Immediate past Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Ogun State, Sina Kawonise, was yesterday quizzed by the police over a statement he issued faulting the decision of the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun to rename the Ijebu-Ode International Stadium after the late opposition politician, Dipo Dina.
For over one hour, Mr Kawonise was the guest of the police at the Eleweran Police Headquarters, Abeokuta, where he was interrogated for allegedly flouting the order of the state governor.
Mr Kawonise, in the statement, argued that the past administration had earlier named the same stadium after Mike Adenuga, a billionaire and Chief Executive Officer of Globacom. He said there was no reason for the new administration to change it.
The former commissioner was accompanied to the police station by some aides of the former state governor, Gbenga Daniel. These included former Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Adegbenro Adebanjo; former Director General of the Bureau of Management and Budget, Kayode Sunmola; a lawyer, Kayode Oladele, and Tayo Agunbiade.
Mr Kawonise arrived at the police commissioner’s office at about 11.20am and was interrogated, before he was asked to make formal statements at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in the police command. A police source said the former state official was released by the police after about one hour.
Insistence on statement
Speaking with newsmen after his release, Mr Kawonise expressed shock that the new governor could order his arrest for defending the action of the immediate past administration in the state. He emphasized that the renaming of Ijebu-Ode stadium was an error which, according to him, the new governor must apologise for.
“If the new governor had read the handover note handed over to him, he wouldn’t have made that kind of error. He made an error and he should apologise for that error,” Mr Kawonise said. “I was invited by the Commissioner of Police yesterday (Monday) that I should come to the State Police Headquarters, Eleweran in Abeokuta and I told him that I was not in a position to come but that I will make it to the station this morning (Tuesday).”
“On getting here, of course, I was able to confirm what we have been hearing that the new governor, Ibikunle Amosun, ordered my arrest because of the statement I issued to clarify the position of the former government on the stadium in Ijebu-Ode, built by Gbenga Daniel, which Ibikunle Amosun himself said was a white elephant project. So, I issued a statement that naming the stadium after the late Dipo Dina was not correct because the stadium had earlier been renamed by the Executive Council of Ogun State after Mike Adenuga, the chairman of Globacom. That was the statement and I was surprised that that kind of statement would warrant a governor under a democratic dispensation to order for my arres,” he said.
Mr Kawonise, who said he could not recall the exact date the stadium was named after Mr Adenuga, maintained that the decision was carried out to reward the numerous contributions of the Globacom boss in sports development.
He however stated that the police authorities treated him with respect and decency during the questioning.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Add A Comment