An indigenous group in Osun State, the Concerned Osogbo Indigenes has berated a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Fatai Diekola for peddling what it describes as lies against the government and personality of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
In a press statement titled “Unraveling the Incredible Lies of Fatai Diekola and His Paid Hirelings”, the group said Diekola should not be conceived to be a peaceful politician, saying that the APC chieftain is being prosecuted by the police for gun running and violence allegations.
According to the statement signed by its Coordinator, Mr Niyi Alade, Diekola’s political profile is not that of a peaceful politician, stating that the APC chieftain was not fighting the Osogbo indigene’s cause as he is trying to make people To believe.
The Concerned Osogbo Indigenes is reacting to the insinuation that the arrest and remand of Diekola was ordered by Aregbesola and orchestrated by the Commissioner and Attorney General of the State, Dr Ajibola Basiru.
Explaining that Diekola’s criminal case was not a witch-hunt, nor political, Alade described the APC chieftain as a “petty liar” who wants to incite Osogbo community against Aregbesola.
Alade disclosed that Diekola derived his political influence and benefits from Aregbesola’s administration before the sudden differences between him and the governor, adding that the infrastructural projects done by Aregbesola in Osogbo could not be over emphasized.
He called on the indigenes and residents of Osogbo not to be deceived by Diekola’s political antics and mischief on his criminal case before the court, saying that the Osogbo born politician wanted to draw the sympathy of the people of the state on his case.
The group berated Diekola and his political allies for accusing Aregbesola of masterminding the case against him, noting that the governor is not out to diminish nor use his influence to bring any indigene of the town down “all in the name of politics”.
Alade added that Osogbo has a prominent place in Aregbesola’s government as five Permanent Secretaries, a Commissioner, five Executive Secretaries, the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly and the State Deputy Governor all come from the ancient town.
He stated that the insinuation that Ajibola, the Attorney General of the State, is responsible for the arraignment of Diekola on the case of breach of peace is a bunch of lies, disclosing that the commissioner for justice immediately after appearing at High Court 5 last Monday left for Lagos while his wife, Magistrate Habibat Basiru who was said to have rejected the case was not on seat throughout the day.
Alade, however, urged Osogbo indigenes not to be blindfolded by statements from Diekola and his camp, stressing that the motive is just to cause confusion in the polity and discredit Aregbesola’s sterling performance of making Osogbo a befitting state capital better than he met it.
The coordinator recalled Diekola’s actions during the era of Chief Bisi Akande as the governor when he disrupted the construction of the state secretariat in 2003 at Okedio, Osogbo and stopped the development of the state capital.
He stated that Prof Mojeed Alabi, who was the Speaker of the Osun House of Assembly when it was attacked by political thugs, and Alhaji Adeleke Oduola who was a chieftain of the PDP in Osogbo could not forget what they passed through in the hands of Diekola.
