Adedibu’s widow, Bose, lauds Ajimobi

Widow of the late Strongman of Ibadan Politics, Chief (Mrs.) Bose Adedibu, on Monday took a critical look at the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration in Oyo State in the last two years, concluding that the governor had done well, particularly in the areas of security, urban renewal and environmental sanitation.
Mrs. Adedibu, like her late husband, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, is a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party that ruled the state between 2003 and 2011.
While featuring on a Yoruba weekly television programme on the State-owned Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) on Monday evening, she acknowledged the fact that the Ajimobi administration had been able to restore the peace which had eluded the state for some years back.
“I am not a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria but a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party and I am not leaving the party. But I cannot say because I am a PDP member, I will not acknowledge good performance.
“In all honesty and without being unnecessarily biased, Governor Abiola Ajimobi is doing well. There is peace and security now compared with the violence and brigandage that used to be perpetrated by street urchins,” she said.
According to her, a couple of years back, the state was besieged by violence which made it uncomfortable for virtually everyone living in it.
“I remember vividly that at that time, the people of Oyo State used to live in perpetual fear of insecurity. But now, everywhere is “peaceful and people are going about their business without
fear of molestation,’’ she said.
Mrs. Adedibu also acknowledged that Ibadan, and indeed, the entire state, is now wearing a new look owing to the massive urban renewal programme of the state government.
She dismissed insinuations by the opposition that shops were being demolished and that traders were being subjected to unnecessary pains, saying that it was only those plying their trades on the streets that were being relocated by government.
“The traders that had been relocated were those trading on the streets and what the government has been doing is to ensure their safety and prevent avoidable accidents and loss of lives,” Mrs. Adedibu said.
The widow maintained that, in spite of that, the government had been building shops for traders on the streets who were removed from roadsides.
”And I understand the government has been building some shops for the traders. I think they should bear with the government and see it as part of their own sacrifice to ensure a cleaner and tidier environment,’’ she said.
Mrs. Adedibu advised politicians in the state to create room for dialogue so as not to overheat the polity.