Senator Adelere Oriolowo representing Osun Senatorial district in the National Assembly, on Tuesday, demanded for an unreserved apology from the Osun state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke for linking his personality with certain equipment and machines belonging to the Government which said to have been illegally taken away and in my possession.
Sometimes in December 2022, the media space was saturated with reports that certain equipment and machines belonging to the Government of Osun were illegally taken away and in my possession.
The lawmaker who gave the governor a 7-day ultimatum or face the wrath of law, however, requested for five hundred million naira as compensation for dragging his name into the mud.
Making these remarks at a press conference held in Iwo in the state, Senator Oriolowo, further gave the governor a 7- day ultimatum to retract the claim or face the wrath of law.
He however maintained that, ” I have thus instructed my lawyers to write to the State Government demanding a letter of apology within seven (7) days and to also pay the sum of Five Hundred Million Naira (N500,000,000) as compensation for the unquantifiable damage done to my name and integrity.
‘My lawyer’s letter has since been received by the Government on the 30th December, 2022 and it is my hope that this Government will retrace its steps, retract the publication and apologize to me. Failure in which, I will use all legal means available to me to get justice.”
“In addition, it is a bit embarrassing for Governor Ademola Adeleke who also happens to be a former lawmaker to be surrounded by neophytes who only wants to play politics and not hit the ground of governance running. The failure of the Governor to play by the rules and his continuous railroading by these sycophants may spell the doom of his teething administration.”
“I am a stakeholder in the Osun project, I dedicated 35years of my life to the development of our dear State as a Civil Servant, thereafter, my people reposed their faith in me by electing me as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
“The said report authored by an Assets Recovery Committee of the State set up by Governor Ademola Adeleke indicated that I was in custody of 130GMotoGrader (005132-A321),D6 Bulldozer (OS130-A32), Electric Transformer Feeder Board Panel and Soil Compactor Machine (OS137- A32).”
“I was taken aback as to why a committee of the State would jettison the principle of fair hearing by inviting me to defend whatever report they must have gotten. I also reliably gathered that this said committee failed to submit their report to their principal before going to the public to malign my name”.
“The he said equipment which belongs to the then OSSADEP were in existence when I left the agency 15years ago. To the best of my knowledge, some of them were transferred to the Ministry of Rural Development to assist the government. A simple due diligence or investigation by the committee who have unraveled the salient fact that the equipment are still property of the Osun State Government.”
“It is my conclusion that the said publication is a blatant falsehood, a naked display of recklessness, sacrilegious dereliction of truth and unjustifiable character assassination. Since the publication, many well- meaning people within and outside the shores of Nigeria have continuously reached out to me for clarification and solidarity,”he concluded.
