At the funeral service held at Our
Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne Remo
in Ikenne local government area of
Ogun State Amosun’s protocol officials
openly clashed with the federal
government delegates over who had the
right to occupy the front row seats.
Led by the Minister of Information,
Labaran Maku, the federal government
delegates which comprises the President
spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati; Minister for
Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga
Ashiru; Minister of State, Federal Capital
Territory, Mrs. Olajumoke Akinjide and
Special Assistant to President Jonathan
on Policy and Strategies, Dr. Oronto
Douglas, were already seated and
occupying the front row seat in the church
before the state governor arrived.
The clash of interest between the two
governments’ officials was hinged on who
should sit on the first seats in the church
that had already been reserved for
Governor Amosun and his entourage.
Irked by the development, the federal
government’s protocol officials, who
considered the situation as an affront
however, believed that the insistence of
their Ogun State counterparts who
insisted that only one person from the
delegation would be allowed to sit at the
front seat in the funeral service was
political.
The tension created by the scenery
almost got out of hand before the
grand child of the Awolowo family,
Segun intervened and begged the
officials not to disrupt his uncle’s
funeral service.
A quick adjustment to accommodate
Governor Amosun and his wife on the same
seat took place and the issue was
temporarily rested. When the Minister of
Information, Labaran Maku later arrived
the church after the first crisis had been
resolved, the Minister of Agriculture,
Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, who
indirectly was hosting the federal
delegates, had to vacate his seat for him.
The crisis later reared its ugly head
when another seat was brought in to
the front row for five governors that
were at the service. This development
did not go down well with the delegation
of the president who resisted it but
were ignored.
The crisis later got to its peak when
the Master of Ceremony and a member
of the church that was moderating at
the funeral service recognised
representative of the president to
speak before the state governor, a
situation termed as contrary to the
order of protocol.
The Labara Maku-led delegation
however, ignored the call to deliver the
president’s address, a development
which also put the programme on hold
for a while before one of the
daughters of Awolowo, Chief (Dr.)
Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, quickly went
to the moderator to save the
embarrassing situation.
Also in his remark at the funeral,
Governor Amosun openly acknowledged
the protocol flop and apologised that the
Presidency should make the last and final
address “as the protocol demands”.
http://nationalmirroronline.net/
new/...olowos-burial/

Lies.

'Truth' is non-partisan!