HOW ADUNNI WILL BE IMPEACHED WITH THE BADEJO / Y.Y. GAMBITS AFTER THE PLOT TO RUBBISH JOKE ORELOPE'S LEADERSHIP

 ‘I did not have discussion with anybody to change LGA Party Executives’ – Joke Orelope

By Toyo C. Ngem

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Mosan/Okunola Local Council Development Area in Alimosho Federal Constituency Engineer Taofik Lawal, has said he had no regret aligning his loyalty cause with the former Deputy Governor of Lagos, Her Excellency, Dr. (Princess) Adejoke Orelope Adefulire (OFR, MGAC). He added that it was regrettable that Chief Abel Badejo would play, innocently or consciously, into the gambit of Alhaji Yisa Yusuf (aka Y.Y.) to “rubbish” the leadership of Joke Orelope, who happens to be the Alimosho’s sole member of the Lagos prestigious progressive politicians’ elite club referred to as the Governance Advisory COMMITTEE (GAC).

Mr Lawal, who spoke with this magazine over his purported removal from the LGA pARTY executives, said the whole scheme that played out as a peace initiative between Chief Abel Badejo and Alhaji Yusuf was a ruse, but a plot to remove the only female LGA Party Chairman in Alimosho, Hon (Mrs.) Opeyemi A. Akindele (aka Adunni).from office so that the leadership will change from ASM to BATCO-Mandate side. Accordingly, he said no amount of intimidation and threats from any quarters would make him abandon the voyage of Aswiaju Solidarity Movement (ASM), which her Excellency had put on course to pool a resounding votes turnover for the victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Alimosho.

Meanwhile, Civics Weekly has authoritatively gathered that there was no any iota of truth that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goal (SSAP-SDG), Joke Orelope did authorize any change of LGA party executives at any of the six divisions of Alimosho Federal Constituency. This came out in message Her Excellency was found to have personally responded to on enquiries to that effect.

It may be recalled that in about the last penultimate edition of Civics Weekly, it was published that the APC factions in Alimosho have gone into a frenzy move to engender peace to avert the stale’s threat to dissolve the LGA Executive Committees across the six divisions of Alimosho. The story also captured how Alhaji Yisa Yusuff for BATCO-Mandate and Pa Abel Badejo for ASM had a meeting to reconcile the factional differences for harmonious relationship thence forth.

As this magazine, gathered the outcome of that meeting was the drafting of a new list of LGA party executives where some members initially loyal to the BATCO Mandate group, but later defected to the Joke Oerelope Camp, were removed from the new executive committee. Mr Lawal, a former Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman, Mosan/Okunola LCDA, may have been caught in this web of intrigue with her exclusion. He gave analysis of the intrigues about the peace moves in his LCDA.

How would you describe the Mosan/Okunola’s version of peace initiatives going on in Alimosho? My observation is that the peace moves between the two APC factions in the LCDA has come under heavy criticism for lacking in sincerity of purpose and offering only a peace of the graveyard. If you watched the two video clips making the rounds on the intended swearing in ceremony for the new executives, you will see clearly that they revealed the hidden truth about the whole process. It also revealed that the peace makers had actually deceived each other into pushing the anticipated peace in cul-de-sac. The two leaders had their respective agenda which they pushed as priority over the good intention to give peace a chance.

And if you ask me, I will clarify to you what I could deduce from the whole revelations. The first is that Y.Y. played out the gambit to rubbish the leadership of our own GAC member in Alimosho, who happens to be Her Excellency, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire. the game plan was about the plot to weaken the strength of Joke Orelope’s leadership in Mosan/Okunola LCDA; and if they should succeed here, they will take that gambit to all other local governments. It was just unfortunate that our own elder, Chief Olu Abel Badejo, would fall into the trap. The second is that Y.Y, may be pushing for the removal of the only female LGA Party Chairman in Alimosho, who is Adunni, so that the leadership of the party in this LCDA will change from ASM to the BATCO-Mandate’s side. But because they know that I am too smart to allow them succeed in this game plan, they said they have removed me from the Exco.

The truth is that nobody can intimidate me with any trick, threat or act that will make me betray Joke Orelope at any time. I have come to know her since her days as member of Lagos State House of Assembly. She is the caring type for the party faithful across the rank and file. She is always apt at using the party system to uplift many of the party leaders just to ensure they have the ways and means to sustain their political relevance’s in their locals. The problem with Her Excellency is that she doesn’t make noise about any goods she does for people. When Prince Hakeem Davies, former Secretary and Personal Assistant to the Late Oba Oyekan died, Joke, then as Deputy Governor, stood on (Governor) Fashola’s neck to ensure the families were compensated. I personally delivered the N1million to the family after Joke completed and delivered the facilitation process. This was yet besides other subsequent personal gifts from Joke herself to the family afterwards.

From the video clip, they Pa Badejo said Her Excellency was aware of the whole things he did. If that should be a fact, why would she want you removed from the exco membership? That is where the culpability of Chief Badejo and Prince Yemi Adeleke comes out clearly in the plot to remove Adunni from office and I will explain that in due course. But before that, let me tell you that Her Excellency has confirmed to me that she did not discuss any change of excos with anybody. That was why I found it amusing when Adeleke called a meeting and told us that Joke-Orelope told him to compile a new list of exco members from the ASM side. To answer the question of why, according to their lies, Joke Orelope said they should remove me; they raised a false allegation that I still belong to AUF (Asiwaju United Foundation). I just wondered when politics would be free of such destructive gambit of mischief, where you would have to destroy someone in order for you to rise.

