A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and the Sobaloju of Sango in the Ado – Odo / Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mufutau Abolade, has urged the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to give more attention to votes from the non – Awori settlements in the local government if he wants the APC to win the local government area in the forthcoming elections.
Abolade, who made this remark during a chat with newsmen at Ota, Ogun State, recalled that it was the APC’s mistake of not according due cognizance to people of Sango and other non – Awori settlements in the local government in the 2019 gubernatorial elections that resulted in the party’s loss to the All Peoples Movement.
He noted that it was an indisputable fact that non – Aworis form the majority in Ado – Odo / Ota Local Government and, therefore, counseled the governor and other APC leaders in the state not to fall prey to the deception by some people in the area that the votes of the non- Aworis were inconsequential and that they can deliver the local government without the non – Aworis’ votes.
The Sango high chief called on Governor Abiodun and leader of the party in the Gateway State to do an independent finding to ascertain the veracity of his position on the non – Aworis, stressing that the governor would be amazed that those with the highest number of votes in Ado – Odo / Ota Local Government are the non – Aworis, who are in the majority and settled in Sango, Ijoko, Atan, Iju, Abule Iroko, Agoro, Mesan, Mosafejo, Sowole, Soga, Ijemo, Isaga, among others.
Abolade, however, advised some politicians of Awori descent in the local government to desist from threatening that only their votes could win the elections for the APC and that if the governor implements any programme that would impact on the lives of the non – Aworis, they won’t cast their votes for him and the APC.
He pleaded with the governor to give to Caesar whatever is due to Caesar and not continue to deny the non – Aworis in Ado – Odo / Ota Local Government, who are mostly the Egbas, Igbiras, Eguns, Anagos and the Yewas, their rights and privileges.
The community leader further made reference to an intelligence report on Ota during the 1933 census, which showed that there were 2,622 Awori as against 6,072 Egba and 2,998 other non – Aworis, noting that this ratio had continued to multiply in this proportion till today as there were roughly three Egba for every one Awori across all the villages in Ota and its environs.
Abolade, therefore, appealed to Governor Abiodun to give necessary attention to the non – Aworis in the Ado – Odo / Ota Local Government for the APC to avoid a repeat of the 2019 loss to the APM in the area as the non – Aworis had great impacts on the victory recorded by the APM.
