A widow, Alice Ogundipe, caused a stir in Otun Ekiti, headquarters of Moba Local Government of Ekiti State, on Tuesday, during the ‘thank you visit’ by the state’s Governor-Elect, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) and other All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, with an unusual placard which she displayed with all enthusiasm for people to know how Oyebanji came to her rescue when things were tough for her family.
The placard with the inscription ‘BAO, thanks for my feeding allowance for the past three years”, was the cynosure of all eyes, as the woman moved from one section of the hall to another, bowing to people and pointing at the placard she held.
The development sent tongues wagging as many concluded she was deaf and dumb but in a swift reaction to the speculation, the widow opened up to journalists after the event on how she became BAO’s major promoter in Moba Local Government Area and Igogo-Ekiti in particular.
Madam Ogundipe said: “My story is long but I will make it brief. I’m a widow and my soldier husband died serving Nigeria. I was connected with BAO three years ago by Mrs Omope and Uncle Akin Rotimi, two important persons who God used to put a smile on my face again.
“Despite my predicament, I was still able to send my two children – Kolade and Korede to the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, from the little I was making from my small business. Then the unexpected happened; my children’s hostel at Iworoko got burnt leaving them with nothing. They even lost their certificates. That was how I met Mr. Akin Rotimi, who introduced me to Madam Omope, who later took me to BAO, who was then the SSG.
“To cut the long story short, from that moment, my situation changed for the better. BAO interviewed me and saw the need to put me and my two kids on monthly allowance. Since then, every first week of the month, Hon. Oyebanji has been giving me and my children monthly allowances”
Speaking further, the woman said she was excited and saw the need to pay back when Oyebanji started his governorship campaign.
“I had neither money nor materials to support his campaign, hence my determination to assume the position of a town crier, telling everyone about the virtues the incoming governor has. We thank God, it has ended in praise,” Ogundipe added.
Oyebanji, whose two weeks ” thank you” tour of the 16 local government areas of the state commenced on Monday, said his administration would focus on socio- economic, industrial, infrastructure and human capital development. He added that regular interface with the people of the state would be a major feature of his administration’s Public policy.