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Tag: OPC

  • Polls: OPC endorses Sanwo-Olu, other APC candidates

    The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), led by the late Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, yesterday promised to mobilise support for the Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and other candidates of the party in the Southwest in next month’s general elections.

    The deputy president of the socio-cultural group, Wasiu Afolabi, made the promise in Lagos.

    He said the group resolved to police the votes of the electorate and enhance credible elections by resisting rigging.

    Afolabi, who led members of the group to the Independent Campaign Organisation (ICG) office at Oduduwa Crescent, GRA, Ikeja, for a meeting with Sanwo-Olu; Campaign Manager Tayo Ayinde; his deputy, Cardinal James Odunmbaku and other committee members, said the interest of the Yoruba race remained paramount to OPC.

    He said: “We have the power to vote; we have the power to defend the votes. These two objectives we will accomplish.”

    The retracing of steps by OPC represented a critical and decisive political move by the organisation in post-Fasehun era.

    Afolabi said talks between the late OPC leader and APC stalwart, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had started before Fasehun died.

    According to him, surviving OPC leaders decided to put finishing touches to the discussion.

    He added: “Let it be known that in the formation of the OPC by Dr. Fredrick Iseotan Fasehun, the National Leader of APC played a role. We are proud to be back home.

    “Fasehun had put his differences with Asiwaju Tinubu aside. But he died when the group was about to finalise the agreement with him. We have resolved to cooperate with Asiwaju Tinubu. We will deliver the whole of the Southwest in the next elections. I have to thank our leaders who made this possible – Afolabi Salami and Olalekan Akintade.”

    The OPC members were ushered into the campaign office by Ayinde.

    Others at the meeting included former Agriculture Commissioner Enoch Ajiboso, Sesan Olarewaju, Bolaji Ariyoh, Wahab Alawiye-King, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, Wale Adelana, Hamid Olorunoje, Ololola Essien, Tokunbo Wahab, Chris Ekwilo, Durosinmi Adeboye, Gafar Toyin, Yetunde Arobieke, Bayo Ajisebutu and Sesan Daini, who was the master of ceremony.

    Afolabi was accompanied by Alhaji Ibrahim Olarewaju, Chief Lekan Akintade, Women Leader Alhaja Taye Ibrahim, National Coordinator Mudashiru Adeniji and First Vice President Olasunkanmi Balogun.

    Sanwo-Olu, who thanked the OPC leadership for the endorsement, hugged and exchange banters with the organisation’s officers and members.

    He assured them that they will not regret voting for him.

    Ayinde paid tribute to the memory of Fasehun, describing him as a patriot and great leader who was fortunate to be survived by competent deputies.

    Also, Sanwo-Olu’s running mate, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, thanked OPC form its support, saying public perception of the group had changed from its characterisation as a militant body to a peaceful cultural group.

    He said: “People used to think that OPC was a militant group, but you are not a militant group. You are a cultural group. There is peace in the OPC. It is a peaceful group and meant for the emancipation of the Yoruba.”

    Urging the organisation’s members to gird their loins ahead of the polls, Ayinde added: “Get your Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) ready. We will work with our PVCs, not only in Lagos but also in other Southwest states. You should spread the message that your members should vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and other candidates of the APC in the Southwest.

    “APC is the party that will take care of the OPC. We will sponsor your members for pilgrimage to Mecca and Jerusalem. We will do this government together. After voting, wait and defend your votes. Listen to the announcement of results. Follow the ballot boxes to the collation centres. Don’t fight there. Just give them security coverage. We have work to do. We want APC to lead. We will need your support. It is doable. It is achievable. By May, we will celebrate victory.”

    Hailing the collaborative decision, Odunmbaku said the Yoruba will bounce back to national reckoning, adding that this is the goal of the OPC.

    He commiserated with the group on Fasehun’s death, recalling that before his demise, there was a plan between him and Asiwaju Tinubu to have a political collaboration.

    Odunmbaku added: “The surviving leaders of OPC have now finalised it and we are happy for the cooperation. Our director-general will not forget you after the polls. Who says OPC members cannot go to Mecca and Jerusalem?”

    Alawiye-King called for dedication and consistency to the Sanwo-Olu project, assuring the peole that OPC will not regret the collaboration.

