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Tag: COSEG

  • COSEG seeks support for Sanwo-Olu

    The Coalition of Oodua Self-determination Group (COSEG) has called on Lagosians to support the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.

    According to the group, Sanwo-Olu remains the best among those contesting for the exalted office.

    Chairman of the Co-ordinating Council Dayo Ogunlana, in a statement, said: “Mr. Sanwo-Olu is competent, resourceful and dependable. He will definitely be of great benefit to all Lagosians.

    “Since Sanwoolu’s entry into politics, he has remained in the progressives’ camp and has contributed to the development programmes of the government. He has acquired the requisite knowledge and experience to steer the ship of the state successfully.

    “As a mouthpiece of our people, we have come again to ask for support Sanwo-Olu. Among those aspiring to rule Lagos State, he is the most experienced, qualified and knowledgeable about governance. He has distinguished himself in various capacities. It is on this note that we urge the people of Lagos to votes for a man of class who has distinguished himself outstandingly…”

    The group also warned hoodlums to keep away from Lagos.

    “We warn miscreants and anti-people bent on destroying Lagos out of jealousy and other negative feelings to stay clear as we shall do everything to defend our people’s votes. We shall not run away or be blind to this important responsibility. Lagos must move forward and must not be drawn back by charlatans and unpatriotic elements,” the group added.

  • COSEG, CAIDOV call for peaceful polls

    As Nigerians throughout the country troop out enmasse to cast their votes to elect a new leader and members of the National Assembly, a call has gone to the youths to eschew violence during and after the elections.

    The call was made yesterday in Lagos by the leadership of the Coalition of Oodua Self-determination Group(COSEG) in a statement signed by Dayo Ogunlana, the Chairman of its Coordinating Council, stating that free and fair elections are what the people should work towards and that it is only in peaceful atmosphere that progress can be recorded in the country.

    The group said: “We wish to call on Nigerians to eschew violence as we go to the polls today to elect our president. The youths being the most vulnerable should not be allowed to be used as instrument of trouble during and after the elections.

    “The country can only progress in an atmosphere that is peaceful and conducive. These elections shouldn’t be a do-or-die affair ,but efforts should be made at voting credible and trusted persons into positions of authority.

    In the same vein, the Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence (CAIDOV) also called on Nigerians to go out  and conduct themselves peacefully during the elections today and stressed that no matter the outcome, peace should be maintained all through as the process has been open and transparent so far.

    The position of the CAIDOV was made known by its Executive  Director, Gbenga Soloki, in a statement he signed and made available to journalists in Lagos yesterday, maintaining that the umpire and the security have all assured Nigerians of professionalism in the conduct of the elections ,so it behoves on Nigerians to shun any violent act that may cast aspersions on the integrity of the process.

    The CAIDOV boss equally appealed to those in charge of the elections to carry out their duties without favour and in a professional manner that will be satisfactory to all the parties in the elections as that will invariably confer legitimacy on the elections to be conducted.

    The CAIDOV said: “This is an appeal to the people of our great country to eschew any violent act as we vote today to elect those that will pilot the affairs of our country in the next four years. Nigerians should conduct themselves in peaceful manner, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as the police and others concerned, should endeavour to discharge their functions appropriately without favour.

    “We need a peaceful process that will usher in progress and development in our country. Our politicians too must play the game, according to the rules and desist from acts that will jeopardise the process, “ the CAIDOV said.

  • COSEG condemns ‘apostles of fake restructuring’

    THE Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Groups (COSEG), an organization protecting and promoting the interest of the Yoruba, has described the presidential candidates and their supporters promising restructuring without giving details as “apostles of fake restructuring.”

    In a statement signed by Comrade Dayo Ogunlana, the Chairman of the Coordinating Council of the organization, the Yoruba were advised to reject these politicians because “they are out to deceive the race in order to get their votes which they do not merit.”

    The statement reads in part: “We cannot run away from guiding and directing our people appropriately, most especially at this time when some want to use restructuring that they have serially fought against to deceive our people just to corner our resources. At a time when they were in government and they had the opportunity to restructure or advise appropriately, they fought those people that mooted the idea and worked towards it.

