BAYO ADELABU’S AWFUL ENCOUNTER
If the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, topshot, Bayo Adelabu, had listened to wise counsel, he would have probably had a rethink before going into politics.
It was gathered that the respected banker did not heed the advice of his friends and family members who discouraged him from venturing into politics, after he declared his intention to vie for the number one job in Oyo State in 2019.
But today, he knows better, as his dream of becoming the state governor is fast evaporating.
Indeed, the billionaire is said to have dumped the ambition due to his recent encounters.
A source said, “Adelabu never expected what played out since he made his intention known in the state. Though he has not made public his intention, many are already aware of it. His experiences have not been palatable. Hence, his reasons for dropping the ambition for now.”
Until now, the respected banker, who is a grandson of the late Adegoke Adelabu, famously described as the strongman of Ibadan politics, was tipped as the successor to the incumbent governor, Abiola Ajimobi, with whom he had a warm relationship with .
To underscore his seriousness, he was said to have hastened work on the completion of his 25-room country home in the Alalubosa area of Oyo State. But not long after, things started to fall apart between him and Ajimobi, thereby making his ambition suffer a terrible blow. Besides, another factor militating against his gubernatorial ambition is the fact that he is said to be popular only among the elite in Ibadan and not in the whole of Oyo State.
Until his appointment as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), he was an Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer (CFO), First Bank of Nigeria Plc. (FBN). Prior to that, he had held the positions of General Manager as well as the West African Regional Head of Finance and Strategy (Consumer Banking Business) for Standard Chartered Bank from where he was head-hunted in 2009. Bayo holds a First-Class degree in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria.