By Bolaji O. Akinyemi
Thief! Thief!! Thief!!! The shout rends the air, in the most unlikely place, the burial ceremony of an illustrious son of Ikirun where the atmosphere was expected to be solemn in honour of the one to whom all have come to pay there last respect! Who was the thief and what has he stolen?
It has been 4 years, 4 months and 18 days after the September 22, 2018 election believed to be a fraud against the people held in Osun.
Segun Agbaje was the head of INEC in Osun, the umpire who enable the people’s empire to be raided by a gang of political robbers who have hardly won any election free, fair and square but ever having their way without the majority! A stolen mandate is a democratic abberation, where both the way of majority and the say of minority are captured for self profiting.
Agbaje was also in Ikirun to mourn with the people of the town over the passage of their sage, unknown to him the people were still mourning the assassination of their hope for a government of the people, by the people and for the people as the mob shouting “thief, thief, thief” will later allege him as being the remote control that made it happen in the public address of President Muhammadu Buhari’s report of Vice President Yemi Osibajo’s intervention as acting president while he was out of the country. This will remain one of his ugly moments ever as acting President.
Amid Accusation of INEC in Lagos by the public for demanding State-Owned identity cards before PVC registration and rejection of certain tribe for flimsy excuses without providing data not documents, this allegations seem to be true if the revelation of Segun Agbaje that Igbos are immigrants from the South Eastern part of Nigeria is anything to go by. Haba! How can the head of the umpire be the echo of the unreasonable voice of street touts against the Igbos. In Segun Agbaje’s mindset the Igbos aren’t citizens of Nigeria in Lagos, but immigrants who must be denied access to rights of citizens in Lagos. Segun has joined force with market touts and Area boys demanding that Alaba traders should return to Onitsha. It is dangerous and catastrophic for all Nigerians and political parties to fold their hands and allow the election in Lagos to go on under Segun Agbaje as the head of the umpire. If my suspicion about Agbaje is based on speculative journalism. Now that Agbaje has affirmed that INEC under him has no other option aside MC Oluomo led park management for movement of electoral materials what do you say to that? Same Oluomo who openly led a walk to endorse a particular candidate in the election that Agbaje has contacted out to him as the sole distributor of materials? If all the candidates in this election are sleeping, is Sowore also sleeping?
Who is Segun Agbaje? Is an amusement that nothing can be found on Oluwasegun Agbaje INEC REC in Lagos online, aside report of his activities in the news. Nothing on his profile on linkedin! Are you shocked and surprised like me, that INEC in 2023 is parading official whose profiles the world can’t access. Should will seat in the dark and expect electoral transparency from an organization whose staff the world doesn’t know who they are?
How was the remote control of 2018 inconclusive governorship election of Osun State made? His role in the inconclusive osun election was a tapestry of elections and the demonization of democracy.
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Agbaje was the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Osun State, who declared the election results of 22nd September 2018 inconclusive and created the controversy that paved way for the rerun of 27th September. He was the one who announced Candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola as the elected governor of Osun State against the general believe that Adeleke won that election. Failure to repremand characters like Agbaje and allowing mandate thieves to rule is the reason his proteges in Osun can provide 2 BVAS report to create the confusion that Judiciary will feast on, dashing the trust of the people in the BVAS. Osun is at it again four years after remote control election, there is an election after election, internally conducted by INEC after the people’s have made their choice. How many more Agbajes is Mahmood Yakubu keeping in the system for reasons only known to him.
Who was Segun Agbaje before he showed up at INEC? Segun must be over 70 years old now and has served in the civil service for well over 35 years. He must have joined the State Security Services (now Directorate of State Security) on graduation. By my assumption he must have graduated before 1980, if he join the public service in 1980 it means he has been in service for 43 years, 8 year over the retirement year of 35.
He worked his way up at SSS now DSS. Was Segun a system mole in NADECO or a NADECO mole in the system? His closeness with NADECO leading elements of that time necessitated my question? On which side was Agbaje at that time and on which side is Agbaje now? A REC of INEC serving National interest or a tribal man without tribal marks to wreck the nation to advance Yoruba desire for “awa lokan”?
At the time MKO was arrested in Lagos in 1993 he was the State Director of the SSS. He later served as Director in Oyo and other states before transferring to National Intelligence Agency as no 2. He was also there for many years until retirement during the Obasanjo regime. Only to show up suddenly like a big masquerade on market day again as an INEC REC. At what point did he join INEC? What was his age at the time of his engagement?
Check every state that has had embarrassing electoral controversy, his foot print of service there are indelible. Segun Agbaje is one of the most experienced intelligence officer in Nigeria alive today; is he planted in INEC? If your answer is yes, then what could be the mission of those who planted him in INEC?
There are classmates of Agbaje who have served their 35 years in public service and have retired.
Many of whom have turned 70, a year and two ago. It’s public knowledge that dozens of those junior to him at SSS & INEC have long retired. Is he exempted from civil service rules regarding retirement? What uncommon skills does he possess that makes him a person of interest to some people in our electoral process? Until we learn to apply rules & regulations in an open playing field, Nigeria will always be in the doldrums. Now is the time to say enough his enough to Agbaje remaining in INEC!
Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. President Voice Of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table
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bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com