Doyin Odebowale, the former Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties and Strategy to late Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has reacted to allegation that he beat a woman.
The report had followed the Owo Church bomb incident in June, 2022 when video of Odebowale emerged wrestling a bench from a market woman with rumour of the then governor’s aide slapping the lady.
Reacting to the assault allegation, the former government official threw light on the incident saying, “It never happened. How would I do that? I do not slap women, I sleep with them and I can not deny that. those who knew me in the last 35 years know that. About the allegation, the governor had directed me to move into the market following a report given to him that the place was not good, especially where they sell edible things.
“The Special Adviser on Health, Jibayo Adeyeye, and the late Commissioner for Health, Wahab Adegbenro, asked me to join them and we moved into that place.
“We have cleared the place for fumigation as early as 5 am. We then moved the traders to the Arakale Park. We did not allow any movement and that was the day of the bomb blast on Owo Road. So, when the bomb explosion happened, we had to move with the governor to the place but when we came back, where we had cleared for fumigation had been filled back.
“The following day, Akeredolu directed me to clear the flyover bridge at the Ore interchange. we started clearing from Arakale and we cleared the place with the assistance of the police of A Division and the B Division.
“In the incident where they claimed someone was slapped and some died was twisted. Nobody was slapped or killed. When the security video came and Akeredolu said he would like to see the woman, they all ran away. I now got to know that some members of the executives who felt I had become too powerful and whatever I said was what the governor would listen to were the ones who orchestrated it and those who were in the camp of Agboola Ajayi because of the way I dealt with him.
“My men were clearing the pedestrian bridge and as I turned, I saw that a Sergeant who was holding an AK-47 and slinging it across his shoulder was dragging a bench with a woman in a green dress.
“To avert any danger, I collected the bench from her and broke it. Then we moved. The video that came out after showed how the woman was laughing. those who felt Akeredolu had given me wings to fly and I was too powerful sponsored the video. Akeredolu also planned to visit the woman but they all ran away.”
