Ondo Youths Deny Plans to Recall Lawmaker from House of Representatives 

Raheem Akingbolu

Contrary to claims by a group, Ekimogun Roundtable, that plans are underway by constituents to recall the member representing Ondo East/West constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Abiola Makinde, youths in Ondo State under the aegis of Ondo Ekimogun Youth Congress (OEYC), have denounced the claim.

The youths, in a statement signed by their leader, Mr Kayode Folajogun, noted that those behind the rumour are enemies of the state who are also envious of the landmark achievement recorded by Makinde.

The statement read in part: “The attention of Ondo Ekimogun Youth Congress, the umbrella body of all youth groups, Forums and Associations in Ondo kingdom (OEYC), has been drawn to several sponsored press releases on national newspapers and news blogs by a faceless group called Ekimogun Roundtable with the intention to defame the character of our performing member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dr. Abiola Makinde, PhD. 

“OEYC dismissed reports and campaign of calumny by this unprogressive and faceless group on plans to recall the lawmaker representing Ondo East/West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Peter Abiola Makinde.

“To start with, who does the constitution recognise as constituents?  A constituent is someone who lives in a particular constituency and he/she is able to vote in that constituency during an election.

“Certainly, if constituents are people who live and vote in an area, then Ondo East and West federal constituents are our farmers, artisans, civil servants, Iyalojas, Baales, chiefs and high chiefs, youths and royal fathers and not someone who live outside these catchment areas but create a kangaroo group to malign the character of lawfully elected representatives whose performances are unrivalled.

“Funnily, the said Ekimogun Roundtable do not fit into any of the above listed categories. Our checks revealed that the person behind the group is a social media racketeer residing and voting outside Ondo State. He attempts to recruit certain people to buy his lies for political gains. 

“We can boldly say that 9,900 out of ten thousand Ondo constituents are happy with Hon. Abiola Makinde, because he has positively touched their lives or the lives of their children, friends or relatives since he became a MHR in 2019.  

“As a matter of fact, Hon. Abiola Makinde had served as a caretaker chairman of Ondo West Local Government in 2013, about 11 years ago and has never relent when called to serve again and again. While he was a caretaker chairman, he created the largest waste dumpsite in Ondo State by acquiring over 500 plots of land for the local government. 

“All waste of Ondo East and West goes to this dumpsite since 2013.  During same period, Hon. Makinde created the first private waste collection system which today has generated lots of revenue to operators, jobs to youths and have made Ondo environment more cleaner. 

“It is also humorous that the roundtable members alleged Hon. Makinde of abandoning his constituency. The roundtable group should check with the ‘real constituents’ to confirm that in the last four years, no single month had passed without Hon. Abiola Makinde engaging his constituents, visiting the nook and crannies of his constituency and presenting laudable live touching projects, especially the monthly free drugs distribution and medical checkup for the youths and elderly.

“Hon. Abiola Makinde in the last four years has assisted over eighty youth in his constituency to secure federal jobs, and countless others in furtherance of their studies abroad. What more can any reasonable constituent regard as meaningful impacts?”

Also, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the lawmaker, Alli Moshood, reiterated that the sustained attack on his boss is borne out of bad politics. 

He also urged media outlets to verify information so they won’t be accessories to spreading wrong information that could  potentially lead to youth unrest in the constituency.