Grant OSOPADEC Financial Autonomy Now, Group Tells Akeredolu

The Ondo South Advancement & Welfare Consultative Association (OSAWA), sociopolitical group of indigenes of the southern senatorial district of Ondo state has call for an unalloyed financial autonomy for the Ondo state Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

The group in a press statement signed by its President, Mr. Ade-Aworetan Juwon on Monday, made available to Nigerian Cable News online charged the governor Akeredolu led Administration in the state to mobilized support for the revisit of the law establishing OSOPADEC for a direct purpose of being an autonomous entity.

Below is the Press statement Unedited:

ODSG SHOULD SUPPORT and OBEY ALL EXTANT LAWS ON OSOPADEC’s FINANCIAL AUTONOMY

Ondo South Advancement & Welfare Consultative Association, OSAWA, hereby writes to advise the Ondo state Government ODSG led by Governor Oluwarotomi Akeredolu to put in place all mechanism, specially, for the Ondo State House of Assembly to re-work the law establishing OSOPADEC for a direct purpose of being an autonomous entity, financially.

This call became necessary and important after critical study of the activities of the commission during the immediate past and present administrations in Ondo state. Most importantly, it is on record that OSOPADEC as a commission whose sole ubiquitous responsibility is to serve as an interventionist agency to her mandate areas and their inhabitants has failed to discharge, accordingly, which has hitherto led to serial abandonment of projects, environmental degradation, lack of social welfare packages and human capital development.

Needless to emphasize that this brazen failure to deliver has led to palpable extinction and extermination of the bird that lays the golden egg due to apparent lacks of quantitative health care services, qualitative education, and dearth of basic amenities.

OSAWA, as the mother of all social crusade movement groups in Ondo South, believes in the unity of all and we will always give the best outcome in every situation in accordance to our Constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, notably on the association’s directives of mission statement.

We, hereby, call on all informed minds and all the indigenes of Ondo South senatorial district to mobilize massive support to any group priming for protestation to request the attention of government to the penurious cries and pains of our people in Ilaje and Ese-Odo Local Government areas, and the financial freedom of OSOPADEC.

It is in the knowledge of the public that the government of Ondo State has so far received 13% oil derivation funds for over 35 months as at today, upon which tangible and/or intangible effects of OSOPADEC, with 40% supposed financial portfolio of the total accrued funds to Ondo State from the federal allocation, could not be felt in any of the mandate areas.

The above paragraph is, therefore, instructive for Governor Akeredolu led adminstration to thaw-the-ice on OSOPADEC financial freedom. Any attempt to daring the neglects of this call would definitely lead to first-of-its-kind display of our people’s frustration wherein the perpetual misappropriation of OSOPADEC funds would be aired to the public glare in the nick of time.

Further more, we assure our members and indigenes of Ondo State that all peaceful social action in pursuit of remedies and remediations shall diligently be explored to meet the demands stated herein.

Nevertheless, prepare for the weeks ahead, as OSAWA poises to bell summon for meeting by all various groups, interested individuals and critical stakeholders to avail everyone facts and figures, and reel-out the strategies to further guarantee and support the existing struggle for a better and prosperous Ilaje and Ese-Odo LGA.

And for umpteenth time, ODSG is advised to yield in favor of these demand.

Enough!

Signed:

Ade-Aworetan Juwon
President, OSAWA