Nigeria’s Ogun State Assembly Speaker Shuns Pro-Restructuring Group

 …” As Gov. Amosun orders removal of all our pro-restructuring banners”, Group Alleges

By Olayinka Ajayi

In Nigeria, the members of a Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group campaigning for the restructuring of Nigeria’s socio-economic and political systems, Yoruba KO’YA Movement were on Thursday shunned by the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Suraj Adekunbi when they visited the state assembly complex to submit a protest letter to the number three citizen.

The group members numbering about 50 who stormed the assembly complex in a peaceful manner demanded to see the Speaker were told by security personnel and staff of the parliament that the Speaker had gone to attend the ongoing All Progressive Congress (APC) Ward Congress in the state.

The visibly angry members of Yoruba KO’YA who flashed the acknowledgment copies of the two letters written to the Speaker on their visit said information available to them has it that the state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun ordered the Speaker and other members of the parliament including the Clerk, Deputy Clerk and Senior staff of the assembly not to attend to them.

Buttressing their allegation against Amosun and Adekunbi, the National Organizing Secretary of Yoruba KO’YA Movement, Mr. Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye alleged that all the pro-restructuring banners of the group erected across the nooks and crannies of the state have been removed by officials of the state signage agency and council officials on the order of the state Governor.

“We were here a fortnight ago to submit our protest letter on the state of the nation and the position paper of our organization on the ongoing restructuring debate but we were told to come back today because the Speaker was not around despite writing a letter to him to that effect.

“Last week, we wrote another letter to the speaker, acknowledged, reminding him of our visit today but unfortunately, he is nowhere to be found. Our representative was here on Tuesday, we were told that the Speaker had referred the letter to the Deputy Speaker but today, both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are nowhere to be found.

“All the Senior Civil Servants that we approached said there was an instruction from above not to receive any letter brought to the office of the Speaker today. Why are the duo of Amosun and Adekunbi afraid of restructuring? Why are they avoiding us? All our banners erected across Ogun State on why people should join the crusade to get Nigeria restructured economically, politically and socially have been removed on the order of Amosun.” Adeleye alleges.

Our correspondent who witnessed the protest confirmed that the gate of the assembly complex was locked against the pro-restructuring group.

A senior civil servant in the Assembly complex who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the speaker received the letter of the group on Tuesday and immediately referred it to the Deputy Speaker.

However, efforts made to speak to the Speaker have not yielded a fruitful result as at time of filing this report as his lines were switched off while text messages sent to his three mobile lines were not replied.