Politics
2023: ‘Lafi’ has been vindicated – Group reacts to alleged ‘sponsored story’ to malign ex-Oyo lawmaker
A group, Lagelu/Akinyele Non-Aligned Movement on Wednesday bemoaned an online news medium, Sahara Reporters for turning itself into an instrument being used by politicians to malign their opponents to pursue their selfish ambition.
The group made this assertion while reacting to a story published yesterday 13th April, 2022 with the headline: “Oyo Group Kicks As Alleged Killer of House of Representatives Member, Sugar, Declares To Run in 2023″ which it said was sponsored by political opponents purposely to malign and impugn the personality of Hon. Olafisoye Akinmoyede ahead of the 2023 general elections.
It also noted that the former council boss and lawmaker, Olafisoye has been vindicated in the murder allegation levelled against him as he was discharged and acquitted by the Oyo State High Court .
According to the group, Sahara Reporters went ahead to state that Olafisoye was arrested as the prime suspect in the murder of Olatoye Sugar in 2019.
But, in a statement issued and signed by its Chairman and Secretary of Lagelu/Akinyele Non-Aligned Movement group, Comrade Kolawole Ishola and Adedeji Adewale, the group expressed its utmost disappointment that an online platform like Sahara Reporters could descend so low to the extent of allowing a faceless group under the spurious name of Lagelu Legacy Youth Movement to publish such a misleading report aimed at blackmailing the former Chief Whip of the Oyo State House of Assembly, an indigene of Lagelu Local Government for their mendacious frustrating agenda.
The group added that it was surprised that Sahara Reporters who wrote in its report that “Olafisoye was arrested as the prime suspect in the murder of Olatoye Sugar in 2019 but discharged and acquitted by the Oyo State High Court for lack of merit in the suit”, could allowed itself to be used to publish such spurious story knowing fully well that it is against the ethics of journalism to publish such defamatory story after the court had delivered its judgment.
“We wish to state unequivocally that the publication in its entirety is false and baseless. It was published in the tradition of Sahara Reporters known for publishing sponsored stories to blackmail and impugn the credibility of notable people especially politicians in the country.
“While being conscious of the need not to react to such frivolous story as contained in the report and leave Sahara Reporters to its conscience, we considered it expedient to put the record straight for it, its sponsors and well meaning people of Oyo State.
“We want to place it on record that Hon. Olafisoye was never arrested by the police as reported by Sahara Reporters. Hon. Olafisoye rather submitted himself to the police for investigation in March, 2019 after the police mentioned his name for allegedly having a hand in the death of Hon. Sugar. The police commenced investigation and charged him and three others to court after completing their investigation.
“On Thursday 23rd January, 2020, Hon. Justice Mufutau Adegbola of High Court No. 7, Ring Road, Ibadan discharged and acquitted Hon Olafisoye Akinmoyede, Alhaji Rafiu Alimi, Alhaji Rasheed Oladele and Kazeem Ayinde who stood for trial in suit No. I/70C/2019 over an alleged involvement in the murder of Hon. Temitope Olatoye Sugar”, the statement said.
It continued, “Hon. Justice Mufutau Adegbola while delivering the judgment said the prosecution counsel had not provided any of the ingredients of murder to connect the accused with the murder of the deceased.
“His acquittal was widely reported in some national newspapers, broadcast media and of course many online platforms. We now wonder whether the Sahara Reporters and its sponsors were not in Nigeria to be aware of the court’s decision as delivered on 23rd January, 2020.
“We thank God that with the said verdict that vindicated him, truth finally prevailed over the allegation he knew nothing about to the admiration of we his lovers, well meaning indigenes of Lalupon, his hometown and indeed his entire political family in Lagelu and Akinyele local government areas.
“We can authoritatively confirm that a member of staff with Sahara Reporters is working secretely as a media aide to one of the aspirants for the Lagelu Akinyele federal constituency and that is the reason why the online platform published the story in an apparent attempt to blackmail and impugn the credibility of Hon. Olafisoye Akinmoyede having seen him as a threat to his own political aspiration because Hon. Lafisoye is known as a strong grassroot political mobilizer with track records of performances in all elective positions he has held so far.
