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From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Osun State Chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) and the Commissioner for Youth, Moshood Olagunju, have traded blame over the internal crisis rocking the youth group in the state.
While the youth accused Governor Ademola Adeleke’s aide of being behind the crisis, the commissioner said he inherited the crisis, saying that the issue has to do with the national leadership of the council and not his office.
A crisis ensued shortly after the election that produced Ajala Adetunji but the national leadership purportedly recognised a caretaker committee led by one Mojeed Oyeniyi.
Speaking with our correspondent in Osogbo on Wednesday, the head of the Voluntary Youths Organisation, VYOs, and affiliates of NYCN, Kamil Badmus, accused the Commissioner for Youths of fuelling the crisis by taking sides with the factional group.
He accused the commissioner of suspending the NYCN against the provision of the constitution which stipulated that only a validly constituted congress is vested with the power.
“We are here to affirm the Chairmanship of Ajala Adetunji, who was initially elected by all the affiliate associations of NYCN last year April in a Congress supervised by the Ministry of Youths in the state.
“We, the VYOs, therefore urged the Commissioner for Youth in the State, Hon. Moshood Olagunju to play the neutral role of being a father to all rather than taking side with a faction and illegally suspending an elected chairman, who can only be suspended by the Congress.
“We are the groups under the NYCN and we only recognise Ajala Adetunji’s leadership, hence, we appeal to all stakeholders, including the State Government not to cause more crisis in the group and should only work with Ajala as our representative in the state,” Badmus. said.
However, the Commissioner for Youths denied having a hand in the crisis rocking the group, saying the problem within the group had existed before he assumed office.
He said, “The problem they have is with the national leadership of the group which in an official letter disowned Ajala Adetunji as the Chairman and is insisting on an elective congress to elect leaders for the group.
“We suspended Ajala from having anything to do with the Ministry of Youth due to the illegal activities he was perpetrating under the name of the Ministry. But on his leadership issue, he has the national leadership to sort out issues with,” Olagunju said.
