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Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, has refuted claims that he was once granted administrative bail under the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
He described the allegation as “baseless, mischievous, and politically motivated.”
Alimi made the rebuttal on Sunday in a statement made available to journalists in Osogbo, reacting to a publication by a rights group, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ).
The group had accused Alimi and some others of diverting local government allocations accrued to Osun State between January 2011 and December 2014 during Aregbesola’s administration.
According to the report signed by CHRSJ’s Deputy General Secretary, Comrade Abiola Ganiyu, the diversion allegedly occurred following the suspension of elected local government officials, which purportedly allowed the then government to control council funds amounting to over ₦600 billion.
In a strong-worded response, Alimi dismissed the allegations as “a lie of the highest order,” insisting that he was never under any form of administrative bail while serving as Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the Aregbesola government.
“While I see and regard this as another pathologically laden mischief and blackmail, which in no way will be a matter of concern to me, it will, however, be out of place to keep quiet.
“With all sense of sincerity, I, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, dismissed as spurious, unserious, and laughable the statement issued by the so-called human rights group accusing me falsely and maliciously,” the statement read.
He further stated that the allegation was part of a desperate attempt by detractors to malign his name and discredit his public image.
“The blackmailers behind the allegation are only doing so out of their desperate need to impugn my good reputation—an attribute which, on a daily basis, is making them lose sleep,” he added.
Alimi challenged the group and its sponsors to provide evidence to back their claims, stressing that he is open to any form of investigation “anytime and any day.”
“I am ready for any investigation regarding this baseless and unfounded allegation,” he concluded.
Efforts to get a response from the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
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