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Kinsmen Defend INEC Boss, Calls For National Restraint

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PRESS STATEMENT
From: Okun Development Association (ODA)

 

The Okun Development Association (ODA), on behalf of Okun sons and daughters worldwide, extend sincere appreciation to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
GCFR, for the appointment of Prof. Joash Amupitan SAN, as Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission. (INEC). We receive this decision as a clear
endorsement of competence and character, and as a call to national service, anchored on
merit. The confidence reposed in Prof. Amupitan SAN, is an honour to Okunland, to Kogi
State, and to every Nigerian who believes that public office should reward integrity and
capacity.

ODA declares, without reservations, our unflinching support for Prof. Joash Amupitan
SAN, as he assumes leadership of INEC at a defining moment in our nation’s democratic
journey. His public and academic record reflect uncommon discipline, fidelity to due
process, and abiding respect for institutions. In every assignment he has handled, Prof.
Amupitan SAN, has shown the temperament, intellectual depth, and moral courage
required to manage sensitive national duties with fairness and firmness. We are assured
that these qualities will guide his stewardship of the Commission.

Prof. Joash Amupitan SAN, personifies the values Okunland holds dear: honesty, hard
work, humility, and service above self. As a scholar, he has raised generations of
Nigerians who today serve in critical sectors of our society. As an administrator, he has
built systems that outlast individuals.

His commitment to strong, impartial institutions is exactly what INEC requires to
consolidate public trust. We are confident that under his leadership, the Commission will
discharge its constitutional mandate without fear or favour, and that his tenure will
strengthen the credibility of our electoral process.

ODA is mindful that the office of INEC Chairman will always attract intense public
scrutiny. While such scrutiny is part of democracy, we respectfully remind all
stakeholders, political actors, and concerned citizens that Nigeria’s constitutional order
provides established channels for resolving disputes. We therefore urge any aggrieved
parties to ventilate their concerns through the appropriate legal and institutional
mechanisms. We call for restraint in public commentary and ask all Nigerians to grant
Prof. Amupitan the calm and institutional space needed to serve the nation with neutrality,
courage and desired result.

The Okun Development Association reaffirms its commitment to national unity,
democratic stability, and the success of the Tinubu administration. We assure the
President and the Nigerian people that Prof. Joash Amupitan SAN, will discharge his
responsibilities with honour, will bring credibility and candour to his office, to Okunland,
and to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We request the prayers and goodwill of all citizens
as he undertakes this solemn duty for the nation.

God bless Okunland.
God bless Kogi State.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Signed:

Amb. (Chief) Akenson Rotimi
President General,
Okun Development Association.
President-General: Amb. Akenson Rotimi
08075259447

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Alimosho Mayhem: AMA Writes Open Letter To APC Chief, Bisi Yusuf 

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An Open Letter to Hon. Bisi Yusuf 

 

From: Hon. Ajoke Moromoke Aminat Obe (AMA) 

 

Date: May 19, 2026

 

Dear Hon. Bisi Yusuf,

 

*PEACE MUST RETURN TO ALIMOSHO*

 

You and I go a long way.

 

During the battle for Agbado Oke-Odo, when Hon. Famuyiwa tried to rob us in the legislative arm of the council, you stood by us. You were a dependable leader and gave us strength in the House. When there was a kangaroo election and we protested, you spoke for us. For that, you have my respect.

I was also one of the people who came to you and asked you to step up and join Her Excellency Adejoke Orelope-Adefulure during the battle for supremacy in Alimosho. You told us categorically that you were no longer interested in politics. I told you then that you couldn’t step back, because peace must return to Alimosho by all means. We had meetings with 5 other leaders after that. The rest is history.

Today you head a faction called TMM. That’s what I need to talk to you about, especially in view of what played out yesterday.

I was an eyewitness, and I almost died or got fatally wounded. But for a guy who kept shouting at me, _”Ama, Ẹ lọ duro si ẹgbẹ ogiri. Ama, go and stand by the wall,”_ I don’t know where I’d be.

In front of me lay an old man flat on his face. I kept picking him up and he kept falling, until that guy came and pulled both of us up.

How did it go all wrong? What happened? Where did the gunshot come from? These questions have been going round and round in my head.

The election was just starting when I got in. I came through the back and saw members from Agbado Oke-Odo. As usual we threw banter at each other, and someone gave up a chair for me and I sat with them. This is what we do in Alimosho. We laugh, we tease each other, we make noise. We don’t shoot people, we don’t kill people, we don’t threaten people, we don’t insult leaders, even when we’re not in the same group. We are not enemies.

Shortly after I sat down, Olo, the Vice Chairman of Ayobo/Ipaja LCDA, called and asked where I was. When I told him, he said I should come to the front because he had a chair reserved for me. When he didn’t see me, he sent his PA to come and find me. I then went and sat beside him. The hall was still calm. I danced and laughed to my seat, and people were calling me left and right.

