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By Tunde Oso

The member representing Ado- Odo Ota Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Jimoh Olusola Ojugbele has called for the creation of the Awori Traditional Council.

This, according to him, is long overdue for the development and unification of the Awori people.

The House of Reps member, who was represented by his Senior legislative aide, Chief Yomi Olojeloju, made this call while delivering an address at a three-day retreat organized for Awori obas by the Awori Obas Forum with the theme “Thinking Awori Nation in the Face of Security, Democracy and COVID-19 Pandemic”.

Ojugbele stressed that the creation of the traditional council will help them (the Aworis) maintain their identity, adding that they (the Aworis) are long due to having their own paramount ruler.

The lawmaker also described the attending of statutory meetings of Obas in the Ota Constituency in the Egba and Yewa Traditional Council respectively as “absurd and unthinkable”.

He said that this to him is very strategic in making them not have a stronger front.

He then ascribed the non-creation of the traditional council after years of agitation to mere political intrigues of some people who believe that the actualization of the traditional council will not be to their own benefit.

He, however, vowed that they would fight this within the ambit of the law in making sure that all Awori Obas are under one umbrella. His words: “Our clamour and agitation for Awori Traditional council have been going on from time immemorial.

On our part, the political class, it has been a war of wars. We are not happy having our Obas operating under the Egba and Yewa Traditional Councils. It is absurd and unthinkable, having our Obas in Ota Constituency attending statutory meetings in Egba Traditional Council and those in the Ado- Igbesa Constituency having theirs under Yewa Traditional Council.

“This to me is very strategic in making us not have a stronger front. Having our own paramount ruler is long overdue, this agitation is being on for years but what is stopping its actualization is the political intrigues of people who believe when we are on our own they won’t benefit from our economic development anymore.

“We would fight on within the ambit of the law in making sure all our obas are under one umbrella and having their statutory meetings under the aegis of Awori Traditional Council”.

The Secretary and Legal Adviser of the Awori Obas Forum and also the Alagbara of Agbara land, Oba Lukman Jayeola Agunbiade explained that the purpose of the retreat is to ensure unity amongst the Awori Obas.

He added that the main reason is to deliberate on how to achieve their aim of getting their own Traditional Council. According to him, deliberations were also made on how to ensure that being the host communities for a lot of Industries in the State be of benefit to their people, especially in the area of employment.