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Disturbed by what it describes as sustained political exclusion, a socio-political group, the Ado-Odo/Igbesa Youth Forum, has raised concerns over the continued marginalisation of its people in the distribution of political offices within Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
In a communiqué made available to journalists by the group Chairman, Mr. Ezekiel Anuoluwapo, the group said it had become aware of the emergence of a body operating under the name Ota-Awori Youth Movement, which it accused of reviving old divisions by promoting what it called a narrow, self-serving political agenda centred in Ota recently.
While such agitations might ordinarily not warrant serious attention, the forum said prevailing circumstances made it necessary to address critical issues in the broader interest of fairness, justice, and lasting peace in Aworiland.
The group acknowledged and commended Awori sons and daughters currently occupying positions at the federal and state levels for their roles in managing long-standing political sensitivities in Ota and surrounding communities.
It also paid tribute to the late Olota of Ota, Oba Moshood Alani Oyede, noting that his reign was marked by conscious efforts at unity and inclusiveness across Awori communities—an approach it said contrasts sharply with the divisive posture now being promoted by some actors.
However, the forum insisted that the record must be set straight, alleging a persistent pattern of political greed, exclusion and selective memory by certain interests in Ota who, it said, act as though Ota alone constitutes Aworiland and as though all political offices within the local government are its exclusive preserve.
According to the group, the consistent marginalisation of Ado-Odo/Igbesa across several political cycles should be a collective concern to all well-meaning Awori people. Instead, it lamented what it described as attempts to trivialise this imbalance through “noisy and insulting agitations” that deepen existing divisions rather than address the root injustice.
Tracing political representation from the era of former Governor Bisi Onabanjo to the present, the forum argued that appointments and elective positions—including the deputy governorship, senatorial seats, House of Representatives positions, local government chairmanships and commissioner slots—have disproportionately favoured Ota, leaving Ado-Odo/Igbesa largely sidelined.
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It questioned what became of Aworiland’s deputy governorship slot in the past seven years, the handling of earlier senatorial opportunities, and why the local government chairmanship, which it said remained in Ota for long periods since the Amosun administration, did not attract the level of agitation now being expressed.
Providing a breakdown of political office distribution, the group noted that Ota occupied the Aworiland deputy governorship position from 2019 to 2027. In the Senate, Ota held the seat during the 3rd Republic and from 2011–2019.
For the House of Representatives, Ota represented the constituency from 1999–2003 and 2007–2011, while Ado-Odo/Igbesa held the position from 2003–2007 and again from 2011- 2027
.On local government chairmanship, Ado-Odo/Igbesa produced chairmen between 1999–2003 and 2007–2011, while Ota held the office from 2003–2007 and for most periods thereafter from 2011 – 2027.
Regarding commissioner positions, Ota held the slots from 1999–2007, 2011–2015 and 2015–2019, while Ado-Odo/Igbesa had representation from 2007–2011, 2019–2023 and 2023–2027.
The group added that several other appointments—special advisers, board chairmanships and memberships—have largely gone to Ota.
Against this backdrop, the forum declared that from 2027, all major political offices accruing to Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government—whether Governor, Senator, House of Representatives member, Commissioner or Local Government Chairman—should justly come to Ado-Odo/Igbesa as a corrective measure to longstanding structural exclusion and as a step toward restoring political balance.
The Forum stressed that its demand should not be interpreted as hostility toward Ota, affirming that Ado-Odo/Igbesa and Ota remain one people. It maintained that political offices within the local government belong collectively to all its inhabitants, not to a single town, group or palace.
It also expressed concern over reports that a protest letter which delivered to a palace, questioning when traditional institutions became extensions of party structures. In this regard, the forum appealed to traditional rulers across Aworiland to resist being used by what it termed political opportunists to undermine peace, unity and the sanctity of traditional authority.
The communiqué concluded that historical records speak clearly and cannot be erased by “manufactured outrage,” insisting that what Ado-Odo/Igbesa seeks is not domination but fairness, not exclusion but inclusion, and not agitation driven by ill-will, but a sincere commitment to equity, justice and sustainable political harmony within Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government and Aworiland at large.
