By Omobolaji Adekunle
The Ogun State government, on Wednesday, described the allegations levelled against Governor Dapo Abiodun by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2023 polls in the state, Hon Ladi Adebutu, as the ranting of a drowning man, after he claimed that the governor could not account for local government funds in the last five years.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Hon Kayode Akinmade, the Ogun State government said it was not surprised by the antics of the PDP chieftain, who it noted is currently under investigation by security agencies for acts of electoral violence and attempted murder, as he has acquired notoriety over the years for making baseless and empty claims that call his sanity into question.
The statement added that Adebutu has become like a wounded lion who is trying to save face after his recent travail at the hands of security agents over his electoral malfeasance on Saturday.
The statement said: “We do not find it shocking that a man who aspired to govern Ogun State but was roundly rejected by voters would claim that a governor who is not a signatory to local government accounts squandered council funds amounting to N214 billion in five years.
“That means, conceptually, that the said local governments did not pay any salaries and did not execute any projects in those five years, and it says a lot about a governorship candidate whose own running mate described him as a complete disaster.
“If Ladi Adebutu, a child in an adult body, knows anything at all about the art of governance, let alone the activities of the Ogun State Government under Prince Dapo Abiodun, he would not be making such flippant, hollow, and jejune accusations.
“The fact is that at no time did Governor Abiodun touch a dime of LG funds in Ogun State, but Adebutu has to entertain his crowd.
“It has become quite characteristic of this devious character to lie against Governor Abiodun with satanic fervour any time he is called upon to account for his rich biography of crimes.
“For instance, the fact is well known that apart from his recent case, he is standing trial for vote buying and conspiracy, and was a fugitive in a foreign land for months before returning home to utter ignominy.
“Ladi Adebutu is a drowning clown who believes that he can achieve through rabble-rousing and blackmail what he couldn’t achieve through the electoral and court processes, where he failed in his desperate and ruinous bid to unseat a popular democratically elected governor.
“He is a man adept at accusations and name-calling but a complete failure where enterprise, dignity, and discipline are called for. He is desperate to be relevant and in the news at all costs, and those taking him seriously need evaluation, just like he himself needs mental evaluation.
“Accused of sending thugs to snatch ballots during the local council polls on Saturday, Adebutu, in the video doing the rounds, openly said that he doesn’t mind violent change.
“He is a sinking ship looking for someone to drag along to hell with him and should be completely ignored by right-thinking people.”