By Fola James
Senator Buruji Kashamu, formerly representing Ogun East in the Senate seems to have found his match in Ladi Adebutu in the quest to monetize the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the gateway state, Ogun.
Kashamu has been one of the biggest financier of the party since he returned from the United states of America, where he currently has a money laundry allegation hanging on his neck.
The situation has since changed when Adebutu joined the PDP.
Few years down the line the bulky Senator has cried out that some money bags led by Adebutu are trying to control the soul of the party, with money at the heart of it.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kashamu said the PDP chairman in the state, Bayo Dayo has collected a whopping sum of N100 million from his arch-rival and has sold the party structure to Adebutu.
He said that is why any plan of reconciliation in Ogun PD has so far failed to yield result.
According to him, the chairman of the party in the state has betrayed the PDP because of pecuniary gain and “This explains why about four weeks to the end of his second term as State Chairman, Dayo decided to betray those he had led for eight years and purportedly sold 65% of the party structure to Hon. Ladi Adebutu (a.k.a Lado) for N100 million through a shady reconciliation arrangement.
He kept the remaining 35% for himself. It is this selfish and lopsided sharing ratio that they want to use to set up an imaginary caretaker committee. This is the same group that signed a three-year agreement with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) on the 7th of March, 2019. The agreement is still valid till 2022 as it has not renounced to date”.
How can an individual trade-off a structure that has taken people huge resources and many years to build because he is a Party Chairman? Can Sikirulai Ogundele, who is on the other side, enter into any agreement or negotiation with anyone without carrying along with Hon. Ladi Adebutu and other stakeholders?”
He said the PDP state chairman is planning to share the alleged booty to other party members that may want to resist their plan.
He said “In his bid to take with him as many unsuspecting leaders and members of the Party, Dayo told them that he was given N100 million”.
One of those he confided in and tried to convince to join him in the venture is Samuel Olayinka Soneye.
In his statement to the Police and sworn affidavit in court, Soneye said Dayo told him that Ladi Adebutu offered him N100 million to trade off the PDP structure in Ogun State.
Dayo informed the former Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Comrade Abayomi Arabambi that Adebutu offered him the sum of N100 million with an upfront payment of N20 million”.
He also told Mr. Adeleke Shittu, who is his cousin, at various times that he was offered N100 million to do the bidding of the Adebutus under the pretext of uniting the party.
A serving member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Sylvester ‘Niyi Abiodun, who is also related to him, confirmed that Dayo told that he was offered N100 million.
Furthermore, Dayo’s successor, Hon. Samson Bamgbose corroborated the above witnesses’ statements and added that he was offered some dollars which Dayo told him amounted to N10 million @ N400 per dollar”.
Kashamu said the police has swung into action and are trying to get to the bottom of the alleged bribery.
According to him “All these witnesses have voluntarily made statements to the Police and deposed to affidavits affirming the above-stated facts.
To confirm Dayo’s perfidious inclination, the Adebutus now pay his bills, just as they have bought him vehicles and illegally given him three police escorts. This was after the Ogun State Police Command refused Dayo’s application for police escorts”.
