Osun Govt. Bans Olu Of IleOgbo From Land Transaction

THE Osun State Government has banned the Olu of IleOgbo, Oba Abeeb Adetoyese Agbaje, from par cipa ng in land transac ons in his domain.

The ban was issued on Wednesday following his appearance before the A orney General of the state and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Jimi Bada and Dosu Babatunde, respec vely.

According to a statement issued by Babatunde at the end of the mee ng, the decision becomes necessary to curtail frequent alleged cases of land-grabbing by the monarch within

Ileogbo and surrounding villages.

It was reported that many people from IleOgbo township, Eleni and Moomu Abimbola villages have wri en several pe ons against Oba Agbaje on his royal conducts of forceful acquisi on and sales of land subsequent in mida on of innocent land owners using the judiciary and the police.

Oba Agbaje was banned from par cipating in land transac ons and using any of his palace cronies to engage in forceful acquisi on of ci zens land.

He was told to warn his emissaries mostly the head of IleOgbo princes, Gbadewolu Oyelami Kasali and other chiefs he allegedly uses to per- petrate the illegality.

The statement reads: “Aside from numerous newspaper publica ons, we have received peons against the Palace and office of the Olu of IleOgbo, HRM Oba Abeeb Adetoyese Agbaje Arowo Okunjoye II of forceful land acquisi on and sales”

“Most of those publica ons and pe ons are poin ng to the state government as an accomplice. Just two days ago, it was boldly written on the front page of The Guardian Newspaper ‘helpless people seeking government interven on’.

“To sustain the integrity of our government and ensure a peaceful atmosphere in IleOgbo and adjoining villag- es, the Olu of Ileogbo should stop engaging in land transac ons in whatever form within the Ayedire local government pending our inves ga on.

“We have set up commi ee to invesgate and come up with report and recommenda ons. The warning should be respected. Anyone whose land has been taken unjustly or forcefully should not hesitate to get across to the Osun State Ministry of Local Government and Chie aincy Affairs”

OSPOLY: I Was Not Aware Of Any Petition, Complaint Against Me - Odetayo

Ismaeel Uthman

DR. Tajudeen Odetayo, the suspended Rector of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, has disclosed that he was not aware of any pe on or complaint against him from any quarters.

Odetayo, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER on Wednesday, said he only received a suspension le er from the Ministry of Educaon, insis ng that nobody ever contacted him on any allega on.

He said he was confident that he did not commit any infrac on either financially or through conduct.

“I was not aware of any pe on or complaint against me. The only thing I saw was the suspension le er from the Ministry of Educaon. Nobody ever told me anything. I am confident that my hands are clean, I never committed any infrac on either financially or through conduct.

“I did not read any poli cs to my suspension. I don’t even think of it. I believe in God and I have faith in Him on the case. God is in control”, Odetayo stated.

The state government, through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Educa on, Mr. A Jimoh, announced Odetayo’s suspension on Monday in a le er dated July 11, 2023, a copy of which was obtained by OSUN DEFENDER on Monday.

The le er partly read, “You are hereby suspended as the Rector of Osun State Polytechnic, the sequel to the strong allega ons of financial recklessness, corrup on, misappropria on of fund, abuse of office among others.

“You are to proceed on suspension immediately, while the invesga on into the allegaons leveled against you commences soon.”

The government subsequently appointed Mr Kehinde Adeyemi Alabi as Ac ng Rector of the ins tu on.

Odetayo’s suspension sparked protest and reac ons from staff and students of the ins tu on and members of the public.

Majority of the commentators on the suspension accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of nepo sm, alleging that he suspended Odetayo to pave way for Alabi, an indigene of Ede, to head the polytechnic.

Alabi had contested for Deputy Rector of the ins tu on and got nine votes in an elec on held on June 22, 2023.

The incumbent Deputy Rector, Dr Gboyega Oyeleke, had 51 votes.

As early as 7am on Tuesday, members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic shut the OSPOLY campus gate in protest against Odetayo’s removal.

The chairman of ASUP in the ins tuon, Dr. Fatai Afolabi, expressed discontentment over Odetayo’s suspension.

Afolabi described the suspension as an aberra on, saying there had never been a commi ee set up to inves gate the rector let alone find him guilty of any offence be- fore he was asked to vacate his seat.

He stated further: “The governor appoint- ed someone who is not qualified as the Ac ng Rector of the ins tuon. The person that the governor appointed contested for the post of deputy rector and he lost out.

“We have a deputy rector on ground who should replace the rector when removed, that is what the guidelines say, and in the absence of the deputy rector, the most senior chief lecturer will be appointed as Ac ng Rector.

“The person that was appointed as Ac ng Rector does not have a rank from 1-50 in the ranking of Chief Lecturer. The only thing that qualifies him is that he is from Ede.

“The governor is nepo s c with appointments and dealings in Ospoly. The governor wants to put Ede indigenes everywhere in the school which is not possible. Is it only Ede that voted for him? Everybody voted for him.

“Dr Odetayo who was removed was alleged of corrup on among others, he was never made to face any panel or inquiry, he was never issued query.”

Afolabi said it was possible that Odetayo was suspended because he did not manipulate the deputy rector elecon to favour Alabi, the appointed ac ng rector.

He said: “The main reason for his (Odetayo) removal was that he was invited by the Chief of Staff to the governor, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, who instructed him to make the person they appointed as Ac ng Rector now to emerge as the deputy rector.

“The order given to the rector was beyond his capacity, a deputy rector is elected by the senior workers. During the elec on, the anointed candidate of the Chief of Staff got 19 votes while the winner, the most senior chief lecturer on campus, got 51 votes.

“The state of things in OSPOLY now is that all academic ac vi es including the ongoing exam stand suspended un l the governor does the right thing.”

Meanwhile the state government has sued for peace, assuring ASUP and students of the ins tu on that the ma er would be looked into and necessary measures taken.

The government in a statement by the Commissioner for Informa on and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, said the Governing Council of the ins tu on will inves gate the allega on against Odetayo and take appropriate ac on as soon as possible.

Osun Lawmaker Calls For FG Intervention On Ikire Flood

Ismaeel Uthman

THE Senator represen ng Osun West Senatorial District, Akogun Olalere Oyewumi, has urged the Federal Ministry of Works to direct the contractor handling Ibadan-Ife road to, as a ma er of urgency, proceed to the por on affected by flood at Ikire to avert further damages and allow free flow of traffic.

Oyewumi also appealed to the Na onal Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to send relief materials to the affected vic ms of the flooding in Ikire, Apomu, Ikoyi and Gbogan areas of the state.

OSUN DEFENDER had reported that residents of the communi es lost proper es worth millions of naira to the flood occasioned by downpour between Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of July, 2023.

Oyewumi, in a moon moved on the floor of the house on Tuesday, noted that tributaries of many steams from towns in the area entered the Osun River at Asejire dam, thereby making the area marshy and waterlogged always.

He said if the spate of the flooding is not immediately checked, it could lead to unimaginable damage to lives and property when there is heavy rainfall in September and November.

“The tributaries of many streams from these towns enter the Osun River at Asejire dam thereby making the area marshy and waterlogged always.

“The heavy flood in these towns has destroyed proper es worth several million naira, many households have been displaced and motorists along the road were stranded for a whole day!

“Further concerned that, if the spate of this flooding is not immediately checked, when the rainfall really starts in September to November this year, it could lead to unimaginable damages to lives and properes. The road which is the 2nd busiest road in South-West Nigeria (after Lagos-Ibadan road) may also become impassable.

“Urge the Federal Ministry of Works to immediately direct the contractor handling IbadanIfe road to, as a ma er of urgency, proceed to the por on affected by the flood at Ikire to avert further damages and allow free flow of traffic.

“Urge the Ecology office and/ or FERMA to equally assist in the channelisa on of other affected areas in Ikire, Ikoyi, Apomu and Gbongan communi es.

“Further urge the Naonal Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to quickly send relief materials to the affected vic ms in Ikire, Apomu, Ikoyi and Gbogan, all in Osun West Senatorial District of Osun State.”