Travel ban doesn’t affect me, as I have no corruption case with EFCC – Omisore

The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in
Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has said that he has no case of
corruption in any court or with the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.

Omisore said this in his reaction to the Yoruba Youth
Socio-Cultural Association, which flayed the Federal Government for
excluding him and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro from the travel ban
list issued against 50 prominent Nigerians.

The former Osun State deputy governor, in a statement issued by
his media aide, Mr. Jide Fakorede, on Tuesday said he had no
corruption charges against him anywhere and that he should not be
included in travel ban list.

He described the YYSA as “a faceless group” which he said was
being used by some politicians who “are not happy” with the role he
played during the rerun election in Osun State.

The statement read, “This fictitious group is a creation of
those who were not happy with the recent political developments in
Osun State and who, obviously, do not mean well for the state but
only trying to mutilate the high integrity of Senator Omisore.

“We have no doubt of the existence of some failed politicians
who have scores to settle with the former Osun State deputy
governor but are now feeling frustrated with his continuous rise in
the political firmament of the country, despite all their ”pull him
down” effort.

“This set of persons represents retrogression, deliberate
falsehood and underdevelopment. Again, they have failed.

“Let’s face the facts squarely: Senator Iyiola Omisore was
wrongly accused in 2016 and he surrendered himself to the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission for investigation and was given a
‘clean bill of health’ by the anti-graft body after a thorough
investigation.

“It is on record that no case was instituted against him in any
court of our land and neither was he arraigned before any court. He
has been enjoying his freedom and has even presented himself for
election into public office, passing through all security
screenings. So, we ask, what is the noise about?

“The basis for placement on the watch list and travel ban is to
ensure that those answering EFCC charges are held within the
country; and for someone not having a current case with the
anti-graft agency, there may be no basis to restrict his
movement.”

Fakorede said Yoruba youths all over the world were known to be
intelligent and industrious, saying they would never subject
themselves to being used by “political jobbers and rejected
politicians” for any reason.

He added that “genuine Yoruba youths” would never make “reckless
statements” like the one issued by the YYSA.

“Senator Omisore is busy with the arduous task of building
alliance across different political parties, with the aim of
developing Osun State and using his contacts from his extensive
network garnered over the years in the course of his private
practice as a successful chartered engineer; and will not allow
distractions from fake group like this to discourage him,” Fakorede
noted.