President-General, Okun Development Association (ODA), Barr. Femi Mokikan, has condemned the continued impersonation and misrepresentation of the association by one Chief Amos Akere Owoniyi.
In a statement issued on Friday, Mokikan warned the general public against dealing with Akere Owoniyi as he had, over the last 20 years, constituted himself into a destabilizing agent to the activities of the association by parading himself as the Chairman of ODA South West where he did whatever caught his fancy to the detriment of the good image of Okun Nation.
This is coming on the heels of Akere’s recent visit and endorsement of the candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November 11 governorship election in Kogi state, Alhaji Murtala Yakubu Ajaka. Akere, in company of Gen. Benjamin Segun Ipinyomi (rtd) pledged fealty to Murtala Ajaka, claiming to be representing the ODA.
However, the ODA President-General said the Okun Development Association will not be responsible for anyone who is hiding under and using the association to perpetrate any unauthorized act.
“The ODA constitution does not have provision for the post of Chairman Lagos/South West as there is no such grouping in the said constitution. Any dealings with Chief Akere and the said General, or any other such impersonators, in the name of ODA is entirely at the risk of such persons.
“We have exhausted all avenues available to us towards making Chief Akere toe the line of decency to no avail.
“Chief Akere Owoniyi had for over 20 years, constituted himself into a destabilizing agent to the activities of the ODA by parading himself as the chairman of ODA South West where he did whatever caught his fancy to the detriment of the good image of Okun nation.
“In that illegal capacity, he took steps that were not in the overall interest of Okunland, including visiting individuals and organizations claiming to be representing ODA, soliciting for financial support and appropriating such support to his personal use without accounting to the ODA.
“While the ODA does not have anything against anyone devising any legitimate means to make a living, illegally using of ODA as a means to achieve selfish goals is objectionable and cannot be acceptable to any decent group of people such as Okun,” he explained.
Mokikan added that ODA took every step, over many years, involving eminent Okun personalities in Lagos, to dissuade Akere from this ignoble practice but he would not yield.
“It got so bad that ODA had no choice but to reluctantly involve some of our royal fathers in Okunland.
“Following the intervention from the royal fathers sometime in 2022, and in deference to them, Chief Akere heeded the wise counsel of the royal fathers and ceased from doing what the ODA had complained about for some years.
“From that moment he discontinued the operation of the unconstitutional and unrecognized South West ODA portfolio which he claimed he chaired.
“There is a Lagos branch of ODA with a constitutionally set up state executive with representatives from all the districts in Okunland under the chairmanship of Engr. Segun Anjorin.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Okun Development Association has no grouping that is known as South West ODA.
“Seeing Akere in this his new mission, putting himself forward as representing ODA, is baffling and of a great disservice to our people as well as an act of serious disrespect to our royal fathers.
“For Chief Akere to at this time in our history go back to his old ways, pledging support for a governorship candidate from another senatorial district on behalf of the ODA, when the prayers of Okun people generally is for Okun people to produce the next governor of the state, says a lot about how famished he must have become and the kind of person that he is.
“Okun Development Association would not discourage any individual from exercising his/her right to support and promote any candidate of his choice as an individual. But when such individual purports to be making such support and/or promotion on behalf of an association of which he is not an official, such a claim must be discredited and put where it properly belong.
“Chief Akere Owoniyi is not a member of the ODA national or state or branch executive council or committee and is therefore not competent to speak for or commit ODA to any obligations.
“ODA hopes that the candidates visited will be discerning enough to be able to evaluate the worth of the support to expect from him.
“We hope Akere will not give us reasons to go beyond this to protect the integrity and dignity of our association, the ODA.”
Mokikan called on all Okun men of goodwill to support ODA and our royal fathers by prevailing on Chief Akere to permanently stop attempting to frustrate the association at every turn for his own personal aggrandizement.