    Essien said: “I am happy that OPC has women as members. Let us go back to our local governments and wards to mobilise for President Buhari, our governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and Assembly candidates. You will police the votes for us.”

  • Nigeria will get it right with restructuring, says OPC

    The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has said Nigeria will get it right when the Federal Government restructures the federating states and allows them to develop at their own pace.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Lagos, its Publicity Secretary Yinka Oguntimehin said it is important for stakeholders in the country to raise issues that have direct impact on the development of the nation.

    The OPC chief noted that Nigerians deserve the right to vote for political parties or candidates who have something reasonable to offer the nation.

    He said: “Nigeria can only get it right with restructuring. The coming election will definitely come with various challenges and opportunities. Some of the opportunities will be for us to align with the yearnings of the masses on who becomes the President of this great nation and is ready to bring to the table a policy direction that can impact their lives positively. It is also our duty as a group to promote the ideals of restructuring.”

    Read also: ‘No clash between OPC, Hausa in Lagos’

    The OPC publicity secretary said the beauty of restructuring is all-encompassing, adding that the best would come to Nigeria through restructuring.

    Oguntimehin said: “It is sad that we are still borrowing money to finance the budget, particularly at a time the elections are about three months away. It is sad that majority of Nigerians are suffering, despite the abundant human and material resources that are abound in the country.

    “It is sad that Nigerians are suffering at all levels; yet, we need to promote ideals that have human face. That is what restructuring is all about.”

    Oguntimehin disclosed that the group has no preferred candidates among the various political parties that are jostling for political offices, especially, the position of the Nigerian president, adding that OPC will gladly support candidates that truly believe in the ideal of the group.

    “We are very much on top of the current situation in the political milieu. We are watching the political developments as they unfold in the country. We believe in the struggle to promote the cultural identity of the Yoruba race. We believe in the struggle to liberate the Yoruba nation as it is being promote consistently by our amiable leader, Aare Gani Adams, therefore, we will never compromise our values as a self-determination group”, he explained .

  • OPC ‘has no preferred candidates’

    The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) says it has no preferred candidates among those vying for offices in the 2019 general elections.

    It said it would support candidates who believed in its ideal of restructuring.

    Publicity Secretary Yinka Oguntimehin, who reaffirmed OPC’s belief in restructuring, said Nigeria would only get it right when the federating states developed at their own pace.

    Oguntimehin, in a statement yesterday reiterated the need for stakeholders to raise issues that would impact on the nation’s development.

    He said Nigerians had a right to vote for parties or candidates with something reasonable to offer the nation.

    “Nigeria can only get it right with restructuring.

    “The coming election will definitely come with challenges and opportunities and some of the opportunities will be for us to align with those ready to bring to the table, a policy direction that can impact our lives positively.

    “Not only that, it is our duty as a group to promote the ideals of restructuring,” Oguntimehin said.

     

     

  • 2019: We have no preferred candidates — OPC

    The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) says it has no preferred candidates among those jostling for political offices in the 2019 general elections.

    The group however said it would support candidates that truly believed in its ideal of restructuring.

    Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr Yinka Oguntimehin, who reaffirmed the OPC’s belief in restructuring said that Nigeria could only get it right when all the federating states developed at their own pace.

    Oguntimehim in a statement issued in Lagos, reiterated the need for stakeholders in the country to raise issues that have direct impact on the nation’s development as the 2019 presidential polls gets closer.

    He said that Nigerians deserved the right to vote for political parties or candidates with something reasonable to offer the nation.

    “Nigeria can only get it right with restructuring.

    Read Also: OPC member gets bail

    “The coming election will definitely come with various challenges and opportunities and some of the opportunities will be for us to align with those ready to bring to the table, a policy direction that can impact our lives positively.

    “ Not only that, it is our duty as a group to promote the ideals of restructuring,” he said.

    He dded that the beauty of restructuring was encompassing, stressing that the best could only come to Nigeria through restructuring.

    “We need to promote ideals that have human face and that is what restructuring is all about.

    “It is sad that we are still borrowing money to finance the budget, particularly, at a time when election is about three months away.

    “It is sad that majority of Nigerians are suffering with the abundant human and material resources that are abound in the country.

    “OPC has no preferred candidates among the various political parties that are jostling for political offices, especially, the position of the Nigerian president.

