Taiwo Ilesami Gbamila, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Ondo State on Multimedia, has threatened to assault the state Commissioner for Infrastructure, Engineer Abiola Olawoye over his unguarded comments during the All Progressives Congress(APC) stakeholders’ meeting held at the Dome International Centre, Akure, on Friday.
Gbamila also lashed out at the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Wunmi Isaac, for allegedly frustrating the media aides of the governor from properly showcasing Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s achievements.
He lamented that the actions of the two commissioners have been hindering the efforts of the governor’s media aides to highlight the achievements of the Aiyedatiwa-led administration.
Gbamila was reacting to the comments of Olawoye, who launched an attack on the governor’s media aides on Friday during the stakeholders’ meeting organised by Aiyedatiwa.
The commissioner for infrastructure had, during the meeting, alleged that the governor’s media aides were lackadaisical in their responsibilities in showcasing the ongoing projects of his ministry.
In a 12-minute, 59-second viral video, Gbamila stated that Olawoye and Isaac have been frustrating the governor’s media aides in their efforts to showcase and highlight the government’s achievements.
“We really don’t understand the issue Olawoye has with the media aides of the governor for him to continue to disparage them. Even when all of us were working to ensure that Aiyedatiwa emerged as the governor, you (Olawoye) were never in the picture.
“Even when you were made a commissioner, nobody got angry; we all embraced and celebrated you. But in all sincerity, Olawoye has been the one frustrating us from properly showcasing the ongoing projects of Mr Governor to the people.
“When I was made the chairman of a committee by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Ebenezer Adeniyan, to identify and showcase the works and projects of the governor, Olawoye, on a series of occasions, prevented us from seeing or having access to the project sites.
“There is absolutely no way for us to project the activities and strides of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa that your ministry (Infrastructure) will not be involved.
“We called you (Olawoye) on so many occasions; you never picked up your calls and ignored the messages we sent to you, even those from the CPS.
“Both you (Olawoye) and the Commissioner for Finance waged a war against the media aides. You are actually the ones running Aiyedatiwa’s government down.
“The Commissioner for Finance, on her part, has refused to release running grants for the media unit, which has run into nine months now. We are just dying in silence. But the two of you will always blame us for the problems that you caused.
“The CPS has been the one calming us, the media aides, from speaking out, assuring us that everything will be calmly resolved. The CPS will most of the time use his influence to source funds elsewhere to get the job done because the Commissioner for Finance has refused to release a grant to his office because of petty issues.”
Gbamila noted he almost physically assaulting the commissioner for infrastructure during the stakeholders’ meeting over his uncouth statement.
“If not for Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s attendance at the meeting, when you were making that useless comment, I would have given you a dirty slap.
“And, if you’re sure of yourself as a man, repeat the same comment elsewhere, when the governor is not present, and watch if I will not give you dirty slap. If I failed to do so call me bastard. What an arrant nonsense,” Gbamila fumed.
Efforts by Thefrontrank to get the both Olawoye and Isaac to react to the allegations were unsuccessful.
However, a top government official described the actions of the two commissioners as attempt to “give a dog a bad name and hang it. They are targeting the media aides with the sole aim of replacing them with their cronies.”
