My attention has been drawn to an article purportedly written by Barrister Ogedengbe, who has vehemently denied being the author of the said article. This he did through an audio message and verbally to a group of concerned Yoruba Patriots.
I want to assure Yoruba people that there is no truth in the article as it is a work of fiction written by those with an axe to grind with the esteemed Chairman of the YSDM and the leader of the Yoruba Self-Determination worldwide.
There is no crisis in the YSDM. The Chairman, from its inception, indicates that the Vice Chairman, Mr. Banji Ayiloge, must take up the day-to-day running of the Movement to free him from other assignments requiring his attention. Banji Ayiloge has periodically briefed the Chairman on all YSDM activities. It is, therefore, untrue for some reprobates to concoct a story of disaffection between the Chairman and his Vice. The YSDM is not crippled, and the Chairman continues to preside over the meeting of the Executive Committee, where far-reaching decisions are taken regularly.
Earlier in the year, the YSDM wrote a letter to President Buhari informing his administration of Yoruba’s decision to leave Nigeria. The letter was suggested by friendly countries wanting to know the government’s opinion on our demand. We can now see that for some people to turn around to say that Professor Akintoye was planning to meet President Buhari can only be a creation of their imagination.
I also want to assure the Yoruba people that there was never a time that either Prof. Akintoye or Mr. Ayiloge attended a meeting where discussions centered on using money from the Yoruba Central Account to send people to Israel on a pilgrimage. Such would have been impossible since there are more than a dozen people, including more than half a dozen accounting professionals managing YSDM funds. I want to assure the public that your money is well protected and that we are having a pushback on the funds because we have cut off the funds flowing to individuals or private hands since we introduced the central account. At the end of this quarter, an audited statement of the Central account will be embarked upon and made available on our website, etc.
In conclusion, I want to affirm that there is no love lost between our chairman and the leader of the Self- Determination Movement, Professor Banji Akintoye, and his Vice-Chairman, Mr. Banji Ayiloge. I also want to state without any equivocation that Yoruba people are blessed to have such an erudite scholar and inspirational leader who, despite many unwarranted attacks both within and outside the movement, still work assiduously for our common interest. I pray that he will be the Joshua of our time.
Thank You.
Banji Ayiloge
Vice-Chairman, YSDM
