The National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, yesterday said the group was prepared to assist the Itsekiri
if the need arose.
Speaking in Warri, Delta State after inaugurating the state chapter of the OPC, Adams said as descendants of Oduduwa, the Itsekiri would benefit socially, culturally and politically from their relationship with the OPC.
Referring to the controversy, which greeted OPC’s inauguration on Tuesday, he said it was not a militant group as portrayed, adding: “We are not in Itsekiri land to cause trouble.”
The ceremony was initially thwarted by security operatives, prompting the Itsekiri National Youth Council (INYC) to shift it to the home of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILOT) Chairman, Pa J.O.S. Ayomike.
Adams hailed INYC and ILOT for their roles in helping to realise OPC’s dream of having an Itsekiri chapter. He said the event would open opportunities for the Itsekiri and their Yoruba brothers.
According to him, OPC was instrumental to the repositioning of the Yoruba as a key national player, noting: “Before, we were considered as cowards, but today the world knows that the Yoruba are not cowards. This is due to the roles of the OPC.”
Adams said the group played active roles in the agitation for the realisation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which the late Chief MKO Abiola was believed to have won.
