The very young but thriving political career of 33yr-old Speaker of the Oyo state House of Asembly, Rt. Hon Adebo Ogundoyin is currently facing a tough test. The battles he had been fighting in the background got to a peak about 2 weeks ago, when reports of his escaping an impeachment plot hit the media. Chief among the threats to his well-being politically also, is the allegation of his mum's domineering influence on him, which a lot of his political party (PDP) have issues with.
The speaker is the son of Chief (Mrs) Tina Ogundoyin, ever-beautiful wife of late billionaire and philanthropist from Eruwa, Oyo State, Chief Adeseun Ogundoyin who died in 1991. The popular woman ruled the Ibadan social scene some years back (especially in the 90s and 200s), bu as the years grew further, she stepped off from the stage. She reduced her frequent appearance on the social scene, and many wondered what could have been happening to her.
However, Tina (fondly called Queen of Sheba back in the days), was to stage a strong and unprecedented comeback back to the scene last year, when her son, Adebo against expectations emerged the speaker just less than a year into his political sojourn. This time around, she is no longer just a society woman, but a politician with influence. Interestingly, she was in politics from the early parts of her life. We learnt she even met the Speaker's dad during at a political function
Although Tina is now ageing gracefully, having clocked 60 in February, she still got her presence intact. She is the type to notice and her interest for the center stage of the society is still intact. This however, has gotten her clashing with other political interests in the state. And this, expectedly, is taking a toll on his son's political career, that is barely 2 years old.
CityScoop sources in Oyo state say a powerful bloc in the ruling party in the state has been unhappy with Tina's alleged dominating influence. Their grouse is their inability to trade political business with the Speaker without his mum's input. This group, we heard, has a robust relationship with the state Governor, Seyi Makinde. A source loyal to the group told CityScoop under anonymity that the Speakers mum had to approve any decision to be made by the speaker on all issues.
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| Hon. Ogundoyin, mum, and siblings |
"The Speaker's mum must know about and approve any political meeting that has to do with his son, including the ones she couldn't attend personally. Where is that done? People voted for his son and not her. And now, she has suddenly turned herself to te political leader of her son's constituency and a major stakeholder at the state level. Where was Tina Ogundoyin prior to 2018? Did she even know how the party survived till that point?, our source queried.
Meanwhile, the impeachment scare a fortnight ago was not a ruse, the source revealed to CityScoop. He confirmed that acrimony had been rocking the house under Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin's leadership for some months now. The members of the house who were part of the plot queried Ogundoyin's ability to lead a strong assembly capable of making each members record achievements. They are rooting for the Deputy Speaker, Abiodun Mohammed Fadeyi (Ona-Ara State Constituency), who enjoys support from the governor, to replace Adebo.
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| Hon. Ogundoyin, mum, and siblings |
Meanwhile, reports said it took the timely intervention of a former Governor of the state, Rashidi Ladoja to quel the plot. He was said to have intervened by reaching out to the Governor to avoid the PDP-led govenrment sliding into crises after just one year in office. Ladoja and the Speaker's mum are close. He was even said to have single-handedly worked the PDP assembly ticket for her son during the by-election of 2018 that first brought him to the house following the death of the former speaker.
Chief Mrs Justina Iyabo Ogundoyin is a successful businesswoman. She is a Princess from the Anyakudo royal family lineage of Orlu Local Government in Imo State. She is the fourth and last wife to late Chief Ogundoyin, whom she had three sons and a daughter for. Adebo is the second child of his mother. At 33, the Speaker is not married, but is beleived to have a relationship bound for the alter. Her mum also weighs a big influence in his marital plans, we also gathered.