The Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Remi Olaniyan, described the outburst by Mrs Florence Ajimobi against him in the wake of her husband’s funeral as a reaction that came out of grief, hence should not be counted as an offence against her.
Olaniyan made his view known in his Ibadan resident during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration on Saturday.
The deputy governor said, “Mrs Ajimobi did not offend me. She was grieving at the time and, in that state, could do anything that is considered abnormal. So, I understand fully. I did not feel offended by the two incidents.”
It will be recalled that Ajimobi’s widow, who lost her husband on June 25, expressed her misgivings to the deputy governor during his visit to her Oluyole, Ibadan home to commiserate with her days after her husband’s death.
She complained that neither Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State nor his deputy deemed it necessary to call to commiserate with her despite serving the state for eight years.
On the day of the burial, Olaniyan’s delegation was denied access to the resident of the deceased as the security operatives at the gate said the key to the gate was with Mrs Ajimobi.
He said, “When I saw the behaviour of the men around the house that day, I told my security aides that nobody must touch anybody. I said they must keep their heads when others are losing theirs. We must keep our ‘omoluwabi’ ethos in all situations. That’s the first requirement in politics.
“We (he and Mrs Ajimobi) have spoken after that and we have moved on. She was grieving and nobody can fully understand the enormity of that grief except you are in her shoes. And, I pray God Almighty not to allow us taste that grief. So, there is nothing she did that she needs to apologise for.”