    “We are very much on top of the current situation in the political milieu. We are watching the political developments as they unfold in the country.

    “We believe in the struggle to liberate the Yoruba nation as it is being promoted consistently by our amiable leader, Aare Gani Adams, therefore, we will never compromise our values as a self determination group,” he said.

  • ‘No clash between OPC, Hausa in Lagos’

    The Lagos State Police Command spokesman Chike Oti said yesterday there was no clash between Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) members and Hausa residents at Ejigbo.

    Oti, who spoken with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), denied reports on the alleged killings at Ejigbo.

    The spokesman said the story of the clash on social media was false and capable of breaching peace.

    He said the police at Ejigbo got information about the arrest of a suspected motorcycle thief and some persons attempted to secure his release from the police.

    Oti said: “The incident happened on Tuesday at Powerline Area, Ejigbo, about 5 a.m.

    “The vigilante group apprehended the suspect and informed the police.

    “Operatives from Ejigbo came to the scene to take away the suspect and some people hauled stones against the police. The operatives refused to use their arms against the people to avoid casualties.

    “The police succeeded in going away with the suspect, currently detained at Ejigbo Police Division.”

    “One locally-made pistol was recovered from the suspects. No other arrest has been made.”

     

  • Ekiti Police arrest OPC man over alleged murder of student

    Ekiti Police arrest OPC man over alleged murder of student

    The Police in Ekiti State have arrested and detained a chieftain Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Ikere-Ekiti, Dele Olorunfemi, over alleged murder of a student, Faramo Tope.

    The deceased,  said to be a student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti Campus, was  killed at about 9.30 pm on Wednesday, February 28.

    Tope was being conveyed with another passenger by a commercial motorcyclist when he was hit by bullets allegedly fired by some OPC men on patrol led by Olorunfemi.

    The shooting  reportedly took place along Winners’ Chapel Road in Oke Osun area of the town.

    The corpse of the deceased was dumped in a bush at Ona Owuro Road behind College Demonstration School.

    The Nation gathered that the commercial motorcyclist who witnessed the killing of his passenger and identified the suspects reported the incident at Anaye Police Station in Uro Quarters of the town.

    The report of the alleged murder led to the arrest of Olorunfemi and another suspect who was simply identified as “Bebe.” Another suspect identified as “Abule” is currently  at large.

    Residents of the area where the corpse was dumped also reported the killing at the same police station.

    The corpse of the student has been deposited at the State Specialist Hospital, along Ise Road, Ikere.

    Chairman of the Landlords Association of the area, Pastor David Owotobi, said the corpse was dumped when members of his church were having an all night prayer.

    “After our programme in the church, our members were going back home and they came back to report that a corpse was dropped very close to our church.

    “I went there when and I saw the corpse , on the second day ,very early in the morning, I went to the police station to report what happened on our street.”

    Confirming the incident in a telephone chat, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abdullahi Chafe, said only one person has been arrested.

    Chafe said: “I can confirm that such an incident occurred, one person has been arrested and he will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

     

  • Akure Airport invasion: OPC to secure passengers

    Akure Airport invasion: OPC to secure passengers

    Members of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Ondo State have expressed their readiness to protect passengers using the Akure Airport.

    This followed last weekend’s invasion of the airport by cows suspected to belong to Fulani herdsmen.

    Its State Coordinator Pius Ogunsanya, who addressed reporters in Akure yesterday, noted that if cows continued to graze on the tarmac, many passengers would abandon the airport for alternative routes to their destinations.

    This, he noted, would diminish the economy of the state.

    Ogunsanya urged the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to provide tight security at the airport for passengers and airline operators.

    The OPC chief said the organisation would forestall a recurrence of such incident.

    He warned the resident against a suspected impostor for allegedly parading himself as coordinator of OPC in the state.

    He said: “There was a report in some national dailies where someone else claimed to be speaking as Ondo State Coordinator of OPC over a sensitive security issue of herdsmen and farmers’ clashes.

    “I wish to put the record straight: OPC in Ondo State has Comrade Pius Ogunsanya as the authentic coordinator under the leadership of Aare Ona Kakanfo Gani Adams.

