Godwin Obode, an All Progressives Congress, APC, Chieftain and former Special Assistant on Youth Affairs to Abiola Ajimobi, the Governor of Oyo State, has been arrested.
According to SaharaReporters, Obode was picked up by men of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, F-SARS, after he refused to return the N18.5 million, which he received from the APC in Oyo State, for the general elections, but did not spend.
Obode worked for Ajimobi during his first term as Governor, but subsequently resigned with the explanation that he wanted to relocate abroad. He later went to work for Teslim Folarin, a two-term Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator, who contested (and lost) the 2015 Oyo State Governorship election on PDP platform, before joining the APC, in 2017.
However, towards the 2019 elections, when the APC was scared of a bad performance, the party engaged Obode to run the election in Okeogun and Oyo town.
According to a senior party figure in the state who spoke on the condition of anonymity who spoke to journalists, the money was supposed to be used for mobilizing students. He said, “Ajimobi gave him money to mobilise students as security cover for the election. They gave him N18.5 million for the election, but they later found out that he did not do anything; he was just having fun drinking, on election day.
“They were even calling him to get field reports on election day, but they could not get him. The problem now is that despite the best efforts of the Governor to recoup the money, Obode does not want to return it.”
When SARS Officials searched his house last week, they found the bag with which the N18.5 million was delivered to him. The bag still contained a leftover sum of N9 million. He was then arrested, but later released; though he still has to report at the F-SARS Office regularly.
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