Since he rode on the structures of Prince Olusola Akanmode into the Senate for the first time in 2007, Smart Adeyemi has embarked on decimation and destruction of any politician that has clout in the axis.
While seeking a second term in 2011, Smart Adeyemi embarked on character assassination of politicians who he felt could stop him. Chief Abiodun Ojo, Hon. T.J. Faniyi, late Hon Ropo Asala and Hon. Sam Aro were his main targets then.
His main strategies are: media assault, sending petitions (through proxies) to anti-corruption agencies, aligning with any government in Abuja so he can use state power against his real and perceived opponents and leveraging on these to tell bare faced lies when campaigning. Check his records from 2007 till date, these strategies remain the same. A Leopard can never change its spots.
Recall that all the key PDP leaders that he believe can stand in his way of picking the party’s ticket in 2011 were all robed into EFCC probe – Sam Aro, Abiodun Ojo, TJ Faniyi, Ropo Asala. Faniyi was his main challenger then. Despite his antics, Smart had to use compromised officials at the national headquarters of PDP to rig and snatch a second term ticket. The case was file in court and his saving grace was that Faniyi moved to Buhari’s CPC to contest.
In 2015, as usual, Smart aligned with everything associated with then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He was so confident that Jonathan will win and also help him rig his immoral third term election. While other candidates in Kogi West were campaigning across towns and villages, Smart was busy granting press interviews insulting APC, Buhari, Tinubu and everything that was anti-Jonathan. He was shocked to the marrow when he lost to Senator Dino Melaye in 2015.
Seeing that he and Jonathan had lost, Smart Adeyemi, a weak politician who will always need people in power to survive, started romancing APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He begged Tinubu to help him remove Dino through the courts with a promise to decamp to APC. He failed in the courts.
After his successive failures from Tribunal to the Appellate court, he quickly decamped to APC as he can’t survive without the support of ruling government. He ran to Kogi and started supporting James Faleke’s bid to reclaim the mandate freely given to him and his late boss, Prince Abubakar Audu.
Immediately Faleke lost at the Supreme Court, our brother, Smart Adeyemi ran to Yahaya Bello, the Governor of Kogi State.
True to his nature, Smart Adeyemi can’t wait till 2019 to launch a renewed bid, he capitalized on the misunderstanding between Melaye and Bello to sell the idea of Recalling the senator from national assembly. His plan was to use Bello to recall Melaye and then use government force to sneak himself back to the Senate.
To ensure the recall of a lawmaker work for the first time in Nigeria, Smart Adeyemi instigated several court and police cases against Dino Melaye. Nigerians saw how the instruments of state were shamelessly unleashed against a sitting senator but little did they know that the initiator was Smart Adeyemi.
The recall failed woefully and attracted opprobrium to the Governor of the state, while Smart, as usual, acted like he was not involved. In fact, Smart stayed back in Abuja on the day of the ill fated recall so that the whole blame and shame will be for the Governor.
Unrelenting, Smart Adeyemi started nursing 2019 ambition but was relatively new in the Yahaya Bello structure. With a strong agitation for the Kogi West senate ticket to be zoned to Yagba land, Smart Adeyemi spotted the Commissioner of Finance, Asiwaju Asiru Idris as his major threat. As usual, he used proxies to send petitions to EFCC seeking Asiru’s probe. He didn’t stop there, he used all arm-twisting strategies to compel Yahaya Bello to gift him the APC ticket against the desire of delegates to vote for a more experienced and mature Dr. Toyin Akanle.
On the day of 2019/general elections, ‘government instruments of terror’ were so busy in East and Central parts of the state that voters in most parts of Kogi West enjoyed serenity to exercise their franchise. The result was heartwarming as Melaye defeated Adeyemi with wide margin. Smart Adeyemi lost six out of the seven LGAs in Kogi West!
A desperate politician, he made efforts to upturn the results before declaration but as a leaked telephone conversation later revealed, the INEC resident commissioner in Kogi state confirmed that Dino Melaye won the election clean and clear.
Unrepentant of his old ways, Adeyemi ran to courts to upturn a popular election and got a reprieve.
Immediately the Appeal Court ordered for rerun election, Smart Adeyemi started his antics again. All of a sudden, EFCC renewed probe of some prominent businessmen from Kogi West. We known who was pressing the buttons.
The November 16, 2019 rerun Kogi West senatorial elections has been adjudged world over as a charade and a criminal activity against all democratic norm. We wait for the courts to toe the path of honour.
However, not satisfied with his third term brief return to the Senate, Smart Adeyemi has resumed his dirty duties again.
Scared of his inability to match Dino Melaye’s achievements on the floor of the Senate and in terms of projects for constituents, Smart Adeyemi believe the only way he can become the only name on the lips of Kogi West constituents is to unleash anti-corruption agencies against Melaye.
This strategy worked for him in 2011 and even last year when he needed APC ticket badly, but he forgot that it failed him during the recall because divinity was against him.
We are aware he has written petitions to EFCC, ICPC and Customs against Dino Melaye.
Smart Adeyemi is on the final lap of a shameful political journey.