Former Acting Kogi State governor and one time Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Clarence Olafemi, has threatened to lead the Okun people out of present Kogi to join Ekiti or Kwara if they not treated fairly as an integral part of the state.
Olafemi, who was speaking in a chat with journalists in Lokoja yesterday, said the state must be governed as a people for development of Kogi State.
He explained that he did not regret the role he played during the just concluded election, noting that his primary responsibility was to protect his people.
“The obvious fact is that Okun land is in minority. We are smaller compare to Kogi Central and East Senatorial districts in terms of population. But, we are well blessed. We also recognise that there is no way we can produce a governor unless we partner with other senatorial districts in the state.
“I governed this state accidentally. We must rule this state as a people, giving sense of belonging to all parts of the state. If other senatorial districts don’t want this to happen, I will move my people to join either Ekiti or Kwara states. If our current struggle does not work, I have the capacity to move my people out of Kogi State.
“When I met Governor Yahaya Bello, he expressed his concern that my people are not with the ruling party, saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not win any House of Assembly, neither senatorial election, nor presidential during the general elections. The governor then asked: on what ground did we want to aspire to be governor? I told him that I will talk to my people for them to support the ruling party. “To God be the glory, I achieved that. If I did not leave PDP, I would not have achieved that. I proved to the governor that my people have joined the ruling party. It is now left for him to be fair; it is now left for him to justify my commitment and sacrifice.
“I did not collect a single kobo from APC during the election, but I can tell you that it is the turn of Okun land in 2023. The governor must ensure fairness in 2023, otherwise some of us who are planning to retire will come back as a combatant and to change the narrative,” he warned. (Thisday)