    “The Yoruba are too sophisticated to be deceived. Restructuring on the surface! Where are its details? It’s a sham, a scam and a banana peel. Importantly too, we are not blind to the ongoing gang-up by the apostles of fake restructuring whose details are kept in their secret bag and tailored to deceive our sophisticated people that are not ready to  jettison and trade our valued vice presidency.

    “Clearly, we must inform them that the gang-up has failed. We shall not allow the conspiracy of the deep pockets in any form to destroy the gains of this promising government. No, we cannot. It is a fact that the Yoruba are revered people that abhor corruption and will, therefore, not support its promoters.

    “Corruption was their plate number when they were in government. It must be noted that their recent conspiracy of fake endorsements and idea of fake restructuring are a great design and ploy to bring back this menace that has eaten so deep into our fabric of existence. Consequently, we should realise why the Yoruba who tried hard to trade off our ethos of omoluabi have lost it from day one.

    “Let us all appreciate this present government for the trust it reposes in our race and for what it has done for the race by voting Buhari /Osinbajo again,  knowing full well that our massive support this 2019 for them is support that will guarantee the Yoruba race the 2023 presidency. This is where we stand and this is where we are”.

  • COSEG urges Yoruba to vote for Buhari

    THE Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Groups (COSEG) has called on the Yoruba to massively vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election holding on February 16.

    In a statement signed by Comrade Dayo Ogunlana, the Chairman of the Coordinating Council of the organization, Yoruba were advised to reject the Peoples’ Democratic party (PDP) in the elction and vote for the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the interest of Yoruba race which would produce the president of the country in 2023.

    The statement further said: The Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Groups was formed to clearly protect and promote the interest of the Yoruba at all times, irrespective of whose ox is gored, and as a matter of fact, we have not derailed from this core objective that has been our guiding principle till date.

    “We have remained focused and we shall continue to remain so.

    Flowing from the above, we, therefore, call on our sons and daughters to critically dissect the recent political developments, putting in mind the main interest of our race which is very sacrosanct.

    “The Yoruba  in the opposition and their collaborators should clearly place the race uppermost in their hearts. They should, therefore, retrace their steps and support the Buhari/ Osinbajo presidency that loves and accords our race respect we deserve,  if and only if they want us to accord them respect.

    “Let us all appreciate this present government for the trust they repose in our race and for what they have done for the race by voting Buhari /Osinbajo again  knowing full well that our massive support this 2019 for them is a pointer and collaborative support that will guarantee the Yoruba race the 2023 presidency. This is where we stand and this is where we are.

    “2023 is our time and must not be joked with and the only route or  road to it must not be abandoned.

    The only way to get this automatically is to massively use our voting strength to elect the Buhari / Osinbajo-led government come February 2019.

    “We, therefore, enjoin all Yoruba, irrespective of their political inclinations, and those that  have the real blood of omoluabi in their veins to vote and vote massively for the Buhari/Osinbajo presidency”.

  • COSEG advises Amosun to drop senatorial ticket

    A call has gone to the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to desist from the politics he is playing and drop the Senate ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by joining his followers in the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), describing his contesting on the platform of the APC while sponsoring candidates in the APM as politics of retrogression.

    The COSEG, in a release signed by the Chairman of its Coordinating Council, Comrade Dayo Ogunlana, urged Governor Amosun to behave like a progressive politician, stressing that his support for the opposition candidates of the APM  “is not good enough.”

    The body further said his purported support for President Buhari while working against other APC candidates “is an act of political miscalculation that should not be taken seriously.”

    The COSEG said:” It is not a virtue of a principled person or Omoluabi in Yoruba land for you to stay on the fence in a critical political situation like we have now. Governor Amosun should be man enough to relinquish the APC senatorial ticket and join his followers in the APM. It is not good to hold on to the ticket of a party and at the same time sponsoring opposition candidates against the party.

    “Political office holders should not see themselves as masters of other party members. They should see themselves as servants. Arrogance will not lead to any fruitful end. A man of wisdom and knowledge should always have it in mind that arrogance brings about disgrace.”

  • COSEG urges Yoruba to be vigilant

    A call has gone to Yoruba people of the south western part of the country to be weary of politicians in the zone who are asking for their votes in the coming general elections

    The call was made by the Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Groups (COSEG) in a statement signed by the group’s Chairman, Coordinating Council, Dayo Ogunlana, after its bi- monthly meeting in Ikeja.