    “We, therefore, use this medium to appeal the media to always crosscheck their facts and figures before going to press to avoid misinforming the public and avoid unnecessary security threat and breakdown of law and order…”

     

     

     

  • Gani Adams fetes widows as OPC marks Heroes Day

    Gani Adams fetes widows as OPC marks Heroes Day

    Over 150 widows have received cash gifts from the Aare Ona Kakanfo-designate of Yoruba, Otunba Gani Adams, at this year’s edition of Heroes Day, an   annual Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) for remembering deceased members of the group.

    Addressing members of the group from across the country, Adams, who is also the group’s National Coordinator, noted that aside from providing the opportunity for OPC to help the families of its slain members, the occasion is also an opportunity to commune with the spirit of the late members.

    Saluting the courage of the widows for keeping their families going, despite the demise of their husbands, Adams said: “What we do here today is part of the sacrifices we must make for the progress of the group.”

    The OPC chief said the Heroes Day was fixed for November 8 because it was the day “the first honest hero of OPC, Comrade Kola Arowosafe, was killed”.

    He noted that of the widows benefitting from the scheme, fewer than 20 had lost their husbands in the line of duty.

    Adams said the widows were accommodated, irrespective of how their husbands died, because the group had a duty to take care of wives of its late members.

    According to him, about 180 widows were hosted and empowered earlier in the year.

    Adams said the Wednesday’s event was the second time OPC was assisting the widows this year.

    Making a case for the nation’s diverse traditions, especially in the Southwest, Adams said the bane of the society is abandoning its root.

    He said: “We cry about corruption, hunger and the like, whereas the antidote to these ills in our society is in our culture, which we have abandoned as a result of foreign religions.”

  • Gani Adams fetes widows as OPC marks Heroes Day

    Gani Adams fetes widows as OPC marks Heroes Day

    Over 150 widows have received cash gifts from the Aare Ona Kakanfo-designate of Yoruba, Otunba Gani Adams, at this year’s edition of Heroes Day, an   annual Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) for remembering deceased members of the group.

    Addressing members of the group from across the country, Adams, who is also the group’s National Coordinator, noted that aside from providing the opportunity for OPC to help the families of its slain members, the occasion is also an opportunity to commune with the spirit of the late members.

    Saluting the courage of the widows for keeping their families going, despite the demise of their husbands, Adams said: “What we do here today is part of the sacrifices we must make for the progress of the group.”

    The OPC chief said the Heroes Day was fixed for November 8 because it was the day “the first honest hero of OPC, Comrade Kola Arowosafe, was killed”.

    He noted that of the widows benefitting from the scheme, fewer than 20 had lost their husbands in the line of duty.

    Adams said the widows were accommodated, irrespective of how their husbands died, because the group had a duty to take care of wives of its late members.

    According to him, about 180 widows were hosted and empowered earlier in the year.

    Adams said the Wednesday’s event was the second time OPC was assisting the widows this year.

    Making a case for the nation’s diverse traditions, especially in the Southwest, Adams said the bane of the society is abandoning its root.

    He said: “We cry about corruption, hunger and the like, whereas the antidote to these ills in our society is in our culture, which we have abandoned as a result of foreign religions.”

  • Gani Adams suitable for Aare Ona title – Ifa priest

    Gani Adams suitable for Aare Ona title – Ifa priest

    A prominent Ifa Priest and community leader, High Chief Olayemi Alabi has congratulated leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Gani Adams, on his appointment as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.
     
    Alabi, who is the Oluwo of Surulere Kingdom in Lagos State, also congratulated the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, for breaking the 19-year vacuum on the prestigious title.
     
    He said the nomination of Adams as the 15th Aare Ona Kankanfo is a divine blessing for the Yorubas.
     
    “Otunba Gani Adams possesses all the qualities required of that position and it is glaring he has the blessings of Olodumare.
     
    “His emergence is coming at the most important time in the history of the Yorubas. His tenure will bring a lot of good things to Yorubaland,” he said.
     
    Alabi added: “The Aare Ona Kakanfo-elect has always been at the forefront of the fight for the course of the Yoruba people.
     
    “He truly deserves this honour. He is a man with a heart of steel and with the support of all Yorubas, he will succeed.
     
    “My personal experience from my relationship with Otunba Adams leaves me with no doubt that he is the perfect choice for the position.”
     
    Alabi, widely called Yemi Abore, prayed for longer life and peaceful reign for Alaafin.