By Dapo Akinrefon

THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; a former Ogun State governor, Senator Gbenga Daniel, Prof. Olufemi Otubanjo and Prof. Siyan Oyeweso will grace the 30^th anniversary of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC. 

The event, billed to hold in Lagos on Thursday August 29, will also attract all the six South West Governors.

Speaking a press briefing in Lagos, Chairman of the Planning Committee, Prof. Raheem Kolawole said the event is a major milestone in the country.

Prof. Kolawole said: “We want to show our appreciation to God by giving the little we have to the aged and the old, to the needy and blind and also to those that are physically challenged.

“That singular gesture is to tell the world that the OPC under the leadership of the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams,is committed to impacting the lives of the downtrodden in our society.

“We have been doing all these for the past two decades through the Gani Adams Foundation, but the new move is in the spirit of celebrating the 30th anniversary of the OPC.

“We have carefully selected prominent personalities that would grace the event.

“Among these personalities are the six South West Governors that have since been host to all the OPC structures across the Southwest.

“Apart from the governors, we have also invited many important personalities as the Chairman of the Day, Guests Lecturer and Book Reviewer.

“It may interests you that the father of the day is the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.

“Kabiesi Ooni is a foremost Yoruba Oba and he is the symbol of the Yoruba progenitor, Oduduwa.

“And OPC being a Yoruba socio-cultural organization,we considered it an honour to have the Ooni of Ife being present at the event as the representative of our great progenitor.

“The Chairman of the day is Senatoe Gbenga Daniel who is a former governor of Ogun State.

“The choice of Otunba Gbenga Daniel as the chairman of the day was informed by the significant and fatherly role he played during the factional crises that engulfed the OPC in 2005.

“Otunba Daniel stood by the organization and provided the needed reconciliation between the two factions that was led by the late Dr Fredrick Faseun and Iba Gani Adams.

“As the governor then, he intervened and save Yoruba land from further crises that could have engulfed the whole of southwest region.

“Another important personality that would grace the grand finale is the Guest Lecturer, Prof. Olufemi Otubanjo.

“Prof. Otubanjo was a prominent lecturer at the University of Ibadan for more than two decades.”

Other members of the planning committee present at the briefing include the General Secretary of the OPC, Chief Babajide Tanimowo, Chief Segun Ajiboye, Chief Dauda Asikolaye, Chief Yinka Oguntimehin, Kehinde Aderemi, Samson Oseni, Ambassadors Olugbenga Onasanya and Ibrahim Lawal among others.