Piqued and perplexed by the ignominious role played by the outgoing Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, in the last governorship election and purported lack of any infrastructural development in Ijebu compared with his native Abeokuta, the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, has openly accused Amosun of a deep-seated dislike for people of Ijebu extraction.
Amosun, an Egba, unabashedly antagonised the candidature of his party, the All Progressives’ Congress, APC’s governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun, an illustrious Ijebu son. Over the years, too, there had been a groundswell of accusations that in all his eight years as governor, Amosun concentrated all projects in Abeokuta, also the state capital, at the detriment of other zones in the state.
However, the governor addressed the accusation earlier in January when he said that though priority was truly given to the state capital, he never abandoned other areas in his infrastructural drive. He said, “I never neglected other areas. We have one of the best flyovers and roads of our administration in Sagamu; there are two flyovers in Ijebu Ode with good roads and the same things are done in Ijebu Igbo and Yewa. What we’ve done is that when we do three things in Abeokuta, we do two or one in other places. No governor worth his salt will abandon Abeokuta.”
Speaking during the 3rd Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance Lecture organised to celebrate his 85th birthday and 59th year on the throne last Friday, the revered monarch, who spoke in Yoruba, said Ijebu people were maltreated by the governor during his eight years in office. “Amosun does not like the Ijebu people but he is my friend. He loves me and he is close to me, but when you claim to love me and hate Ijebu people, automatically, you hate me too.”
On the contrary, he commended the outgoing governor who was represented at the event by his deputy, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga, for his support. He said, “I must thank Governor Amosun because he stood by me but that is not enough. For you to have thrown stones at an Ijebu person, you have thrown stones at me. So, whatever has happened has happened and is gone.”
