Hottestgistnaija.com
The Oyo State government has said that it did not have the powers to change the itinerary of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as such, could not have influenced President Goodluck Jonathan to visit the Olubadan of Ibadanland during his visit to some traditional rulers last Saturday.
The government made this known in an interview with reporters by its Commissioner of Information and son of the Olubadan of Ibadan, Prince Gbade Lana, against the backdrop of allegations against it and the presidency over the failure of the president to visit the Olubadan.
In a communique issued by the Olubadan-in-Council after its meeting at the monarch’s palace, the palace had frowned at the president’s visit and particularly accused Governor Abiola Ajimobi of not influencing the itinerary of the president.
But in its reaction, the state government absolved itself of blame in the visit, stating that the palace ought to have directed its blame to the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Ms. Jumoke Akinjide.
According to the state government, Akinjide was not only with the president on the day of the visit, as the state representative in the federal cabinet, it was unthinkable that the presidency would not have sought her opinion on the visit.
“More fundamentally, Ms. Akinjide was with the president in his chopper to visit the Ooni of Ife in Ile-Ife and on the visit to Alaafin and other traditional rulers. Her failure to inform the president and the presidency of the visit must have been a costly oversight,” the government.
The government also stated that it got the notice of the visit of the president in the evening of Friday, few hours to the visit and said that the letter by the presidency to the governor asked him to welcome the president at the Alakia Airport and “escort” him to the palace of the Alaafin.
According to the commissioner, like every citizen and government who must respect the authority of the office of the president, Governor Ajimobi suspended all other state functions to honour the president and even travelled to the ancient town of Oyo to welcome the president, beside who sat a daughter of Ibadanland, Ms. Akinjide.
“With all these in mind, there was no way the governor or the government of Oyo State could have had a hand in the visit of the president which the letter to it said was a private visit. Government could not have dictated the president’s itinerary to him as well,” said the state government.
