Akinlade blasts Adeola: Don’t make promises you can’t keep

The Deputy Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Adekunle Akinlade, has cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate in Ogun West, Solomon Adeola, to stop making promises he cannot fulfil.

Adeola, who is the incumbent Senator representing Lagos West, had ported to Ogun West, where he secured the ticket of the APC to run in the 2023 elections.

Since he began to claim to be an indigene of Ogun State, there have been speculations that the Lagos Senator originally hails from Ekiti State.

During his campaign for Ipokia Local Government, Senator Adeola had promised to construct a bridge linking Ipokia with Badagry; to ensure the borders were reopened and to complete the Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia.

He had also accused Akinlade of betraying the people of Ogun West by accepting to be the running mate to Ladi Adebutu of the PDP.

Reacting to claims by Adeola that he collected an SUV, a Hilux and money to be the PDP deputy governorship candidate, Akinlade described the Lagos Senator as a perpetual liar, saying he would not have responded to the allegations if the claims were not made in his hometown, Ipokia.

Akinlade said the vehicles Adeola was speaking about were bought about eight years ago.

“We’re not spendthrifts in Yewa here and that is why I’ve been able to maintain those vehicles for that long, unlike them who change vehicles in six months or in a year, since the money is not from their sweat,” Akinlade said.

Speaking on the allegation that he betrayed Ogun West, Akinlade said: “Yayi is like the proverbial one-eyed goat that makes one abuse its owner. Since those we looked up to when we were small betrayed Yewa with those material things and Yayi has been offering the same things to those elders queuing behind him to betray our common goals, he thought we are all the same. I’ve replied him, I told him we are more noble than that.”

Akinlade also refuted Adeola’s claims that he would reopen the borders in Yewa and construct new bridges to link Lagos State, saying ”they were all empty promises as a lawmaker does not have such powers.”

“This man (Adeola) is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, meaning the Minister for Finance is under him and the policy that led to closing the borders came from that ministry. So, the question to be asked is what has he done to the issue in over three years that he has been in the Senate?,” Akinlade queried.

Akinlade also made reference to the Polytechnic in Ipokia which has been abandoned since 2019, asking what the Lagos Senator did to rescue the situation despite his closeness to the current administration.

On the Ogun West agenda, the former House of Representatives member recalled how Adeola and others joined forces against producing the first Ogun West governor in 2019, saying “we know he is from Ekiti, anyway.”

Akinlade further explained that his being on the ballot is to protect Ogun West’s interest while assuring the people that they will not regret electing the candidates of the PDP in the February/March 2023 elections.