Then Gbọsa! I heard the noise, but I didn’t know where it came from. One of Olo’s aides pushed me from my chair and asked that we leave immediately. By the time I looked back, people were already rushing to the back entrance. I stood frozen for a moment, then the chairs started flying everywhere. Windows were smashed, terror in broad daylight!

It wasn’t just random attendees caught up in this. Hon. Yemi Ajigbotafe, a serving Commissioner, was also attacked. His security detail was wounded, his car windows smashed. When people in positions like that are not safe at a political gathering in Alimosho, then none of us are safe.

Hon. Bisi, Alimosho has been through enough. We have fought together before to keep peace and fairness in this LGA. I am asking you, as someone who has led here and who people still listen to, to use your voice now to call for calm, for restraint, and for a full investigation into what happened yesterday. At this point I will not point accusing fingers at anyone but if I have to I will do so without fear. You know my history.

We cannot allow violence to become the language of politics in Alimosho. The people who were there are not enemies. We are brothers and sisters with history. If we don’t stop this now, there will be no political structure left to lead.

I am willing to give my account to the police and to any panel that is set up. I ask that you do the same, and that you help ensure that whoever fired that shot is identified and that the law takes its course without fear or favor.

Peace must return to Alimosho by all means. That’s why I came to you years ago, and that’s why I’m writing to you now.

Respectfully,

Hon. Ajoke Moromoke Aminat Obe (AMA)

 

**The incident in question happened in Alimosho on Monday at Senator Idiat Adebule primaries at about 2pm in the council

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Land Grabbing: Court Remands Ondo Monarch

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The Magistrate Court sitting in Oke Eda, Akure, has remanded a traditional ruler and two others over alleged involvement in fraudulent land transactions and illegal land grabbing in Ondo State.

 

 

The defendants, Oba David Okunato, the traditional ruler of Osi community in Akure North council area, Tifase Folasade, and Nwaigbue Chijioke, alongside others said to be at large, were arraigned before the court as part of the government’s efforts to tackle illegal land dealings across the state.

The prosecution alleged that the monarch had earlier sold about 750 plots of land to a company for development purposes, but later went ahead to resell parts of the same property to several other buyers, leading to disputes over ownership.

Trouble reportedly started when the company returned to begin development on the land and discovered that several individuals were already claiming ownership of parts of the property through fresh allocations allegedly made by the monarch.

The development sparked disputes among the parties involved, forcing the matter to be taken back to the traditional ruler for clarification.

It was further alleged that the monarch later agreed to provide the company with another parcel of land as compensation, but allegedly went ahead to sell the same property to another buyer, further worsening the dispute.

The court subsequently ordered the remand of the defendants at the Olokuta Correctional Centre in Akure pending the fulfilment of their bail conditions.

The court granted bail to each of the defendants in the sum of Two Million Naira (₦2,000,000), with one surety each, who must be a recognised traditional ruler within the court’s Magisterial District, and a civil servant not below Level 14 who is resident within the Akure Magisterial District.

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Idanre Group Urges Aiyedatiwa Over Selection of New Owa 

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The Idanre Development Assembly (IDA) has appealed to Ondo State Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, to urgently approve the resumption and conclusion of the selection process for a new Owa of Idanre Kingdom.

 

In a letter dated May 7, 2026, and addressed to the governor at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure, the socio-cultural body expressed concern over the prolonged vacancy on the throne following the transition of the former Owa on July 31, 2024.

The letter, jointly signed by the President-General of IDA, Chief Dr. Anthony A. Omolola, and the Secretary-General, Prof. Oluropo E. Akinfala, noted that the situation had been worsened by the recent death of the Regent and Lisa of Idanre Kingdom, High Chief Christopher Oluwole Akindolire, on May 1, 2026.

According to the group, the absence of a substantive monarch has created social and economic hardships across Idanreland, particularly affecting traders and market women whose trading locations were allegedly relocated to unsafe and unconducive areas pending the installation of a new king.

“The market women and men are worst hit in the hardships with the cultural relocations of their marketplaces to areas that are not conducive and dangerous for their merchandise,” the letter stated.

The group further claimed that several motor and motorcycle accidents, including incidents involving loss of lives and limbs, had occurred in the affected areas.

The Assembly said the selection process for a new Owa had already advanced to the stage where kingmakers were expected to convene publicly under the supervision of local government officials to elect a new monarch before the process was halted by the state government.

The group argued that the suspension of the process had deprived the kingmakers of the experience and guidance of the late High Chief Akindolire, whose passing, it said, had heightened tension and debate within the kingdom.

Appealing to the governor to intervene in the interest of peace and stability, the IDA urged the state government to approve a date — preferably within May 2026 — for the completion of the selection process.

“A stitch in time saves nine,” the group stated, expressing confidence in the governor’s commitment to peace and development in Ondo State.

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