A governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, and the business community in Ondo State have disagreed on whether the lawmaker should contest the governorship seat in the state.
While the business community led by Prince Adekunle Adeya said the billionaire businessman would run the state aground like most businesses if elected, Ibrahim said all his businesses are doing well contrary to the insinuations in some quarters.
Adeya, the proprietor of Bolakomo Ventures, said the senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District has no business contesting the governorship seat of the state.
Speaking with reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Adeya on Wednesday cited the height of incompetence displayed by Ibrahim over the years in many of his businesses.
He said: “A closer look at his Global Fleet Filling Stations across the country is an eye-sore, as more than 97 per cent of the stations have been taken over by weeds while some are now being occupied by goats, sheep, and even some dangerous reptiles.
“The NICON Luxury Hotel Abuja, which used to be on top of the list for both foreign and local visitors to the Federal Capital Territory when it was Le Meridien Abuja, got into the hands of Jimoh Ibrahim and the story changed. A visit to the magnificent edifice now for those who care to know, it operates in the shadows of itself.
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“It is appalling to know that this same Jimoh Ibrahim ran aground the prestigious Owena Motels, Akure built by the late sage and patriotic former governor of the state Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin of blessed memory, when he took over the management of the hotel at the twilight of late Dr. Olusegun Agagu administration in the state.
“What about Air Nigeria and even the institution he built in his hometown? They are nothing to write home about. As for Air Nigeria, the company was dead on arrival.”
Adeya said most business-minded people, and civil servants among others are not in support of a man who has a penchant for not paying workers’ salaries and who cannot sustain a smooth run of his businesses.
He, therefore, enjoined Ibrahim to withdraw from the governorship race and allow someone with good vision to govern the state, saying it would be an error to commit the fate of over five million people into the hands of “one man who could not manage his businesses”.
Reacting, the Director of Media and Publicity of Jimoh Ibrahim Campaign Organisation, Banji Okunomo, said the fact that somebody is not doing a particular business or the business he was doing before does not mean he has gone under.
According to him, if the businesses and enterprises owned by the Federal Government could go under, there is nothing wrong if the business of an individual goes under.
His words: “Until recently, Nigeria was broke, and the country kept borrowing until the removal of subsidy. Even with the removal, of subsidy, we are still encountering a lot of problems in this country because those infrastructures that ought to have been in place before the removal of subsidies were not in place.
“In the ranking of wealthy Nigerians, is Jimoh Ibrahim not among the first 10 richest Nigerians? Are they saying that he is not flourishing in his life? So why are they concerned about his businesses not being in existence? There is no crime in migrating from one business to another. But the question to ask is, is the man not doing well now economically?
“Jimoh Ibrahim and his businesses are doing well. He is financially healthy, and he is the candidate to beat in this election.
“He has done well in the private as well as public sectors and also at the international level. He is giving us the best in this country today. Nigeria, as a country, is proud to have Jimoh Ibrahim.”
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