The Ekiti State Government has finally reacted to the controversies surrounding the repatriation of Moji Olaiya’s corpse back to Nigeria.
They described the online publications that claims the State Governor, Ayodele Fayose promised to fund the movement of her corpse back to Nigeria as fals, saying, “No official request has been made to the government in respect of the burial.”
The Special Assistant to the State Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, who made this known in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Monday, described as irresponsible, the comment made by a certain Olukayode Salako, claiming that Governor Fayose declined request to assist with the flying of Moji Olaiya’s corpse to Nigeria.
While maintaining that there was no official communication between the governor and Moji Olaiya’s family on the issue of assistance, Olayinka disclosed that:
“On Thursday, last week, I was contacted by phone by a journalist friend, Yomi Fabiyi on the need for the Ekiti State Government to assist in raising a sum of $15,000 needed to bring Moji Olaiya’s corpse to Nigeria.
“My immediate response was that an official request, via a letter, should be made and that the letter will be presented to the governor. I gave him my email address to which I said the letter should be sent.
“On Friday, I informed the Chief of Staff to the governor, Chief Dipo Anisulowo of my telephone conversation with Yomi Fabiyi, and my response that official letter should be written to the governor.
“Up till today, the letter has not been sent and as such, no official request has been made to the State Government.
“When my attention was drawn to online publications that Governor Fayose had elected to fund the flying of the deceased corpse to Nigeria, I called the journalist who did the report and told him pointedly that no such decision was taken by the governor.
“It was on the strength of this that Mr Yomi Fabiyi issued a press statement on behalf of the Burial Committee, stating that no request had been made to the government of Ekiti State and the official letter requested was yet to be sent.
“It, therefore, beats our imagination that certain character like Olukayode Salako could take to the online media to make derogatory comments on the governor, purportedly on behalf of the family.
“While we condole with the Olaiya family of Ijesha Isu Ekiti, Moji Olaiya’s friends, fans and colleagues in the movie industry, we wish to advise that the family should saddle only responsible people with the task of according their daughter a befitting burial.”
