The last is yet to be heard of the controversy trailing the demolition of the cenotaph built by the former governor of Ondo State, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, to immortalise and honour victims of an attack on worshippers of St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo.

In response to the latest development, a group in the state, the Owo Reformed Vanguard, has slammed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for twisting the narrative surrounding the authentic ownership of the site where the memorial park is located.

According to the group, in a statement signed by its secretary, Samuel Omoyajowo, it is surprising and disheartening that a state government, entrusted with the custody of public records, would propagate a claim without due diligence.

The group emphasised that the land was not owned by the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, as claimed by the governor, but by known families with longstanding ties to the land.

While challenging the governor to provide documentary evidence to support the claim, Omoyajowo disclosed that available evidence indicated that no Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) had been issued to Oba Ajibade, stressing that “if such a document exists, we challenge the state government to present it to members of the public.”

He said: “The claim that the land originally belonged to AgroMore Limited, a company allegedly owned by Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye, is a blatant lie. It is both surprising and disheartening that a state government, entrusted with the custody of public records, would propagate such a claim without due diligence.

“The absence of administrative rigour in verifying these records, evident in the complaints of inertia from ministries and parastatals under the current administration, only compounds the embarrassment. No documentary evidence supports the claim that AgroMore Limited held title to the land in question. We challenge the government to produce any evidence that supports the claim of AgroMore ownership.

“The government’s narrative that the Mimiko administration acquired the land from AgroMore Limited in 2010 for road dualisation is perfidious. Historical records are there to puncture these lies. The land in question was acquired from families with longstanding ties to the area, namely the Oshurogho, Okungbaye, Arala, Oluo Saliu, Oloba, Aladenika, and Adedayo families.

“These families, whose ancestral homes stood on the land, were compelled to exhume the remains of their forebears as part of the acquisition process; poignant evidence of their ownership. No record exists of AgroMore Limited or Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye among those compensated for the acquisition. At the time, Oba Ajibade was a level 12 civil servant in the state civil service. Aiyedatiwa’s claim that AgroMore owned the land in 2010 is a fabrication of bewildering audacity.”

With the group emphasising that the demolition of the Memorial Park by Aiyedatiwa and Olowo of Owo was not only an act of destruction but a betrayal of public trust, it further stressed that the demolition of the park is far from serving a communal purpose.

“The pressure and decision to demolish the park are driven by motives of personal land acquisition. The narrative that Oba Ajibade seeks to claim the land for the benefit of Owo is misleading; any successful acquisition would serve the interests of the Olowo and his family, not the Owo community or future Olowo.

“What we are witnessing is a decision by Governor Aiyedatiwa to reallocate public land for private gain.

“Now we know that Kabiyesi is so desperate to grab the land and cares less about the memory of those whose lives were cut short on June 5, 2022. Humanity is a luxury for Aiyedatiwa. It doesn’t seem like what he could afford.”

Aiyedatiwa had, through his Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, stated that Oba Ogunoye is the rightful owner of the land where the monument was constructed, stressing that his administration revoked the piece of land after realising the procedural errors made in taking possession of the land for the construction of the cenotaph by the late Akeredolu’s administration.

Also, the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Most Rev. (Dr) Jude Arogundade, had in a statement expressed strong condemnation and disappointment over the demolition, stating that the demolition is a “violation of our common respect for the dignity of life and the memory we share of our 41 brothers and sisters who were unjustly killed.

Additionally, the widow of the former governor, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who had condemned the demolition of the Memorial Park, expressed deep sorrow and outrage over the demolition, describing it as an attempt to “rubbish” her husband’s legacy.

The widow, who berated the Olowo of Owo, accusing him of hypocrisy, said the monarch was installed by her husband and questioned why he would allow such a dishonour to his memory. (The Guardian)