The Okun Youth Development Association (ODA), a youth socio-cultural organisation has disowned the Okun leaders that visited President Bola Tinubu on Thursday.
Recall Tinubu received in audience the leaders of the Association, led by Prof. Micheal Ikupolati, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the group, “the self-styled Okun leaders are not executive members of ODA, neither are they members of any organ of the party apart from being indigenes of Okun and respected ones at that”, but described their actions as a form of “impersonation, criminal, condescending and very desperate of political friends who came together to hoodwink the President to believe that they are leaders of Okun Development Association”.
The group, in a statement signed Friday by its spokesperson, Ajijola Olaniyi, Esq, said it was alarmed, worried and shocked to read from the Presidential spokesperson that “one Prof Ikupolati led Okun Development Association to meet with the President and made some demands that later revealed that they were a few political friends whose desperation led them to become impostors”.
Mr Ajijola said the people of Okunland are a people of integrity, honesty and order, he wondered why the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) gubernatorial candidate would choose to polarize the polity because of “his inordinate ambition” by selecting a few friends to go and “impersonate the popular and orderly Okun Development Association when he is aware that Okunland alone has three of them contesting for Governor, namely Sen Dino Melaiye, Hon Leke Abejide and Mr Yinka Braimoh yet he went ahead to visit the President in the name of Okun Development Association thereby causing more political division in Okunland”.
“It is a shame and act that is condemnable to see a Professor who knows the law and is widely traveled to consider only his selfish reason and agreed to impersonate the leadership of Okun Development Association,” the group said.
The group, however, gave the people involved seven days to write apology letter to the leadership of the Association or face legal action over impersonation and other charges.
“We the Youth of Okunland are very sad, disappointed and embarrassed that some political friends can come together to impersonate a legal and popular association like ODA, all for Political reasons.
“We condemn Leke Abejide’s desperate attempt to hijack the responsibilities of the Okun Development Association to make a visit to the President without carrying along the traditional and elected ODA leadership under Barr Mokikan.
“We therefore demand a public letter of apology from these desperate politicians or legal action will be instituted against them.
“We also call on the President to be weary of fake individuals who dress in stolen robes to deceive the villa.
“We call on the Presidential spokesperson, Mr Ajuri Ngilale to retract his Presidential statement where he described fake people as leaders of Okun Development Association,” the statement further read.