“While we enjoin members of the public especially the good people of Lagelu/Akinyele federal constituency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) family in Oyo State to discountenance the content of the publication in its entirety, we want to warn Sahara Reporters to toe the path of honour by stopping further publishing such defamatory, libellous and spurious story against the personality of Hon. Olafisoye Akinmoyede. We shall otherwise, instruct our legal team to commence legal action against it, its agents, privies or whoever involving in such defamatory story in future”, the statement concluded.
Market men and women across Oyo South Senatorial District have declared support for the senatorial ambition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the district, Engr. Aderemi Oseni, and reaffirmed their backing for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The traders said their endorsement was driven by the lawmaker’s sustained grassroots interventions and what they described as his people-centred representation.
The endorsement came on Monday during an interactive engagement in Ibadan with market stakeholders drawn from the nine local government areas of the senatorial district.
At the event, Oseni supported market men and women across the district with N90 million, with each of the nine local government areas receiving N10 million to boost petty trading, expand businesses and stimulate grassroots economic activity.
In a statement by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, the lawmaker said the intervention was part of efforts to improve livelihoods and deepen economic inclusion, particularly among small-scale traders.
Oseni, who represents Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and chairs the House Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), said empowering market operators remained central to his development agenda.
He said markets remained the heartbeat of local communities, noting that traders’ resilience continues to sustain families and drive local economies.
“This intervention is aimed at strengthening their businesses, easing economic pressure and encouraging enterprise at the grassroots,” he said.
The APC chieftain added that his representation would continue to focus on practical interventions with visible impact.
“Leadership must translate into visible impact. I remain committed to initiatives that support small businesses, create opportunities for growth and complement the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
Oseni also canvassed support for President Tinubu among traders in Oyo South, saying stronger alignment between federal, state, senatorial and local government leadership would accelerate development in the state.
He listed the Tinubu administration’s initiatives to include the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND, measures to curb industrial actions in tertiary institutions, tuition-free technical colleges, construction and rehabilitation of major highways, agricultural support programmes and subsidies for cancer treatment, fuel subsidy removal, which he noted has boosted state and local government revenues.
He urged traders to mobilise support for APC candidates in the next general elections, expressing confidence that Tinubu’s re-election would further improve residents’ welfare.
Speaking on behalf of the traders, the Coordinator of Market Men and Women in Oyo South Senatorial District and Babaloja of Omi-Adio and Ido Local Government, Chief Odedele Waheed, commended the turnout and described the engagement as a demonstration of confidence in Oseni’s leadership.
He lauded the lawmaker for sustained grassroots development efforts, noting that the N90 million support would strengthen businesses across the district.
Odedele also commended the leadership of market men and women in Oyo State for granting traders approval to meet and interact with the lawmaker, saying the platform allowed them to express concerns and understand his vision for Oyo South.
The traders pledged to mobilise support across markets in the district in favour of Oseni’s electoral bid and President Tinubu’s re-election.
Those present included the Babaloja of Ibadan North East, Ibrahim Balogun; Babaloja of Ibadan South West, Rafiu Iyo; Babaloja of Ibadan North West, Alhaji Tajudeen Hammed; Alhaji Abdulraman Salawudeen; Asiwaju Oloja of Ibarapa Zone, Chief Okanlawon John Adebisi; Babaloja of Ibadan North, Chief Adewole Basirat; and Iyaloja of Ibarapa Central, Chief Ige Fausat, among others.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the Governor of Ekiti State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, announced the result at about 3:13 a.m. on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti, saying Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes to defeat his closest rivals and secure a second term in office.
According to Oladiji, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Oluwole Oluyede, garnered 40,543 votes, while the African Democratic Congress candidate, Dare Bejide, secured 12,872 votes.
She said 384,940 voters were accredited for the election, while 375,777 valid votes were recorded. The electoral umpire also announced that 6,332 votes were rejected, bringing the total number of votes cast to 382,109.
The declaration capped a governorship poll largely adjudged peaceful by observers and security agencies, despite complaints of malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines, delayed commencement of voting in some polling units and allegations of voter intimidation by opposition parties.
INEC said voting was conducted in all the 2,445 polling units across the state’s 16 local government areas, noting that 2,257 units, representing 92.31 per cent, opened before 8.30 a.m., while 188 polling units commenced accreditation and voting before 10.30 a.m. after experiencing minor delays.
The commission also commenced uploading polling unit results to its Results Viewing Portal shortly after the completion of voting and counting in several centres.
