Kunle Adelabu
Sir (Otunba) Ayodele Elesho, the Agbaakin of Ikorodu Kingdom and Chairman, Publicity, Education and Enlightenment Sub – Committee of the Ikorodu Division Peace Initiative Ltd/GTE (IDPIL/G), has revealed that council chairmen in Ikorodu Division have not been cooperating with the body.
He said that every effort to make them reason that what they are doing is to assist them in discharging their duties to the people and community, has not been appreciated by many of the Council bosses.
Otunba Elesho, a former Commissioner for Information, Lagos State and former labour leader in the state, disclosed this while responding to question by our reporter at a press conference by IDPIL/G on the formation of the security architecture for Ikorodu Division on Monday (today).
The Agbaakin of lkorodu also alleged that the Council Chairmen attempted to form a parallel security outfit.
“We want to place on record that a delegation was sent by this body to the local governments twice. After the second meeting, we invited them here to the palace. At the meeting were the Kabiyesi (Oba Kabir Shotobi), the Chairman of the Ikorodu Division Peace Initiative Ltd/GTE, Chief Adewunmi Ogunsanya, SAN”, Otunba Elesho said.
“Their reactions and attitudes don’t portray them as people that are serious in doing anything for the councils. There is no hide and seek about it.
“We know one or two of them that are serious and want to do something but the percentage is too small out of six of them. They are not cooperating at all”, he emphasized.
“At a point, our intelligence report indicated that they are planning to float their own security agency but we prevailed on them and told them that they could bring their recruits who are going to be thoroughly screened and go through all the normal processes used in selecting those we already have but they refused”, Otunba Elesho alleged.
He, however, said that the body is still appealing to the six Council Chairmen to support the security initiative in their own interests and that of the entire division.
“They are not cooperating at all with us but we are still appealing to them and we will continue to appeal to them”, he said.
“We need people to talk to them and educate them that what we are doing is for their own good and we are promoting them. They should cooperate with us.
“So far, they are not cooperating with us and we hope that with this appeal, they will change their minds”, he added
In his speech while addressing journalists, Otunba Elesho had stated that the Ikorodu Division Peace Initiative Ltd/GTE (IDPIL/G is not in any competition with the Council Chairmen
“Let me use this medium to correct the erroneous impression of any competition between this body and Local Government Chairmen” Agbaaki of Ikorodu Kingdom said.
“We are stakeholders in the security of our environment/ community and therefore the need for us all to work in harmony for the growth of our community cannot be over-emphasized.
“The Yoruba adage aptly comes to mind here, if a man sees a snake and a woman kills it, the most important thing is the death of the snake. I therefore want to use this medium to call on all our political representatives and chairmen of Local Government/ Local Council Development Areas to join hands with us as the success of our efforts is equally theirs” he said.