    It directed the Yoruba people to be vigilant and weary of elected, appointed and self-appointed Yoruba leaders who just woke up from their docility to the reality of time.

    The group said: “It is sad that some elected, appointed and self- appointed leaders who have been in authority for three and half years now and whose trade mark is to destroy Yoruba organisations of great history and who have refused to identify with the people nor make sound policies to improve the lot of the people of the zone are the ones calling on the people to vote for their various parties and principals for them to continue to hold their positions which they have not used to benefit the people of the race”.

    The group condemned the activities of these people who, as a result of current reality, have to come back to people to seek for votes.

    It, therefore, urged the Yoruba people to turn down their ministers, governors, chairmen and self- appointed leaders who have refused to identify with them for the past three and a half years, but have found their voices now in order to mischievously pretend as if they have been doing anything positive for the people.

    The chairman said: “The self-appointed leaders, ministers from our region and some governors from our zone who have been nonchalant to the interest of the Yoruba people should be treated as enemies of people.”

    The group restated their non-partisanship by saying that they are not in support of any political party, but will mobilise the people to vote for credible candidates who have the interest of the people and whose preoccupation, intention and disposition have been favourable to the Yoruba region at the national and state levels.

  • COSEG urges Yoruba to unite for AD candidate

    The unity in Yoruba land has been described as sacrosanct and no politician no matter how highly placed should toy with it as such an attempt will be resisted vehemently.

    The call was made in Akure, Ondo State by the Coalition of Oodua Self-determination Groups (COSEG) at the end of its Coordinating Council meeting in a statement signed by its Chairman, Comrade Ifedayo Ogunlana, and Secretary, Rasaq Olokoba,stressing that the forthcoming  governorship election in Ondo State is about the unity of the race in the face of the infiltration  of the region by the Hausa  Fulani cabal.

    According  to the COSEG,  “Yoruba people, especially politicians, should come together and be united in resisting and rejecting the people that the region supported massively in the last presidential election, but who surprisingly are working towards disunity in our land.

    “This is not the time to apportion blame, but the time to call on all to come together and reject the influence and interest of the feudal lords  who are acting god, forgetting  that former President Jonathan and his Ijaw kinsmen played same and were  thoroughly dealt with.”

    The group also appealed to all Yoruba people to use the Ondo election as a test case for the noble resistance and replicate the Osun 2014 election in Ondo  on November 26.

    “We hereby call on all Yoruba to let us use Ondo as a test case for this noble resistance and reject their candidate  as expressed during the 2014 governorship election in Osun , while the intimidation  and harassment  did not prevent our people from casting their votes for the candidate of their choice.

    “So in order to halt the planned humiliation of our race by the cabal, our people in Ondo should move and support Chief Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy (AD)who is the new face of the movement in Ondo State. The unity of the race is a clarion call,” COSEG said.

  • COSEG, SWICO commend YCE for rejecting Jonathan

    COSEG, SWICO commend YCE for rejecting Jonathan

    The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has been commended for saying openly that it had dissociated itself from the Afenifere’s endorsement of  President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    The Coalition of Oodua Self-determination Groups (COSEG) and the South West Independent Campaign Organisation (SWICO) praised the group’s doggedness in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday.

    The statement signed by Dayo Ogunlana, the Chairman of the COSEG, and Moses Olafare, the Director General of the SWICO, reads in part:  “We view the desperate plan by  Jonathan’s regime to shift the dates of the 2015 elections as unnecessary and uncalled for since the only constitutionally recognised body in that regard, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has repeatedly maintained its readiness for the elections.

    “Surrogates of the president, led by the National Security Adviser (NSA), have not hidden their disdain for a sane democratic process in their persistent calls for the postponement.

    “However, we must let the world know that those calling for the postponement of the elections are desperate political robbers, working for the presidency and should be held responsible if anything untoward should happen before, during and after the elections.

    “The call by some elders of the country, led by Chief Edwin Clark, Chukwuemeka Ezeife and Senator Femi Okunrounmu, for the arrest or resignation of the INEC boss, Prof. Attahiru Jega, is self-serving and diversionary. We are also alarmed that up till now, those threatening to make the country ungovernable, if one candidate loses are still not reprimanded by these highly compromised elders. Edwin Clark and his cohorts should tell the world the offence committed by Jega, aside that he has refused to join their call for postponement.

