A socio-economic and political organization named Yewa-Awori Liberation Movement has strongly condemned the All Progressives Party (APC), and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), for their segregational politics against the interest of the people of Ogun West Senatorial District since 1999 and warned that there will be consequences in the coming election should they fail to field a person of Yewa- Awori descent in the forthcoming 2019 general election.
Speaking to reporters recently in Abeokuta, the National Coordinator of the group, Pastor Oyero Olurin stated that the two major parties had once again taken the entire Yewa-Awori people for granted by deliberately and systematically working against the interest of its sons who aspired to become governor of the state in 2019.
Said he, “There are evidences that the whole thing is malice aforethought. There are three senatorial districts in Ogun State. Since the creation of this State 42 years ago, no Yewa-Awori person had been allowed to govern the State. They are either sabotaged or killed out rightly. It is now a general knowledge that the two other districts had governed at various times. The east had chief Bisi Onabanjo and Otunba Gbenga Daniel. The central had Chief Olusegun Osoba and the incumbent, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. In other words, for the past 42 years, we have been robbed and denied the opportunity to govern the state.
“Let me remind everybody that in 2001, AD had internal problems and broke into two. The faction that had Engr. Femi Tetede as the candidate was officially recognized as the authentic party under the National Chairmanship of Alh. Abdul kadir. For two years, the INEC, the
SSS, and the Police gave the faction due recognition. However, few months to the election, Ogun West governorship hopeful was suddenly dumped by the National Working Committee. Ogun West AD revolted and block protest votes saw to it that PDP that hitherto had only one Local Government in Ogun State trounced the ruling party to smithereens.
“The quest for Ogun West for governor was also alive in the PDP and the spirit was very high among the whole Yewa –Awori leadership and stalwart from Ogun West. Tragically, the hopeful candidate, Chief Dele Arojo was murdered in cold blood on his way home in Egbeda Lagos, just two weeks to PDP’s primary election. The motive for the murder is not far-fetched. Ogun West leaders had met at a resort in Ajilete and had resolved to vote in block for the late Arojo as their consensus candidate in the primary election of that year. Ironically, the State and the Federal governments ruled by the PDP never pursued his assassins.
“Again and recently, Ogun West Elders Council and youths and activists prevailed on all the aspirants in the ruling party from the West to sign a memorandum of understanding that once the elders and the leadership of the party chose one of them the rest should rally round the one chosen. Adekunle Akinlade was eventually chosen. We learnt that by some pre-planned subterfuge the national leadership of the party began to shift the date of the primary election until there were two primary elections. Should there not have been another primary election overseen by some other unbiased umpire before the gate closed, if there is sincerity of purpose?
Pastor Olurin also bemoaned the age long- marginalisation of the Yewa Awori ethnic group in the provision of infrastructures in the state an incident which he recalled dates back to pre independence says adding,“Furthermore, we are highly marginalized in the distribution of projects and facilities in the state. The roads constructed since 1957 are the ones available. Educational facilities are few and far apart. Employment into the civil service are skewed out of the district and promotions are based on prebendalism. As you read this article, of the 30 permanent secretaries in the civil service, only six are from Ogun West Senatorial District. No single Federal or State University is in the district and no new General Hospital was built in the recent past.
“It is for these reasons that clubs, associations and individuals from the area and friends of Yewa-Awori from other districts and states came together to form this organization basically to educate and mobilize votes in favor of any political party that respects and are sensitive to the plight and several years’ agitation of the people of Ogun West. ‘
He declared that the organisation and youths in the senatorial zone are determined and had resolved to reach out to its friends and fair minded people in the East and Central senatorial districts to join hands with her to defeat impunity, immoral apartheid politics and ancient ‘godfatherism’ as represented by the two parties.
