Wale Jagun
The Chairman of the Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Fathiu Salisu, has denied sponsoring any attack on the Secretary to the Ikorodu Local Government, Alhaji Lateef Afinni, and other officials of the council at Igbodu on Wednesday, November 25, 2020.
Afinni and other officials of the Ikorodu LG, who had gone to erect signposts for the rehabilitation of Agura -Gberigbe road were allegedly attacked by hoodlums and the SLG were later admitted in the hospital due to the injuries inflicted on him by the assailants.
Speaking to our reporter on the sickbed at an hospital, Alhaji Afinni said that he was attacked by a group of hoodlums led by one Alake who, according to him, allegedly used a big stick on him and later shot at him.
However, in a phone conversation with the Chairman of Ijede LCDA, Hon. Fathiu, on Wednesday night, denied the allegation of sponsoring any attack on the officials of Ikorodu LG.
In a statement released late Thursday (yesterday), Mr Kabir Femi Kareem, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Ijede LCDA, further denied any link with the attack on the Ikorodu SLG and other officials.
Hon. Fathiu also charged law enforcement agencies to conduct an objective and independent investigation on the ugly incident and bring the perpetrators to book within the shortest possible time.
The release reads thus:
RE: BOUNDARY DISPUTE; IJEDE COUNCIL CHAIR REFUTES CLAIMS OF SPONSORING THE ATTACK ON IKORODU LOCAL GOVERNMENT SCRIBE
– Emphasized allegation was unguarded and deliberate attempt to malign him.
The Council Chair of Ijede LCDA, Hon.Fatiu Jimoh Salisu, has categorically refuted the claims of alleged sponsored attack on the Scribe of Ikorodu Local Government, Alhaji Lateef Afinnih, at Igbodu area of Ijede LCDA as being echoed in some quarters within the Division.
He made this known to Media Personalities in his office, stating that the news got to him as a rude shock, having being instructed alongside other affected Council Chairmen by the Political Party Apex leaders within the Division to stay action on the lingering boundary issue till the Lagos East Senatorial Bye-Election slated for December 5th 2020, is concluded.
He further expatiate that he could never descend that low to the point of sponsoring attack against any human being, let alone a Government functionary, thus, the allegation against his person was too far from the truth, unscrupulous, a deliberate attempt to malign him and tarnish his good image and reputation.
In his call to Asipa Kaoli Olusanya, the Lagos East Vice Chairman of APC and other Divisional Stakeholders, he stated succinctly his innocence about the unfortunate incident but assured them of maintaining the peaceful and mature handling of the case as advised by the party leaders.
As at the time of filing this report, all efforts by the Ijede Council Chairman to reach the Ikorodu Local Government Scribe proved abortive as calls to his mobile phone were not number picked.
He, however, implored the law enforcement agencies to conduct an objective and independent investigation on the ugly incident and bring the perpetrators to book within the shortest possible time, while wishing the Council Scribe the soonest recovery.
We are one in this Division and nothing, not even boundary issue, can tear us apart, he stated.
Signed:
Mr Kabir Femi Kareem,
Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Ijede LCDA.
