A group, Forum of Awori Intelligentsia has urged Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to create a traditional council for the Awori in the state to avoid marginalisation.
The President of the group, Prince Lamidi Alabi Lawal, and its spokesperson, Azeem Salako, made this known in a joint statement made available to newsmen.
The forum observed that the Awori contribute 75 per cent to the state revenue, hence it was imperative to create a council for it.
While noting that the agitation had been on for long, the group lamented that they are sandwiched between Yewa and Egba traditional councils, and that successive governments in the state had refused to assent to it.
It stated that as a major ethnic group in Ogun and Yoruba land, it could not continue to share the same traditional council with Yewa.
“It is necessary to create the Awori Traditional Council because we have the territory and presence. We should not be merged with Yewa. It is our right,” the group said.
It corrected the notion expressed by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the Yewa Cultural Festival that the Yewa alone occupy Ogun West Senatorial District. It also said the Awori constitute 48 per cent of the district’s population.
The group claimed that Ado Odo Ota, which is the state industrial hub, belongs to the Awori, adding that it contributes heavily to the economic fortunes of the Ogun.
They advocated support for the actualisation of Awori 2027 mandate, which according to them is based on equity and fairness.
