All Progressives Congress, APC, gubernatorial candidate in Oyo, Teslim Folarin has dared Governor Seyi Makinde regarding the murder of Lateef Salako a.k.a. Eleweomo.
The former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, in Oyo was killed during the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, local government congress in late December 2010.
Folarin, then chieftain of the PDP, and his entourage were attacked by hoodlums who shot and killed two of his supporters.
After the incident, the interim Chairman of Ona-Ara Local Government, Tunde Olayiwola accused Folarin’s loyalists of killing Eleweomo, while the lawmaker’s associates blamed Olayiwola.
On Wednesday at a debate organised for leading governorship hopefuls in Oyo by Splash FM owners, Folarin lambasted Makinde for appointing “an ex-convict”.
The Oyo Central Senator accused the governor of making Mukaila Lamidi better known as Auxiliary the Chairman of Park Management System (PMS) despite his conviction.
In 2016, Justice Eni Esan of the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan sentenced him to six years imprisonment for conspiracy to murder.
The PMS chairman, Saidi Kareem, Abu Kareem and Kazeem Kayode were tried for the March 2014 fracas at Iwo Road interchange. The casualties included Adekunle Oladipupo, a medical student.
Auxiliary is again facing a trial that will resume on April 27 at the Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan, after arraignment for alleged destruction of APC billboards on November 13, 2022.
“Let’s assume they wanted to set up PMS, look at the leadership. The person they made the leader is an ex-convict,” Folarin asserted at the discourse.
“What message is the government trying to pass across? The reason they set up the PMS is to terrorise the citizens. That is the truth.”
Responding at the International Conference Centre in the capital, Makinde took an exception to Folarin’s reference to Auxiliary, noting that he has the file on Eleweomo’s case.
“The person calling someone an ex-convict…who killed Eleweomo? And where is the file? It is still with me as the governor of Oyo State. It’s a criminal case. I don’t want to bring it up right now,” he said.
Folarin, however, berated Makinde for making such remarks and dared him to prosecute anyone suspected to have carried out the assassination of the late union leader.
“Just because you’re the governor doesn’t give you the right to make irresponsible allegations. If you know who murdered Eleweomo and you have the file, I dare you to charge the person to court,” the APC flagbearer retorted.
