The member representing Yagba Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Hon Leke Abejide, has reaffirmed the commitment of members of the National Assembly from Okunland to the realisation of the age-long agitation by the Yoruba-speaking people in Kogi State for the creation of Okun State.
Abejide, who is Chairman, House Committee on Customs and Excise, also pledged to lobby his colleagues in the National Assembly to support the request, which is an initiative of the umbrella socio-cultural Okun Development Association (ODA).
The meetings between the ODA leadership and members of the National Assembly from Kogi West Senatorial District were held in Abuja at the weekend.
Other federal lawmakers from Kogi West zone who met with the ODA were Hon Salman Idris and Hon Danladi Aguye, representing Kabba-Bunu-Ijumu and Lokoja/Kotonkarfe Federal Constituencies, respectively, marking a significant moment in the advocacy for the creation of Okun State.
The meetings, it was gathered, aimed to discuss key issues affecting Okunland, including the creation of Okun State, development and security, among others.
Discussions centred on how to promote investments in extractive industries to leverage the region’s mineral resources for sustainable development.
Addressing the ODA delegation in his office, Abejide also promised to ensure the completion of the ₦300m ‘Okun House’ in Kabba, another legacy project of the ODA, which ground-breaking ceremony was co-performed by Abejide and the Obaro of Kabba and Chairman, Okun Area Traditional Council, Oba Solomon Owoniyi, in March 2022.
The meeting also expressed its support for Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s administration, acknowledging the establishment of Kogi State University in Kabba.
National Publicity Secretary of the ODA, Dayo Thomas, in a statement yesterday, noted that the creation of Okun State is indeed part of a larger proposal to create 31 new states in Nigeria. This proposal is currently being reviewed by the House of Representatives Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution.
Led by its President-General, Ambassador Akenson Rotimi, the ODA delegation included Alhaji Adoga Ibrahim, Vice President North; Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, Secretary of the Elders Council; Hon. Bolanle Amupitan, Abuja Liaison Officer; Mr Hussein Folorunsho, Deputy Social Secretary; and Chief J.O Yusuf, representing the ODA Committee on Restructuring.
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