Oladele Bamiji, the Media Assistant to the House of Representatives Member representing Ede Federal Constituency, Bamidele Salam has lashed out at the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Mr Ismail Omipidan over the MKO Abiola International Airport.
Bamiji, who was reaction to a Facebook post by Omipidan, said the last Wednesday’s passage of resolution to mandate appropriate agency of the federal government to ensure that the project is completed is part of the numerous efforts of his Principal to contribute to transformation of Osun State.
He asked Omipidan to move away from “kindergarten communication combat” and get necessary knowledge about the workings of the legislature.
Bamiji said, “Since Mr. Omipidan does not understand the basics of the issues in the lawmakers legislative intervention, we deem it necessary to again educate him on why he needs to outgrow his penchant for kindergarten combat tactics in trying to project his principal and denigrating whoever appears to him as having a contrary opinion in the opposition and even within his own party.
‘The fact of the matter is that sometime around August last year, Representative Salam met with his colleagues Chairmen of the Aviation Committees in the Senate and House of Representatives to seek for the inclusion of the Osun Airport in the 2021 federal budget which was then in preparation.”
Narrating what Salam has done on the project, Bamiji said the unresponsiveness of Governor Oyetola made the State to lost out on opportunity to get the Airport project inserted in 2021 budget.
“Rep. Salam subsequently made several fruitless efforts to meet with the Governor and get him properly briefed on the subject matter. These attempts were made through top members of the administration and through text messages to the Governors private lines.
“Representative Salam discussed this same matter with two Senators from Osun who were also very keen on the Airport project but could not get the Governor to act on time.
“That opportunity was lost with the passage of the 2021 budget in December of 2020.
A similar case played out on the issue of getting a massive Federal intervention on the Cocoa Processing Industry, Ede which Representative Salam discussed in a meeting with His Excellency Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and needed to brief the Governor on what needed be done to access this intervention.
“The latest move of the Hon. member is a continuation of those initiative to get Federal intervention for the projects in his constituency, one of which is the Airport; especially now that the 2022 budget is being prepared for presentation to the National Assembly.
“If the Governor had indeed hearken to our voice and taken a step on the matter in June of this year as Omipidan would want us to think, does the CPS not understand that it is only the National Assembly that appropriates funds for the actualisation of such projects? Will it be out of place therefore for a person elected to represent that constituency in the National Assembly to bring motions and lobby his colleagues to actialise the vision?
“Mr. Omipidan needs to be reminded that the burden of governance weighs more heavily on all elected persons and no amount of insults or blackmail will deter our principal from discharging that burden as he covenanted with the electorate.”
