- Lawmaker cites instances of marginalisation
- Says it is not so easy to see the governor after several attempts
- Speaks on the chances of APC in Ese Odo LGA ahead governorship election in October
A member of Ondo State House of Assembly, representing Ese-Odo State Constituency under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Success Torhukerhijo, has said that the incumbent governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has marginalised the Ijaw extraction in the state, Starnews NG can report.
Hon. Success gave this hint in an exclusive interview published by the Punch Newspaper on Easter Sunday.
When asked what was the problem for writing a letter recently to Governor Akeredolu on behalf of his constituents that his people were being marginalised in the state, he said the following:
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“The truth is that in Ondo State, we have two tribes. We have the Yoruba, which is the majority and there is no contention about it, and we also have the Ijaw, who are in the minority in the state. Right from when Ondo State was created or even before the creation of the present Ondo State, while we were with the Ekiti people, the first civilian governor of the state, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, recognised our minority status. As a result of that, he gave us an Area Council at that time so as to address the peculiarities of the Ijaw people of Ondo State as a different people with peculiar culture and tradition.”
“The peculiarities have to do with our culture and language. We speak a different language which is Ijaw language as against the Yoruba language that is spoken by the majority of people in Ondo State. The other has to do with our settlement. Most of our settlements are in the riverine areas. Our major occupation is fishing and tapping of palm trees (to harvest palm wine). All these are peculiar to the Ijaw people of Ondo State.”
He further said: “Like I said, it is in the bid to carry us along that the first civilian governor of the state in the person of the late Chief Ajasin gave us an Area Council at that time. Aside from the Area Council, in government activities, our involvement was assured. At that time in the traditional council, I don’t think we had up to 12 Obas in the first-class category. But because of our peculiarities, our Obas have been enjoying that status right from that time. And we were given what we deserved in the state, including when we had military administrations. Our people were given representations across the board. We were enjoying that minority status but suddenly, with the administration of Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, we saw a twist of events; the Ijaw gradually started losing confidence in the state because of their continuous marginalisation. And this marginalisation is tormenting our people.”
“For instance, he (Akeredolu) set up a committee to look into the creation of Local Council Development Areas and we thought as a minority group in the state, our people would be included so that the issues that concern us could be addressed but we were marginalised. It is a case of marginalisation and continuous marginalisation. We were not in that committee. Our people agitated (for a change) but we told them to be patient and urged them to give him more chances but we have seen that the governor is not changing. Nothing has changed”
“Also, our people were excluded from the recently constituted Palliatives Committee occasioned by the COVID-19. It is the same for the (Coronavirus) Response Fund Committee that was also constituted; our people were also not included. That is the way our people are being treated by this administration,” he added.
Starnews NG reports that Hon Success also spoke on other areas especially on projects of the current administration in Ese Odo local government.
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He said. “It is saddening and highly worrisome that in the whole of Ijaw land, you cannot point to a government project worth N50m done within the last three years of the Akeredolu administration. Projects that were embarked on by the former administration were abandoned; new ones are not being initiated, so there is nothing to show the presence of government in this place in the past three years.”
When asked if he has ever made any attempt to see the governor to complain, he said this: “Yes, I have made several attempts. I have been to the Governor’s Office several times to say I want to see him, but the response I get is either that he is busy or not even available for me to see. It is not so easy to see the governor”
Starnews NG reports that he also spoke about the chances of APC in the upcoming governorship election in October 10 this year. He said:
“The APC is the party that is on the ground there but the activities of the governor and the neglect and rejection of the people do not give them a sense of belonging again. The governor needs to do the needful. Our people there are highly sensitive and politically sophisticated. So, if a particular government is not doing their bidding and nothing is done for them, in terms of development, then I’m afraid. To every action, there is an equal opposing reaction.”
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