The gulf appears to be widening in the Yoruba group, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, as an elder statesman, Alhaji Alli Dodo Oyedeji, has described his reported appointment as a patron of the group as a fake news.
Chairman and General Secretary of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, Professor Wale Adeniran and Dr Tunde Hamzat, respectively, had reportedly claimed that Alhaji Oyedeji has been appointed as a patron of the group.
However, Alhaji Oyedeji, in a statement he personally signed and dated 31 December, 2022, rejected the appointment, stating that he had no knowledge of such a development.
The elder statesman, in the statement, entitled “RE: Press Statement- Alhaji Oyedeji As A Patron”, said he was not informed of such an appointment and that there was nowhere he accepted such an offer.
He described the statement attributed to both Professor Adeniran and Dr Hamzat as a fake news. He added that he is a responsible citizen of Nigeria who knows what is legitimate and illegitimate.
Alhaji Oyedeji admonished the general public and especially the media not to believe his reported appointed ntment as a patron of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide
“My attention has been drawn to a statement signed by Doctor Tunde Hamzat, General Secretary, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide and Professor Wale Adeniran, Chairman, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, and an alleged appointment as a patron of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide.
“I want the general public and the media to know that such appointment was not discussed with me or offer to me and accepted by me.
“In view of this, as a respected elders statesman, I treated the story as a fake news. I am a responsible and good citizen who understand what is legitimate and what is not legitimate,” Oyedeji stated in the three-paragraph statement.
Recalled that the chairman of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, Professor ‘Banji Akintoye, recently resigned his appointment amid controversies, even as some key members of the group are still embroiled in leadership crisis.