    “It is on this note that we must salute the doggedness of the leadership of the Yoruba Council of Elders for dissociating self from the evil adoption of President Jonathan by the factionalised Afenifere. With this singular act, YCE has shown clearly that the interest of the people shall be sacrosanct to them, unlike those who are out to fend for themselves and their immediate families with the blood of the masses of the South West.

    “We are convinced that posterity will not forgive those renegades in Afenifere for their evil plot against the Yoruba. Those misleading our people to vote President Jonathan under the present condition in Nigeria must be living in the jungle as it is in no way hidden that Nigeria, under Jonathan, is badly run. Anybody canvassing for a man who has shown disdain for our people and neglected them all these while cannot be real leader or voice of Yoruba people. We cannot trust this Jonathan again.”

  • Osun: COSEG warns against ‘importation’ of Niger Delta militants

    Osun: COSEG warns against ‘importation’ of Niger Delta militants

    The Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Group (COSEG), has on Monday raised the alarm over plans by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains to import hundreds of Niger Delta boys for the Osun election.

    In statement COSEG Chairman and Secretary, Ifedayo Ogunlana and Rasaq Olookoba, the pan Yoruba Organisation said it had it on good authority that the plans were concluded at the weekend.

    COSEG said the plan was the brainchild PDP chiefs.

    The organisation said a top government officials deeply involved in the Niger Delta struggle and who knows the militants inside out, was said to have volunteered to hire the militants.

    COSEG condemned the plan which it described as “double jeopardy” in view of the “heavy policing and militarisation of the state by the Federal Government”.

    The statement added: “We heard from sources that the PDP has enlisted the help of NIGER Delta militants to come to Osun for the election.

    “We in COSEG know the antecedent those linked with this plan and so do not take lightly the sinister plan to storm Osun with militants.

    “We are sending caution to President Goodluck Jonathan to counsel his party chiefs to desist from such obnoxious plan as the people of Osun will resist with all their might any attempt to destabilise the state.”

    The organisation advised Osun people not be intimidated by the presence of the security men saying it had become clear to the security agents that Osun’s election “cannot be rigged because of the massive support of the people enjoyed by Aregbesola”.

  • ‘Appointment of suspected murderer as minister insult on Yoruba’

    ‘Appointment of suspected murderer as minister insult on Yoruba’

    A body, the Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Groups (COSEG), has described the appointment of Mr. Jelili Adeshiyan by President Goodluck Jonathan as the Police Affairs Minister, as an insult on the Yoruba.

    “It is also an attempt to shield him and his cohorts from prosecution over the death of the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige,” the group added.

    In a statement by its Chairman and Secretary, Ifedayo Ogunlana and Rasak Olokoba, at the end of its monthly meeting where the state of the nation was discussed, the body described the appointment as an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

    According to the group, the appointment of Adeshiyan is not only an insult on the people of Yoruba land, but also a disservice to the memory of Chief Bola Ige. A man, who is an aide of Senator Iyiola Omisore, known for violence and brigandage, cannot be trusted in such a position. He is still under investigation for the murder of Ige, yet he is a minister in charge of a government agency. This calls to question the anti-corruption crusade of the Jonathan administration.”

    It said: “We have noticed the hatred President Jonathan has for our people. This is why a suspected murderer could be appointed as a Police Affairs Minister.”

    COSEG decried the Senate for the hasty manner it confirmed the nomination of the suspected murderer, despite opposition from the three senators from Osun State.

    “We are confused on how a man standing trial for murder could have scaled the screening of the security as well as that of the Senate.

    “It is also worrisome how our security system works if a suspected murderer, who has a case in court, could scale through security screening. This is why government has been unable to stop Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast,” the group said.

    It went on: “The appointment of Adeshiyan is not only mischievous, but also reckless, immoral, anti-people and a dangerous trend in the political development and appointments because he who asks for equity must come with clean hands.

    The appointment of Adeshiyan is flawed. The Jonathan administration cannot continue to scorn the late Ige, an ex-Justice Minister.”

    COSEG said it would resist attempt by the President to allegedly use the minister to rig the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State, adding that it would protect the sanctity of the electoral process.