The cold war between Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and
his Ondo State counterpart, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), may soon
escalate following the attack on the Osun State Commissioner for
Regional Integration, Mr. Bola Ilori, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Ilori, who is an indigene of Ondo town and a serving commissioner
in Osun State, was attacked by some hoodlums in Akure on Thursday during
an All Progressives Congress meeting on restructuring.
Reacting to the attack on Ilori, , Aregbesola in a statement issued
by his media aide, Mr. Sola Fasure, described the alleged attack as
barbaric, saying it was an indirect attack on the people of Osun State,
who Ilori represented at the forum.
The governor’s aide claimed that Ilori was exposed to danger by
“some top government officials,” who had some issues with him, saying
they failed to protect him and other delegates from Osun State.
Aregbesola’s media aide also described as undiplomatic the
statement credited to the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Mr.
Yemi Olowolabi, who accused the Osun delegates as aggressors, who came
to the venue with the aim of disrupting the meeting.
Fasure said,
“The statement credited to Hon. Yemi Olowolabi
that ‘what happened is sad but avoidable. It is apparent the Osun
delegates came prepared with thugs, charms, ammunition and cudgels to an
event which was supposed to be an all-APC event’ was highly
undiplomatic and not expected from a commissioner of that status.
“This state of affairs was far from the truth as Olowolabi made
people to believe. The Osun delegates simply went armed with their
intellect to marshal the position of the state.
“Why would a delegate go with dangerous objects to a conference
on restructuring when Ondo and Osun are not at war or in confrontation
over any issue?
“Ilori represented the government and people of Osun.
Therefore, he deserved to be accorded the courtesy and respect due to
the state. He deserved to be protected by the government of Ondo State
as well as security agencies at the venue of the conference.
“All these safety measures were not put in place. Rather Hon.
Ilori was exposed to attack by some top government official, who
reportedly had axe to grind with Ilori over election matters in the
state.
“The attack on Ilori is barbaric and reprehensible, to say the
least. It is no doubt an attack on the entire people and Government of
Osun State, whom Ilori represented at the meeting. We condemn in strong
terms this affront on the people and Government of Osun State, which the
attack on our delegate signposted.”
Ilori was the Director General of the campaign organisation of
Olusola Oke, who defected from the APC to become the candidate of the
Alliance for Democracy during the governorship election which Akeredolu
eventually won.