An aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola who was attacked at the burial of late Senator Isiaka Adeleke on Monday, Hon Idiat Babalola, on Tuesday explained why such attack was launched on her.
She said the attack was carried out over unfounded rumours that she wants to be Deputy Governor after the current tenure of the governor.
Babalola, who was attacked shortly after arriving the venue of the burial, said she sensed trouble when some of the hoodlums started to make utterances which suggested that her rumoured deputy governorship ambition was to checkmate the governorship ambition of the late Senator, who had openly declared his intention to succeed Governor Aregbesola.
She explains: “I am a proud daughter of Ede and Uncle Isiaka has been a mentor and we never had any disagreement till the news of his death was broken to me while in Lagos on Sundaymorning. I was heartbroken and immediately cut all my other engagements and came down to Ede from Lagos.
“We worked together with Uncle for the re-election of Governor Aregbesola in 2014 and for his own election into the Senate in 2015.
“Those who masterminded the attacks on me are people with poor understanding of the relationship between us and who act based on their own political permutations only,” Babalola said .
She explained that she was at the burial in company with her father, Chief SOB Babalola, a prominent industrialist who is also a friend to the later father of now late Senator Adeleke.
“Not long after we sat down for the prayers, I sensed some hoodlums saying some things like I wanting to be deputy governor while Uncle (Senator Adeleke) has declared his ambition to be governor from the same Ede. I heard them talking about the new caretaker committee members being more of my loyalists than those of Senator Adeleke. And before we knew it, they grew more daring and unruly and brought down the canopy on the dignitaries present. It was the most unruly and irresponsible act I have seen in our land in history,” Babalola said
She said there is no reason for the people of Ede, in spite of their political differences, to have any misgiving against Aregbesola saying that the city has benefitted immensely under the Aregbesola administration.
Babalola expressed appreciation to Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, whom she said dropped the honour of being a governor to practically engage the hoodlums not to carry out their more dastardly plots.
She said the attack was carried out over unfounded rumours that she wants to be Deputy Governor after the current tenure of the governor.
Babalola, who was attacked shortly after arriving the venue of the burial, said she sensed trouble when some of the hoodlums started to make utterances which suggested that her rumoured deputy governorship ambition was to checkmate the governorship ambition of the late Senator, who had openly declared his intention to succeed Governor Aregbesola.
She explains: “I am a proud daughter of Ede and Uncle Isiaka has been a mentor and we never had any disagreement till the news of his death was broken to me while in Lagos on Sundaymorning. I was heartbroken and immediately cut all my other engagements and came down to Ede from Lagos.
“We worked together with Uncle for the re-election of Governor Aregbesola in 2014 and for his own election into the Senate in 2015.
“Those who masterminded the attacks on me are people with poor understanding of the relationship between us and who act based on their own political permutations only,” Babalola said .
She explained that she was at the burial in company with her father, Chief SOB Babalola, a prominent industrialist who is also a friend to the later father of now late Senator Adeleke.
“Not long after we sat down for the prayers, I sensed some hoodlums saying some things like I wanting to be deputy governor while Uncle (Senator Adeleke) has declared his ambition to be governor from the same Ede. I heard them talking about the new caretaker committee members being more of my loyalists than those of Senator Adeleke. And before we knew it, they grew more daring and unruly and brought down the canopy on the dignitaries present. It was the most unruly and irresponsible act I have seen in our land in history,” Babalola said
She said there is no reason for the people of Ede, in spite of their political differences, to have any misgiving against Aregbesola saying that the city has benefitted immensely under the Aregbesola administration.
Babalola expressed appreciation to Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, whom she said dropped the honour of being a governor to practically engage the hoodlums not to carry out their more dastardly plots.