Kwara state government has been urged to wade into crisis between Ipee community in Oyun Local Government Area of the state and Offa community which is claiming that the land at ile Poro belongs to some family compounds in Offa.
It would be recalled that the proposed siting of a Federal Government Housing Estate in Offa was approved with the location for the project at Ile Poro in the Egunkara area which traditionally belongs to Ipee community.
Ipee community described the claims by Offa community as fabricated, unfounded and has no merit, premised on deliberate misrepresentation, misunderstanding of the court judgment as being referred to in the Offa Descendants Union’s bulletin.
The Ipee community noted that the land at Poro has an age-long history associated with and cherished by Ipee people.
A statement issued and made available to journalists in Ilorin, the state capital, by Ibrahim Toyin, the National Public Relations Officer of
Ipee Progressive Union (IPU), frowned at the land encroachment at Poro, affirming that the said land “does not belong to Offa community, and even the said families mentioned or compounds in Offa, namely Ile Ologiri, Ile Olalemi and Ile Ajia Oke Agba respectfully”.
The Ipee Progressive Union emphasised that the approved location for the project at Ile Poro in the Egunkara area which Offa Descendants Union (ODU) claimed has now been officially designated for the housing estate project ni Ipee community and does not in anyway belong to Offa as being claimed.
Ipee community, however, enjoined Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq to call the Offa Descendants’ Union (ODU), under the leadership of Dr. Muideen Azeez Olaniyi Salako, to order and look for another area for the proposed siting of a Federal Government Housing Estate in Offa in the interest of peace and tranquility in the two local government areas.
The statement reads: “Attention of Ipee Progressive Union (IPU) under the leadership of Mr. Simeon Ayodele Ogunsola has been drawn to a bulletin recently issued by Offa Descendants ‘ Union claiming the ownership of Ile Poro in the axis of Ori-Ota, Ipee, Oyun Local Government of Kwara State.
“Without prejudice to all land cases in that axis, the IPU wishes to clarify that Ile Poro has always been, and remains, an integral part of the Ipee community. The claims made by the ODU regarding ownership are, in our view is unfounded.
“As we congratulate the good people of Offa Community for securing a Federal Government’s housing estate, it is our sincere advice they site the project in areas within their community land without encroaching on Ipee land so as to maintain the existing peace, and harmony in the two communities.
“The claim that the land at Poro belong to some families compound in Offa was fabricated, unfounded and has no merit and the claim was premised on deliberate misrepresentation/misunderstanding of the court judgment referred to in the bulletin. The land at Poro has an agelong history associated with and cherished by Ipee people.
“The IPU acknowledges the instances where the Ipee community has, in the interest of peaceful coexistence, made concessions regarding land to the Offa community. We hope that these gestures are recognized as a commitment to good neighborliness and not weaknesses.
“We urge the leadership of the ODU, and any individuals or families from Offa, to cease making claims to Ile Poro or any other land within Ipee.
“We wish to emphasize that the families cited in the ODU bulletin have no historical claim to the land, having only been granted land for agricultural purposes by Ipee people as found in the court judgment referred to in the bulletin.”
