Category: Happenstances

An appointee of the Dr. Kayode Fayemi administration in Ekiti State whose appointment was greeted with high expectations was Kayode Akinyemi. When precisely two years ago he called time on his six-year-long career in the banking sector, nobody thought he had embarked on a journey away from the public glare.

Two years down the lane, the former Group Head of Corporate Affairs, Skye Bank Plc, is either out of circulation or he is carrying out his duties as the foundational Director-General of Ekiti State Bureau of Strategic Communications without any exposure to the media, which used to be his first port of call during his days at Skye Bank.

Kayode was not just an egghead in the corporate sector, he stood shoulder to shoulder with top Lagos socialites on account of his job, which was to project the image of Skye Bank. The ability of ‘Kayode Skye’, as he was popularly called by media operators, to blend with the glitterati and the literati was one of his endearing traits.

Angela Ebagua is one lady whose influence cuts across different facets of life. From her days as a top banker with Zenith International Bank Plc while Jim Ovia held sway as the chief executive to her stint as an executive director in Aig Imoukhuede-led Access Bank and her emergence as the wife of billionaire businessman, Bashorun Jide Omokore, Angela could be described as one socialite who has seen it all.

But all that seems to have changed after staging a high profile wedding for her stepson in Dubai a few months ago. Like the morning dew giving way to the morning sun, Angela has since returned into her cocoon. An inside source said that Angela’s face became scarce in the social circle because of the demands of motherhood and sundry domestic responsibilities she could not avoid.

It will be recalled that Angela formalised her affair with Omokore in 2009 with a wedding that took place in London. The exclusive ceremony had only 50 invited guests in attendance.

The picture is getting clearer in Ilaje and Ijaw areas of Ondo State as to who controls what, now that the undisputable leader of Ikaleland, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, is no more. Agagu’s departure has left his retinue of followers to jostle to fill the big shoes the former governor and aviation minister left behind.

Weeks after Agagu’s demise, Pastor Yele Omogunwa is increasingly looking like the de facto political leader of the coastal region of Ondo State. Although he had always been a strong factor in politics in the area, his political influence has taken an upward swing in the last few weeks as both his Irele and Akure homes have become convergence points for political actors in the area.

The teacher-turned-politician is currently travelling round the state for serious consultations with his foot soldiers in the build-up to the 2015 elections.

Following our story last Saturday that big boy of the oil sector, Walter Wagbatsama, had gone out of circulation since the beginning of his trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in respect of his company, Ontario Oil and Gas Limited’s alleged involvement in fuel subsidy scam, his friends have come out in stout defence. No sooner had the story appeared in this column than his friends started working their phones to get across to Celebrity Watch with a view to “setting the records straight.”

One of his friends told CW that contrary to the piece, the dude was doing very well with his oil and gas company and had not fizzled out of social circulation as claimed in the story. The friend, also a major player in the oil and gas sector, would not want his identity revealed. But he said that Walter has been very busy with business and has continued to make money. This, the friend said, was evident in Wagbatsama’s recent acquisition of a Gulf Stream private jet.