<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy surrounding the omission of the late Ibadan political strongman, Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu, from the list of honourees at the recent Oyo State at 50 celebration may be far from over.
His eldest son, Abas Aderemi Adedibu, has vowed to secure the recognition he believes his father deserves.
Speaking in a private chat with Frontline News in Ibadan, Prof. Adedibu reacted strongly to the omission, declaring pointedly: \u201cI know what to do to get what I want, but I won\u2019t tell you.\u201d
He was referring to an earlier letter addressed to the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Saheed Fijabi, which he said received no response or corrective action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn Omission That Should Never Have Happened\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof. Adedibu criticised Fijabi over what he described as a surprising and disappointing oversight, especially considering what he called the long-standing relationship between the Adedibu and Fijabi families.
\u201cHis father is my junior brother and he\u2019s like a son to me,\u201d he said, expressing disbelief that such an omission could occur under Fijabi\u2019s watch.
According to him, his father was not the only prominent Ibadan figure left out. He noted that respected figures such as:Adisa Akinloye,Richard Akinjide and Lanlehin were also excluded from the award list despite their significant contributions to Oyo State\u2019s political development.
However, he questioned why the father of the Planning Committee Chairman made the list.
\u201cWhat did his own father do that qualified him more than any of those great names omitted?\u201d Prof. Adedibu asked. \u201cThat simply showed the level of his capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defending the \u2018Molete Political School\u2019 Legacy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Adedibu scion singled out three political associates of his late father :
Taofeek Oladejo Arapaja,Ayodele Aderemi, andAdemola Ige,
describing them as true graduates of the famed Molete political school, where his father once held sway.
He praised them as loyal disciples who have remained committed to the family, while maintaining that none has been able to fill the enormous political vacuum left behind.
\u201cThe shoes my father left behind are too big for anyone to wear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Philosophy of Welfarism and Open Transparency<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prof. Adedibu painted a vivid picture of his father\u2019s political philosophy, which he described as rooted in welfarism, generosity and transparency.
According to him, the late political leader would secure contracts and spend his earnings sponsoring political candidates and supporting loyalists.
\u201cIf a contestant brought money to my father, he would not take it into his room. He would place it openly on the table for everyone to see,\u201d he recalled.
He added that the money would often be redistributed immediately to supporters ; paying house rents, settling school fees, and assisting those in need.
\u201cWhere is such transparency today?\u201d he queried. \u201cWhere is such concern for the wellbeing of the people?\u201d
He argued that if contemporary leaders embraced similar values, many of the socio-economic challenges confronting citizens today might not be as severe.
With his defiant declaration that he knows how to secure his father\u2019s honour, the younger Adedibu has signalled that the debate over recognition at Oyo State\u2019s golden jubilee is far from settled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The controversy surrounding the omission of the late Ibadan political strongman, Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu, from the list of honourees at the recent Oyo State at 50 celebration may be far from over.His eldest son, Abas Aderemi Adedibu, has vowed to secure the recognition he believes his father deserves.Speaking in a private chat with Frontline […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mlcqvjhyzqda.i.optimole.com\/cb:UNMm.7bb\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/frontlinenewsng.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG-20260218-WA0005.jpg?fit=440%2C361&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1053"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1055,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053\/revisions\/1055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}