Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Mr Taiwo Adisa, has said that his boss has the right to join or leave any social media platform at anytime as his schedule dictates.
Adisa made the statement on Sunday, February 7, 2021, in response to reactions trailing the governor’s sudden exit from a Whatsapp group in the evening of Saturday, February 6.
Senior officials of the government and state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had reportedly deliberated on issues bordering on governance and politics.
Responding through his official Facebook page, the CPS stated that the principle guiding membership of social groups remains free entry and exit, adding that such couldn’t have been different in the case of state governor.
Adisa stated further that though someone might be persuaded by the fact that the group is called PDP official platform, “it has been discovered that people of varied political persuasions are members.”
He said: “Just like every citizen of this country, the governor should be free to belong to or exit any social group without any form of uproar.
“As a digital governor, Makinde belongs to different groups and platforms, and he can choose to exit anyone at anytime as his schedules dictate.
“As much as I know, the principle guiding membership of social groups remains free entry and free exit. It can’t be different in the case of Governor Seyi Makinde.
“The questions here are simple: why is the Governor’s exit from a WhatsApp platform being exaggerated and portrayed as a national issue?
“Why are some people seeking to give relevance to a mundane issue as this? Does anyone know when and why Governor Makinde joined the said group? Was the group set up or guided by the Constitution of the PDP such that it should become an issue when someone leaves?”
Continuing, the CPS said that membership of the platform is voluntary, while it is only a social gathering, adding that official toga should not be given to something that is strictly a social media platform, which is by no means a statutory body or group.
“In fact, we would not have loved to dignify such an issue with a response, but we cannot allow individuals with penchant for pedestrian tendencies run amok with a piece of distraction as this,” Adisa further remarked.
“Though someone may be persuaded by the fact that the group is called PDP official platform, we have since discovered that people of varied political persuasions are members.
“If that was not the case, we would not be having a narrative that tries to magnify the fact that a loyal PDP member left a mere WhatsApp platform and make same look like a matter of urgent national importance.
“It is not strictly the official business of the PDP that goes on the platform, so those insinuating untruths should desist,” he added.
