The Ondo State Government has strongly refuted recent allegations by the Ogun State Government that residents of Irokun Community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo are attacking Ogun citizens in the area. The Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, had claimed that Irokun and other communities in Ilaje land were part of Ogun State.
In response, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, denounced the allegations as false, declaring that Irokun and other Ilaje communities belonged to Ondo State. The commissioner attributed the crisis and attacks in the affected communities to the officials of the Ogun State Government.
Addressing the issue on Friday, Mrs Ademola-Olateju stated, “This allegation is patently false and has become a pattern of alarming propaganda by the Ogun State Government as a strategy to reinforce their false territorial claim on Irokun, Obinehin, Idigbengben, and Araromi communities seaside.”
She further emphasized the commitment of the Ondo State Government to protecting the lives and properties of its citizens while acknowledging the historical and administrative presence of the state in Irokun and other coastal areas of Ilaje. The commissioner emphasized that these communities were legally and administratively within Ondo State territory, and the state had a formidable presence in the region.
“We regard the declaration by the Deputy Governor of Ogun State that ‘on no account will Ogun State Government cede an inch of this land to Ondo State’ as comedic. We are committed to the development of these areas, and we state categorically that Ondo State is contented with its territorial boundaries within the Nigerian Federation,” Mrs Ademola-Olateju declared.
She concluded by affirming that Ondo State, known for its vast coastline, would not cede any part of its territory without justification and called for a peaceful resolution to the disagreement between the sister states of the Yoruba ethnic stock.