*I’m too decent for that – Agagu

BY DAYO JOHNSON

THE Olusegun Mimiko Campaign Organization (MCO) yesterday accused the immediate past governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu, of sponsoring insurrections in the state and using policemen from the Force Headquarters, Abuja, to arrest leaders of the Labour Party (LP) in the state on trump-up charges.

Its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi said in a statement in Akure that this was part of PDP’s plan to rig next week’s election and it was firmed out a meeting held by top government officials in Abuja yesterday night.

However in a swift reaction, the Ondo PDP denied the allegation and said that Agagu was too urbane to engage in such dirty politics. The party’s Director of Publicity, Mr. Ayo Fadaka said: “Our attention has been arrested by an allegation that Dr Olusegun Agagu is seeking to use the police to intimidate opponents, this claim is obviously false and is an attempt to misrepresent the person of Dr Agagu.

“It is important to let people know that Agagu as Governor did not misuse the privileges of his office as he remained a gentleman all through. Therefore we make bold to declare that much as our leader does not have an agenda to use the police to intimidate anyone, that does not in any manner suggest that he will just fold his arms and look in askance if any group of people decide to take it upon themselves to break the law, of course as responsible person it is his civic duty to report such people to the police for necessary action.”

But the MCO alleged that part of the plan was to infiltrate the state with paid thugs who would be armed to intimidate our leaders in order for them to perpetrate their rigging plans while policemen would be sent in from Abuja “to begin to pick our leaders all over the state beginning from this weekend.”

Olabisi said this was the latest in the series of the evil machinations of the former governor borne out of his desperation and this, it recalled had been on for a while culminating in a petition he wrote first to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and later the Chief Justice of Nigeria over a purportedly fake Security report which he claimed was what the court used in sending him out of office. MCO listed some of those to be arrested on spurious charges to include his (Agagu’s) Brother-in-Law, Segun Ayerin, who lately decamped from the PDP to the LP; Mr. Ade Adeniyi, Yele Akinya, Mr. Wale Ogunmade who is the Caretaker Chairman in Okitipupa Local Government; Ose and Owo local governments caretaker chairmen, Ogunsakin Kolawole and Adekanbi Ayorinde Olu; Alhaji Jimoh Bello, Ogunwa Oboli, Dapo Iwala and Dr Ikeemelo.

Olabisi said Agagu’s problem stemmed from his pride and his refusal to accept defeat from Dr Olusegun Mimiko despite glaring evidence that his party, the PDP cannot win the election. “Agagu is highly egocentric; this ego was bruised by his loss to Dr Olusegun Mimiko in the 2007 Governorship election despite all the money, influence and power behind him.