- Rejects conversion of skill acquisition to football campground
From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Youths in Iragbiji, the hometown of former Governor of Osun State and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, have warned Governor Ademola Adeleke to stop vendetta against his predecessor.
The youths under the Iragbiji Youth Development Association led by Dr. Jimoh Olorede, at a press conference held at Iragbiji town hall, accused Adeleke of turning a Federal Government-SDGs skill acquisition centre in the town into a campground where unknown faces are kept.
Findings showed that the Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, who doubles as Commissioner for Sports and Special Needs, ordered the movement of the football camp to the centre.
However, the youths expressed displeasure and rejection of the conversion of the Sustainable Development Goal-focused Skilled Acquisition Centre built in Iragbiji by the Federal Government to a football campground.
The youths called on Governor Adeleke to relocate the campground within 21 days and complement the effort of his predecessor to let the centre be used for the purpose it was built.
“As a community, we would not allow this to happen. The mission of the SDGS as agreed upon by United Nations member countries, including Nigeria and other developed and developing countries to solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges must strictly be adhered to by Governor Ademola Adeleke.
“The aim of the SDGs to end poverty and hunger, increase access to education, address migration, and reduce inequality which necessitated the location of the Skill Acquisition Centre at Iragbiji is paramount to us as indigenes of Iragbiji.
“We therefore urge Governor Ademola Adeleke to complement the efforts of the facilitator of the project and his predecessor in office who is now a Minister, by implementing the policy thrust of the Federal Government on the Centre. This is what we urge Governor Ademola Adeleke and his government to do, instead of pursuing vendetta and making his predecessor a target of his calumnies.
“We also appeal to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaiu Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to direct the Osun State government on adherence to our appeal by relocating his agents to a ministry, department, or state agency related to their purpose and leaving Iragbiji Skill Acquisition Centre for its purpose,” the youths said.
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals and Multilateral Relations, Bankole Omisore, said “In the interim, a portion of the hostel within the facility is being used to temporarily house members of Osun United Football Club, until the end of the season in which the athletes will continue using a portion of the hostel.
“SDG plans to continue to carry out training for the skilled and unskilled citizens of Osun State to ensure talent development and human capital remains a top priority with visible results,” Omisore said.