The Ogun Youth Vanguard (OYV), a pressure group, has hit back at attempts to question the indigeneship of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, describing the campaign as a desperate political strategy aimed at frustrating the longstanding aspiration of the Yewa people to produce the next governor of Ogun State.
In a statement issued in Abeokuta on Friday by its Secretary, Abdulhamid Irewole, OYV challenged those questioning Adeola’s roots to produce their evidence before the appropriate judicial or constitutional authorities rather than resorting to what it described as a campaign of calumny through television appearances and social media.
The group alleged that political interests opposed to Adeola’s emergence had deployed individuals to television stations to cast doubts on his ancestry, describing the development as an attempt to “chase shadows” and divert attention from the APC candidate’s record of service.
OYV also took aim at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, alleging that he had been deploying his supporters to propagate what the group described as “false claims” against Adeola.
The group said Adebutu, who is facing prosecution arising from allegations relating to vote-buying and corruption, should allow the courts to determine his case instead of attempting to cast aspersions on the character of another candidate.
“Someone who has allegations of vote-buying and corruption hanging over him should first remove the log in his own eye before pointing accusing fingers at an innocent person. Rather than addressing the serious allegations before the courts, Adebutu appears to believe that he can secure Ogun’s governorship through a dubious campaign strategy. That strategy has failed,” the group said.
OYV insisted that the indigeneship issue was part of a broader political effort to frustrate what it described as the legitimate and longstanding aspiration of the Yewa people to produce the governor of Ogun State.
It alleged that those behind the campaign were attempting to rob Yewa of an opportunity that the zone had pursued for decades, but declared that such efforts would not succeed.
The group also drew attention to the current political configuration of the state, noting that Governor Dapo Abiodun and Adebutu are both from Iperu in Ikenne Local Government Area.
According to OYV, those seeking to perpetuate the existing political arrangement at the expense of other zones are merely attempting to turn the hands of the clock backwards.
“The aspiration of Yewa to produce the governor of Ogun State is sacrosanct. No amount of blackmail, intimidation or politically motivated attacks can erase that aspiration,” the group said.
It further argued that if the present arrangement were to be sustained indefinitely, the implication would be that other zones would have to wait many more years before their turn.
“It is the turn of Yewa, and attempts to deny the people of the zone their longstanding aspiration have failed,” OYV said.
The group challenged anyone with credible evidence capable of disproving Adeola’s claim of Ogun indigeneship to present it before the appropriate authorities, insisting that television appearances and political allegations cannot substitute for due process.
It said Adeola would remain focused on his campaign and urged the electorate to judge all candidates on their records, programmes, experience and commitment to Ogun State.
“Ogun people deserve a campaign based on issues, not distractions. If anyone has evidence capable of disproving Senator Adeola’s indigeneship, let such evidence be presented before the appropriate authority. Otherwise, those behind the campaign should stop chasing shadows and allow the people to focus on the issues that matter,” the group said.
