….by Oladunni Odu
My attention has been drawn to a piece by one Dr. O. E Oduntan of Oduntan family compound in Ifedore, and my first instinct was to ignore it but on second thought I felt a nudging in my heart to help cure the mischief maker of his ignorance.
In a piece titled “Birds of the same feather: A rebuttal to Adetitun’s Claims”, the so called O.E Oduntan sought to cause disaffection within the APC in Ondo state towards destroying it by pitching leaders of the party against one another.
I do not know the content which he ascribed to an Adetitun so I cannot say anything about it but I consider it grossly insulting, and absolutely irresponsible of him to have levelled a grievous allegation against me while talking about the presidential primaries of the APC in 2023.
He emphatically said I alongside some other APC members in the State supported Dr Kayode Fayemi against Asiwaju Tinubu in that election. While it is my inalienable right to support whoever I wish, the reality is that HIS CLAIM IS TOTALLY FALSE, and I expect someone who has a PhD or is a medical doctor or has been conferred with a doctoral degree to be more intelligent while making public declarations.
To set the records straight, at the time of APC’s Presidential primaries in 2023, political office holders were banned from being delegates, and I was Secretary to Government then.
The woman who was delegate from my Local Government Area was Engineer Folake Omogoroye and I can authoritatively claim she voted for Asiwaju. She was put in the same hotel as late Dr. Paul Akintelure and Chief Ifedayo Abegunde (ABENA).
I OLADUNNI ODU WAS NOWHERE NEAR ABUJA AT THAT TIME. WALE AKINTERINWA, AMINU RAIMI and DARE ARAGBAIYE WERE NOT DELEGATES AND HAD NO VOTING RIGHTS, so I wonder how the mischief maker came up with his claim.
Let me also emphasise that I have quite a number of highly responsible friends and political associates in Ifedore Local Government Area, and I am well informed about the communities in that area being a grassroots politician.
It is amazing that someone who is either a PhD holder or medical doctor or a honorary doctorate degree recipient would not know that family compounds are attached to communities directly, and not Local Government Areas. So I ask “Is this Oduntan family compound in Ipogun, Ilara, Igbara-Oke, Ijare, Isarun, Ibule, Ero, Ibuji, Ikota, Aaye, Irese or where exactly?!” In my view O.E Oduntan is a fictitious name and if there is any family so called in Ifedore they should immediately disown him because like I said earlier people of Ifedore are largely people of honor.
While I will continue to wish His Excellency, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Governor of Ondo state and leader of the APC in the state well as he paddles the canoes of the APC and the state at this time, I appeal to him to beware of characters like O E Oduntan who in seeking his patronage don’t mind pulling down the entire structure of the APC, the vehicle he rode to government house.
May the APC and Ondo state continue to prosper
Princess (Barr.) Catherine Oladunni Odu
Akindele Compound, Okitipupa in Okitipupa LGA, Ondo State
