Osun youth group urge residents to forgive Fadahunsi over inciting comments

Youths from Osun East Senatorial District on Tuesday held a rally in Ilesa, Osun State, to canvass support for the lawmaker representing the district in the Senate, Francis Fadahunsi.

At the rally, which took participants through several streets in the town, the youths pleaded with residents not to judge the lawmaker based on the alleged inciting statement, but to consider the value he had added to the senatorial district since he was elected into the upper chamber.

The participants, under the aegis of Osun Pro Youths Frontiers, converged on the Isokun area of Ilesa and marched through Oke-Ola, Ita Akogun and Atakunmosa Market to the Roundabout area, canvassing support for the lawmaker’s re-election bid in the 2027 general elections.

Armed with placards highlighting Fadahunsi’s achievements since he was elected into the Senate, the youths later moved to the Ereja Palace Square in Ilesa, where their leaders addressed the gathering.

In his remarks, the group’s coordinator, Biola Olatunbosun, who noted that Fadahunsi had tendered an apology for the statement credited to him, expressed concern about the resurgence of violence across the state.

Olatunbosun subsequently called on political actors, especially in the six local government areas in Ijesaland, to shun acts that could create tension and emulate the selflessness of well-meaning individuals of Ijesa origin who had brought development to various communities in the area.

He said that through collective efforts, several developmental projects had been executed by the Ijesa elite, noting that the Owa Palace, geriatric hospital and scholarship awards for indigent but brilliant pupils were funded through individual donations.

He challenged the political class to emulate such acts.

Calling on the people to forgive Fadahunsi over the alleged inciting statements, Olatunbosun said, “No one is infallible; we all make mistakes, the Senator’s apology should be enough for an Omoluabi, especially against the background his contributions to Nigeria and Osun East Senatorial District.

“Those behind the agitation for Fadahunsi’s recall from the Senate should abandon the move and instead participate in the electoral process. The senator’s alleged statement was unacceptable, he had apologised and, in the group’s view, deserve forgiveness,” the group said.

Ahead of the 2027 general election, he implored youths in the area to reject political thuggery and become ambassadors of peace in their communities.

PUNCH Online reports that another group comprising youths from Osun East Senatorial District had staged a peaceful protest in Ilesa against the lawmaker.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Olatunji Olorunfemi said Fadahunsi had made comments capable of causing mass violence when he threatened Accord Party members before the August 15 governorship poll won by Governor Ademola Adeleke.

However, the All Progressives Congress in the six local government areas of the Osun East Senatorial District’s Ijesa axis rejected calls for Fadahunsi’s recall, describing those behind the move as anti-APC elements.

The Director, Contact and Mobilisation Committee of the APC in Ijesa South Federal Constituency, Akinyele Akintola, stated this in a statement obtained in Osogbo while reacting to a protest against Fadahunsi in Ilesa.

Akintola alleged that Fadahunsi’s political opponents were behind the protest and warned stakeholders in the Osun East Senatorial District against actions capable of creating tension.