THE battle for supremacy between Governor Ladoja of Oyo State and Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu (aka the strongman of Ibadan politics) climaxed last Thursday with the expulsion of Adedibu by the state PDP only for the party’s national leadership to reverse the expulsion less than 24 hours later.
It was meant to be a peace and reconciliatory meeting. But the resolutions at the end seemed to have worsened the already sour relationship between Governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State and his estranged political godfather, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu.
The sour relationship between the duo had created tension and anxiety among members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and all peace moves to bring the two gladiators together have finally hit the rock with last Thursday’s expulsion of Chief Yekini Adeojo, another heavyweight politician in the state and Adedibu from the party.
The Expanded State Caucus of the party had all the trappings of war. Both camps actually prepared to confront each other with all the weaponry at their disposal. Several thugs were recruited and dangerous items were stockpiled for the battle of wits and supremacy. It was the longest political battle ever fought by the veteran Molete warlord as Adedibu is fondly called in his more than 50 years as an active politician.
While the camp of the governor was busy mobilising the police and the men of the State Security Service (SSS) for the caucus meeting, Adedibu was preparing his own men for the fight tagged “the battle of life”. Adedibu was fully prepared for the meeting which was advertised in one of the national dailies. It was the timely intervention of former Oyo State governor, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, and chairman and chief executive officer of an Ibadan based company, Chief Folorunsho Fagbohun, that saved the blood bath that would have trailed the PDP meeting held at the party’s secretariat.
While the two camps were busy preparing for a show down, Oluloyo and Fagbohun went to work, meeting the leaders of the factions separately. Olunloyo, it was learnt, met Adedibu at his Molete residence few hours to the commencement of the meeting, pleading, begging and persuading him not to attend.
At the end of the 30-minute close door meeting, Adedibu agreed not to attend the PDP meeting in the interest of the state. The former governor also met Ladoja at the Government House, appealing to him to shelve the meeting. But the governor was said to have stood his ground, insisting that discipline had to be instilled in the party. Ladoja was said to have provided superior argument on why the Expanded Caucus Meeting must hold. The caucus meeting had to be delayed for one and a half hours as Olunloyo and the governor exchanged notes on the usefulness and otherwise of the meeting.
At the end of the day, the governor had his way as he stormed the meeting amidst heavy security provided by men of the SSS and the mobile police. The venue of the meeting situated at Queen Elizabeth Road, Mokola, Ibadan, over 1,500 mobile policemen cordoned off the entire precinct of the party’s secretariat. The security presence was so heavy that nearly all dignitaries and party delegates to the meeting were thoroughly searched and screened. In actual fact, the SSS team at the meeting was led by two assistant state directors.
Three security checkpoints were mounted.
The atmosphere was so charged that pressmen had to battle before they could gain access into the meeting venue. Before the arrival of the governor, some PDP members were arrested with charms and were taken to Mokola Police Station for interrogation. The men were later released but their charms confiscated.
It was further learnt that Olunloyo after meeting Adedibu and Ladoja separately, also contacted some natural rulers in the state to talk to the governor. But the governor would not yield to any pressure. Ladoja was said to have assured the natural rulers that no life would be lost at the meeting. Following the assurance of Ladoja, Olunloyo personally drove to the venue of the meeting to ascertain things for himself. Having satisfied himself that all was well, the former governor left while Fagbohun stayed behind to see if he could succeed in averting the expulsion of Adeojo and Adedibu.
Though the PDP man from Ibarapa area of the state tried, his efforts were not enough to stop the expulsion of the duo of Adedibu and Adeojo from the party. The meeting which lasted more than two hours had in attendance council chairmen from all the 33 local governments of the state. When the meeting finally kicked off, the state chairman of the party, Chief Michael Adedotun Adegbite, set the ball rolling by reeling out several offences and complaints made against Adedibu and Adeojo.
Adegbite said, “I have been queried several times by national headquarters of the party. On assumption of office after we won the election, the first query I got on my table was on Chief Awolowo’s statue that was destroyed. “Again, the allegation that Baba Adedibu was instrumental to the fight at the NUJ Iyaganku earned me another query.
The impeachment bid against the governor we heard was allegedly facilitated by Baba Adedibu and political thuggery and shooting in the state which were associated with PDP”.
“The state working committee meeting of the party was also stopped because of the problem the Baba gave us. The worst is that one of the governor’s drivers was badly wounded by uninvited party loyalists and this is the primary need for today’s meeting, “the party chairman stated.
As soon as the chairman finished his address, the floor was thrown opened for comments from party elders and leaders. After a long debate, a motion to expel Adedibu and Adeojo was adopted. Former Special Duties Minister, Elder Wole Oyelese, while moving the motion for the expulsion of Adedibu for alleged anti-party activities, said, “for peace and progress in Oyo State and within the PDP as a whole, that the PDP-led government may succeed, I move that Alhaji Adedibu be expelled from the PDP.” This motion was instantly seconded by Chief Samuel Adetoro.
Former Secretary to Oyo State Government, Dr. Dejo Raimi, moved the motion to expel Adeojo “for (allegedly) conniving with Adedibu in Oyo State’ and this motion was seconded by Alhaji Bashiru Babalola from the same ward with Adeojo.
Thereafter, Senator Yemi Brimo Yusuf from Ogbomosho read a five-point communique of the meeting. Yusuf who introduced himself as a retired general said “Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu and Chief Yekini Adeojo are hereby expelled from the PDP for anti-party activities, anti-party utterances, using physical violence to intimidate state executives and political office holders, disrespect to the intervention of National Working Committee who came to Ibadan and for bringing the party to disrepute.” Ladoja, in his speech at the parley, said that he had kept quiet all these days because of the respect he had for Yoruba tradition to give respect to elders, adding that this had vindicated him.
His words: “When we started PDP, we knew those of us who can be in the same party. So, Baba cannot come to join us in the PDP and we run away from him. I’m not a kid that can be tossed here and there. I’m a grandfather. I’ll soon be 60 years old.
This is all I have been trying to do to prove those people who have been saying that I would be wrong.” While thanking the people of the state for their support, the governor said: “Anybody who disturbs the peace of the land will be made to face the full wrath of the law. It is no longer a party affair, there will be no sacred cow.”
Thereafter, it was celebration galore as the party faithful and supporters moved enmasse to the Government House for food and drinks. The expulsion of the duo, however, has begun to generate ripples in the state and several leaders of the party have suddenly gone into hiding for fear of possible reprisal attack from Adedibu’s boys.
