The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has debunked the rumour that Ademola Adeleke, a former senator who represented Osun West, had promised him a private jet gift.
This is contained in a statement by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs of the Ooni of Ife’s Palace, Moses Olafare, and sent to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Ile-Ife.
Mr Olafare admonished the general public to disregard a viral report that stated that Mr Adeleke, who was also the gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state in the last election, during a courtesy visit on Wednesday promised to procure an aircraft for the Ooni.
He said “there’s no such report issued from the palace despite the fact that the politician’s speech was twisted by some writers with hidden intentions, including to drag the respected stool of the Ooni in the mud”.
The official said the truth could be sought from videos that emanated from the visit.
Mr Olafare added that the Ooni’s singular request “was for a credible election, devoid of crisis for the betterment of all, which the PDP chieftain agreed to.”
According to him, “it is the usual character of all political office aspirants and party’s candidates without exception, including the visiting Senator Adeleke, to make several promises like the reconstruction of roads in Ile-Ife and completion of the Osun State Airport project at Ido-Osun, among others.
“Sadly, these developmental bullet points were mischievously ignored in the viral news reports.
“On the controversial ‘Private Jet’, it is a common knowledge that the Adeleke family has a fleet of private planes which could have been the basis for the governorship hopeful to have lightly said ‘Royal Father, private jet you may need for your trips are readily available,’” he said.
Mr Olafare stated “it is ridiculous to see such misinformation trend on supposed credible news platforms, including national dailies.”
According to him, “the palace of the Ooni wishes to caution the general public from erroneously believing the false report as it is a lie from the pit of hell.”