in Oyo North senatorial district. So, you see the link. We came to demonstrate that he is one of us, we solidarise with him and we will be too happy to cooperate with him to make sure that Seyi Makinde’s administration is succeeding and that the second term will be taken on a platter of gold.
“That is the main purpose of our visit, to let him know that he has the support of Ogbomoso zone.”
