17th October, 2011
The Olu of Ikeja Land, Oba Rauf Adeniyi Matemi Amore, JP, has warned the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, to be cautious of the kind of candidate they will field for the chairmanship position in the local government in the 22 October polls, so that their chances will not be jeopardised.
The monarch stated that if the party refused to field a popular and qualified candidate for the council poll, the opposition may obtain a court injunction at the end of the election and truncate the party’s mandate in the council area.
The monarch stated this in a statement jointly signed by his chiefs, which include Chief Sikiru Ademola Gbeleyi, Bada of Ikeja land, Princess Idayat F.A Ilo, Iyalode of Ikeja land, Chief Rasheed Balogun, Alapinni of Ikeja land, Chief Yusuf Aileru, Eleko of Ikeja land, Chief (Mrs) Alaba Adalemo, Iya-Oba of Ikeja land and Prince Jubril Oyemade Apena, Royal Secretary, Kingdom of Ikeja land, and forwarded to the national leader and chairman of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Otunba Henry Ajomale respectively.
The monarch expressed displeasure over the illegal substitution of Hon. Mojeed Balogun as the ACN candidate in the election, adding that he obtained, completed and submitted the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, form and was duly screened by the party and the State Security Service, SSS.
“We were, however, shocked to hear that his name has been replaced with that of Hon. Wale Odunlami, the incumbent who has already spent six years in office. We wish to inform you that he was never screened by the SSS, yet, he is being pushed forward to stand for an election without conforming with the rules of the said election.
“When some notable chiefs of Ikeja land together with the chief Imam of Ikeja heard about the illegal substitution and the impending reactions of the youths, we persuaded them to remain calm. It is pertinent to state here that since the creation of Ikeja Local Government in 1967, no Ikeja indigene has ever been nominated, appointed or elected as chairman.
“The powers that be had always hidden under the guise of lack of qualified indigene to fill the position. We are delighted to inform the party that Hon. Mojeed Balogun is not only a qualified engineer, but also has a master’s degree in engineering. The multi million naira question is why is his name illegally substituted with that of Hon. Odunlami?†he asked.
The Ikeja monarch implored Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Otunba Henry Oladele Ajomale to use their good offices to correct the aberration.