The PDP candidate, Oluyede, had expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the exercise at Ugele/Arokun Ward in Ikere Local Government Area, alleging that many prospective voters were disenfranchised due to BVAS-related challenges.
Speaking with journalists after voting at Polling Unit 006, he further alleged cases of harassment and intimidation of voters in the area.
Some elderly voters at the polling unit also lamented difficulties encountered during accreditation and urged INEC to urgently rectify the technical glitches.
The ADC candidate, Bejide, similarly alleged irregularities during the exercise.
However, Oyebanji dismissed the claims, insisting that those making allegations of electoral misconduct should provide credible evidence to support them.
The governor, who voted at Polling Unit 003, Okelele, Ikogosi-Ekiti, in Ekiti West Local Government Area, described the election as satisfactory and urged eligible voters yet to cast their ballots to do so peacefully.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of election security, Abayomi Shogunle, said no case of vote-buying was reported to security agencies throughout the exercise.
Election observers commended the peaceful atmosphere that characterised the poll but raised concerns over procedural inconsistencies.
The First Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Sebastian Anyia, described the process as orderly and peaceful, saying voter turnout was encouraging.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Brenda Anugwom, lauded the resilience of female voters, many of whom remained at polling units for several hours with their children to exercise their franchise.
Yiaga Africa, however, expressed concern over discrepancies involving ballot papers, result sheets and INEC’s published list of candidates, warning that such inconsistencies could create challenges during collation and reconciliation of results.
The election observer group urged INEC to provide further clarification on the final list of participating parties and candidates and issue clear guidance to electoral officials handling result documentation.
Ahead of the poll, INEC and security agencies had repeatedly assured residents of their preparedness to deliver a peaceful, credible and transparent election, deploying personnel and restricting vehicular movement to forestall electoral violence and other offences.
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has rejected plans by the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde to conduct another local government election on December 26, 2026, describing the proposed exercise as illegal, premature and a calculated move to retain political influence at the grassroots beyond the governor’s tenure.
The party declared that it would neither participate in the election nor remain silent over what it termed an attempt to squander public resources on a process allegedly designed to install loyalists in the 33 local government councils and 351 wards across the state.
The controversy followed the decision of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to shift the date earlier fixed for January 2027 to December 26, 2026, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The move has continued to generate debate among political observers, many of whom have questioned the urgency of conducting another council poll barely six months before the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent chairmen and councillors elected in the 2024 local government elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, the APC said it would not stop at boycotting the election but would also collaborate with “patriots and rational minds” to resist what it called an unnecessary expenditure of taxpayers’ money.
The party accused Governor Makinde of lacking commitment to local government autonomy, alleging that the administration had exercised undue control over council resources for more than seven years.
“The whole world knows that Governor Makinde does not believe in local government autonomy and, when it comes to democracy at the grassroots, he cannot be trusted for anything,” the statement said.
The APC alleged that the proposed poll was aimed at positioning individuals loyal to the governor in local councils before his exit from office on May 29, 2027, arguing that such a move would enable him to sustain political influence after leaving the Agodi Government House.
According to the opposition party, expectations among many residents are centred on ongoing efforts by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to strengthen local government autonomy and ensure that councils enjoy direct access to their statutory allocations without interference from state governments.
The APC also linked what it described as poor development outcomes in some rural communities to the operation of the state-local government joint account system. It cited communities such as Ahoro Esiele and Yawota in Oriire Local Government Area, which have reportedly faced security challenges, as examples of areas where local government resources should have translated into visible improvements.
“It is sad that Governor Makinde appears determined to sustain a system that has left many rural communities vulnerable despite huge allocations accruing to local governments monthly,” the party said.
The opposition further dismissed the local government elections conducted in 2020 and 2024 as lacking credibility, alleging that winners emerged through predetermined outcomes rather than a transparent electoral process.
“The fraud called local government polls in 2020 and 2024 should be the last the people of Oyo State would witness. Governor Makinde and his supporters should bury any thought of staging another charade in which results are announced without genuine voting and public offices become tools for the diversion of public funds,” the statement added.
The APC consequently urged officials of OYSIEC to halt preparations for the proposed December election, warning against actions capable of undermining democratic values and public confidence in the electoral process.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Oyo State Government nor OYSIEC had issued an official response to the allegations raised by the opposition party.
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