Aregbesola’s aide: Adeleke was my mentor yet I was attacked at his funeral

Idiat Babalola, an aide of Rauf Aregbesola, Osun state governor, says Isiaka Adeleke, the senator who represented Osun west, was her mentor, wondering why she was attacked at his funeral.

On Monday, some aggrieved youth attacked Babalola who was one of the guests at the funeral of the politician who died on Sunday.

The intervention of the police and efforts of Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun state governor, saved her from the claws of the angry youth.

Reacting to the incident, Babalola said she was attacked because of the “unfounded rumors” that she had the aspiration to be deputy governor.

“I am a proud daughter of Ede and Uncle Isiaka has been a mentor and we never had any disagreement till the news of his death was broken to me while in Lagos on Sunday morning. I was heartbroken and immediately cut all my other engagements and came down to Ede from Lagos,” she said.

“We worked together with Uncle for the re-election of Governor Aregbesola in 2014 and for his own election into the Senate in 2015.

“Those who masterminded the attacks on me are people with poor understanding of the relationship between us and who act based on their own political permutations only.”

She said that her father, SOB Babalola, a friend to the late Adeleke, was also present at the funeral.

Babalola regretted that Adeleke was deprived of the opportunity of a befitting funeral by the agitators.

“Not long after we sat down for the prayers, I sensed some hoodlums saying some things like I wanting to be deputy governor while Uncle (Senator Adeleke) has declared his ambition to be governor from the same Ede,” she said.

“I heard them talking about the new caretaker committee members being more of my loyalists than those of Senator Adeleke. And before we knew it, they grew more daring and unruly and brought down the canopy on the dignitaries present. It was the most unruly and irresponsible act I have seen in our land in history.

“That cannot be the best way to honour the memory of Uncle Adeleke. Senator Adeleke was a man of his people; a lover of peace and a political associate of Governor Aregbesola. Senator Adeleke could not have countenanced such misconduct in his lifetime.

Babalola thanked Amosun, whom she said despite being a governor, tackled the irate youth and prevented them from causing further harm.