Ogun raises alarm
over attempt by
Lagos to annex
community
By Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji August 12, 2011 07:57AM print email S

The Ogun State government
yesterday raised alarm over
alleged invasion of Ode-Omi
community by some
suspected Lagos State officials,
which it said was done in a bid to seek the indirect approval
of the people of the area to be
subsumed into Lagos State.
Ode-Omi is an oil rich
community located in Ogun
Waterside Local Government Area of the state, which is
bounded by Lagos and Ondo
states. The caretaker chairman of the
Council, Toyin Aiyebusiwa
said it became paramount to
bring to the public knowledge
the activities of some people
claiming to be agents or officials of the Lagos State
government in Ode-Omi. He said these unidentified
people have been going
around with some individuals
who claim to be surveyors
from the Lands Department of
Lagos State, adding that it has also been discovered that the
same people have been
holding clandestine meetings
with other individuals and
groups within the same
community. An example of such is the
meeting, he said, held in the
town with someone claiming
to be a member of the
Executive Council of Lagos
State government. “But for the quick
intervention of the Lenuwa of
Ode-Omi, the meeting would
have been used to seek the
indirect approval of the
people of the area to be subsumed into Lagos State,”
Mr Aiyebusiwa said. . . .

He said these unidentified
people have been going
around with some individuals
who claim to be surveyors
from the Lands Department of
Lagos State, adding that it has also been discovered that the
same people have been
holding clandestine meetings
with other individuals and
groups within the same
community. An example of such is the
meeting, he said, held in the
town with someone claiming
to be a member of the
Executive Council of Lagos
State government. “But for the quick
intervention of the Lenuwa of
Ode-Omi, the meeting would
have been used to seek the
indirect approval of the
people of the area to be subsumed into Lagos State,”
Mr Aiyebusiwa said. “We learnt that the people
have been promised the
headquarters of a would-be
Ode-Omi Local Government
Council with an indigene of
Ode-Omi as the local government council Chairman.
Another is the extension of
the road being constructed
from Lagos State to Ode-Omi.”
Both Lagos and Ogun states
are governed by politicians of the Action Congress of
Nigeria, although there has
been cases of border friction
between the two in the past. End to neglect The traditional ruler of Ode
Omi, Adenuga Okunniyi
alongside four other
traditional rulers in his
domain, subsequently held a
meeting with officials of the Ogun State government. The meeting unanimously
agreed that Ode-Omi belongs
to Ogun State and that the
claim by Lagos State is
unfounded. It also stated that
the new administration in Ogun State is resolved to
address the neglect of Ode-Omi
people by the past
administrations in the state. “Consequently, it approved
immediate opening up of the
area by fixing the 7-kilometre
road leading to the
community to facilitate
movement of persons and goods, deployment of
reasonable number of
teaching staff to its schools
and recruitment of at least 10
qualified indigenes of the
community into the state public service,” the
communiqué of the meeting
said.