They said they found out that I was still attending AUF meetings. I could only laugh at this malicious false hood. Yes, AUF came and I was one of the founding members. But then, I was about the first person to quit AUF at the slightest rumour that Joke was opposed to it on the strength that she was working on how to unify all factions in Alimosho. So, I don’t know how they fabricated such lies, but I know why they had to. It is because they know I am the uncompromising loyalist of Joke Orelope in Mosan/Okunola and if they would have to succeed in their quests to change the LGA party chairmanship through impeachment of Adunni, they would first of all have to remove me”.

What evidence is there that the whole plan is to remove Adunni and why would they want to do that? You know I just said a reason had emerged for why Chief Badejo and Yemi Adeleke could have deliberately played along to use Y.Y. gambits as a cover for their own interests. I will explain the reasons why both sides want Adunni to be removed.

From the Y.Y. side, he has never hidden his disdain for Adunni as the party chairperson because Adunni too does not recognize him as her leader. So, when Y.Y found an opportunity to explore in Chief Badejo’s offer of peace initiatives through Prince Adeleke, he (Y.Y.) simply sought a trade by batter. The plot was that in the name of negotiating peace deal, Badejo would accept a change in the composition of the LGA executives. The direct gain for Chief Badejo in it are many, which I do not intend to talk about here. But the long term ancillary gain he hopes to get is the push for the aspiration of his man, Prince Adeleke, to contest for the council chairmanship of this LCDA for which they would need the support of Y.Y. Now this tells you the direct interest of Adeleke in the Y.Y. gambits.

You may now want to go and check it; in the new excos that Baba Badejo signed, they removed me, they removed three core Adunni loyalist in the original working excos authenticated by the state and has been running the affairs of the party since about April. By the sharing formula, ASM has 12 members while BATCO Mandate has 15. Now, the new Exco Baba Badejo signed supposedly on behalf of Joke has removed 4 out of the 12 Joke Orelope’s camp to be replaced with members of the BATCO-Mandate or, at best, a new set of members that can compromise in the interests of Badejo/Adeleke clique. Consequently, if I put the arithmetic right, the ASM of true Joke Orelope stock now has only 8 left in the new Badejo / Y.Y. LGA party excos.

I’m not done yet! Now, the next question to ask me is: how does this connect to the prospect of impeaching Adunni as the core goals of Y.Y., Chief Badejo and Adeleke? Let’s evaluate that! At the failed inauguration setting for the ‘kangaroo’ excos, Baba Badejo confirmed that only two people compiled the list of the excos. Who were they? Prince Yemi Adeleke for himself and Femi Olasehinde for Y.Y.

One truth is that Adunni has never hidden her aspiration to become the next council chairman for Mosan/Okunola LCDA too. In fact, she vows over that always. Yemi Adeleke also has the same ambition. As it came out to public knowledge and mentioned in one of your recent publications, Adeleke was said to be the facilitator of the Badejo/y.y. peace meeting that produced the cause for the new excos. Then it came out that Adeleke was the person that compiled the new members from ASM as known to be Joke Orelope’s camp that Adunni belongs to. So, what would you be able to deduce from such arrangement where the fate of your rival is at your mercy to decide? It is a common sense thing, my brother!

The new Badejo/Adeleke 4 members plus the existing 15 Y.Y. members will give you 19. The 2/3 of 27-member exco is 18. So the clique of Badejo/Y.Y./Adeleke already has the 2/3 ‘Yes’ votes required to send Adunni parking from the party chairman’s office. This is what they know I will not accept, that I will fight to the last in defence of Joke Orelope’s interests in this LCDA. That was why they claimed to have removed me. That’s a big joke!

Civics Weekly reached out to Chief Badejo and Prince Adeleke to get their side of the shindig but both were not forth coming with any response till this story went to press. In our message to Adeleke, we sought to confirm if he ever had any instruction from Joke Orelope to compile a new list of LGA executive members.

It reads: “You were reported to have claimed at a meeting you called to the effect of “making” a new list of party executives for Mosan/Okunola LCDA that “you have the instruction” of Her Excellency, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire to remove some members of the executives already authenticated by the state leadership. We would just like to know if, indeed, Her Excellency directed you to make the new list?

In his first response, he sent three-sentence reply: 1) Good morning; 2) Sorry for late response; 3) May I know who you are? But after we replied to these appropriately – that “we have been on the trail of political development within the fold of Alimosho progressives” – he never responded further. He simply went back to delete the third sentence.

THE FURTHER FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED FROM THIS MAGAZINE'S INVESTIGATIONS FOR THE DELIGHT OF OUR READERS AHEAD ARE:

1. WHEN CHIEF BADEJO LED A DELEGATION OF PRINCE ADELEKE AND TWO OTHER PERSONS TO VISITED ALHAJI ABDULLAHI ENILOLOBO, THE BATCO-MANDATE LEADER JUST THREE DAYS AGO, WHAT DID ENILOLOBO TELL THEM?

2. WHY DID ADUNNI FAIL TO TELL THE STATE CHAIRMAN, APOSTLE CORNELIUS OJELABI, THAT MOSAN/OKUNOLA LCDA WAS NOT SETTLED WHEN SHE HAD OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT HER CASE LAST THURSDAY BEFORE THE SENATORIAL RALLY HELD IN ALIMOSHO?

KEEP A DATE WITH US.