Oyetola’s Wife Used Personal Car for Official Duties, Says Spokesperson

 Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The wife of former Governor of Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, Kafayat has described as false the allegation that she went away with her official car at the end of her husband’s tenure last month.

. Oyetola’s spokesperson, Rotimi Ajayi stated her position while responding to the allegation that the former governor, his wife, deputy and some of his aides took away 11 vehicles they used as official vehicles.

Ajayi told our reporter that the official vehicle that the wife of the former governor used was Toyota Land Cruiser and “does not belong to the state government.”

However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state acknowledged that Oyetola, his deputy and former commissioners left with their official vehicles but said they were entitled to do so.

Ajayi said his principal used her personal car throughout the four years she was the first lady of the state.

“The vehicle in the possession of the wife of the former governor, the official vehicle, first of all did not belong to the state. She was using her car throughout. I am sure they do not have their bearing in their papers correct,” he said.

Ajayi explained that Oyetola left Osogbo for Lagos at the expiration of the tenure of her husband as governor of Osun State.

He said she travelled by air from Ibadan airport to Lagos.

“There is no where the wife of the former governor took away any vehicle from here. Perhaps, we might need to throw some light on how they even left Osun. They flew from Ibadan to Lagos and the escort that took her from Osogbo to Ibadan returned to Osogbo,” he said.

“Apart from her private vehicle that I told you, that is the Toyota Cruiser, no other vehicle,” he added.

The spokesperson also stated that Oyetola bought some vehicles, which were used for campaigning during her husband’s failed reelection bid, stressing that the vehicles were private.

The spokesperson further said: “Of course, we have some buses that we bought which were private that we were using for the election. So, that allegation is totally false,

“It was brought up by some mischievous elements who did not understand how government works and people who were not even prepared for governing and could not even go as far as find out information or details about which vehicles were allocated. That information is totally false.”

On his part, the Chief Press Secretary to former governor Oyetola, Ismail Omipidan, said he would react to the allegation soon.

“We will react, just give us some time,” he said.

However, in his own reaction, Kola Olabisi, Media Director of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, said in a statement on Friday evening that former governor Oyetola and his deputy are entitled “to certain privileges” after their service to the state.

 Olabisi stated that Oyetola and his former deputy left their offices “with vehicles which their offices permit them to take home.”

“For clarity’s sake, the former governor and his deputy, by law and convention, are entitled to certain privileges and these are well documented. Apart from those vehicles which their offices permit them to take home, they never took any other item,” he said.

The APC media director explained further that the former governor also approved that his commissioners and other appointees should go home with their official vehicles.

He described the act as “a gift for their meritorious service to the state.”

“As for the commissioners and other appointees who are also statutorily entitled, the governor formally approved their used official vehicles to them as a gift for their meritorious service to the state since they are not entitled to either pension or gratuity.

“It is also important to point out that this gesture is not limited to political appointees alone, as in the past, career officers had also been allowed to go home with their used vehicles as a gift on retirement for serving the state meritoriously.

“This fact can be verified as administrations before that of the immediate past practiced it. The Osun PDP-led government must, for once, be serious and should stop behaving like comedians.”