From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
A strong indication emerged, on Friday, that the endorsement of the Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bimbo Ashiru, as the consensus gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by Ijebu/Remo, Governorship Agenda Elders, has pitched the commissioner against the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
The development, Saturday Sun gathered, may have forced the Commissioner to resign from his position, on Friday.
Ashiru, it was further learnt, announced his resignation during the state executive council meeting presided over by the governor, on Friday morning, to the surprise of not a few members of the cabinet.
It was also gathered that Ashiru’s decision to join the gubernatorial race, may not have gone down well with the governor, having earlier declared support for Ogun West person to succeed him in 2019.
Saturday Sun was reliably informed that the once robust relationship between Governor Ibikunle Amosun and Ashiru, may have finally hit the rock, as the governor expressed his displeasure with Ashiru over his ambition.
According to an insider, the governor practically disallowed Ashiru to ride with him in the lift at the Governor’s Office at the end of exco meeting.
The source, equally told Saturday Sun, that Ashiru rebuffed every persuasion by his colleagues to drop his ambition and simply told them “we shall meet on the field”.
He was also said to have boasted that as soon as he declares his governorship ambition, his backers will raise nothing less than N2b to prosecute his ambition.
Ashiru, had been picked on Wednesday by the Agenda Elders ahead the former deputy governor, Segun Adesegun, Senators Adegbenga Kaka and Olorunmbe Mamora, and other five aspirants after they underwent screening before a four-man committee led by Chief Olu Okuboyejo.
He is expected to battle for the APC governorship ticket with aspirants from other zones later in the governorship primaries to be conducted by the ruling party.
Meanwhile, Ashiru could not be reached as at the time of filing this report, to confirm his resignation and comments on the matter. For over two hours, the network answering machine of his line was saying “busy”.