Tunde Sanni
27 October 2008
Ibadan — Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and his Deputy, Taofeek Arapaja, were all absent weekend, as loyalists of the late strongman of Ibadan politics, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, marked his 81st birthday post-humously.
The loyalists at the event, resolved to erect a statue to immortalise him.Alao-Akala's deputy in his 11 months controversial tenure, Hazeem Gbolarunmi, however, expressed apologies of on behalf of the governor and his deputy, over their inability to attend the ceremony, attributing it to pressing official matters.
Though no apology was offered on Obasanjo's absence, THISDAY checks, however, revealed that he was in Uyo, to attend the national retreat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Gbolarunmi, who later delivered the governor's goodwill message, said, "we have no other boss than the governor. The governor has asked me to assure you of his commitment to the building of a statue in honour of Adedibu and that everything would be done on his part to immortalise the late politician for his great contributions to the state's political development.He assured those aggrieved over political appointments to exercise patience, because efforts are being made to satisfy them.Gbolarunmi also appealed to those aggrieved in Adedibu's camp to cooperate with the government, "since the success of the government is also their success."
In his sermon at the occasion, Islamic Cleric, Sheik Lukman Busari, extolled the virtues of the late politician who he described as an enigma and "great mobiliser of our time," adding that Adedibu would forever be remembered for his humane and philantropist gesture to the people of the state.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
