he Inspector General of Police,
IGP Suleiman Abba has been petitioned by the Lagos state APC Integrity Group
calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of a governorship aspirant of
the party, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode for committing perjury in his INEC form and his
JAMB form.
The group in its petition, an
electronic copy of which was mailed to iReports-ng.com, stated that “We have
just discovered that one of the 13 governorship aspirants of our great party,
the APC, in Lagos, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode recently submitted Expression of
Interest form wherein he lied under oath that he is an indigene of Lagos state.
We wish to draw your attention sir to the fact that the same person had in his
JAMB admission form in 1981 also filled his state of origin to be Ondo state.
You may also wish to know sir that Mr Ambode had in his application form number
JAMB/DE.03 and registration number 646789 filled in his own handwriting that he
is an indigene of Ondo state in the portion of the form which asks his state of
origin.
“Attempts in recent times by Mr
Ambode to claim Epe as his town have been severally rebuffed by leaders of the
town. Hence our request to you to use your good office to investigate this
obvious case of perjury. Attached herewith are copies of the two forms where
the suspect committed the crime for your records, perusal and immediate
action.”
It will be recalled that the Edu
family of Epe in Lagos east had in May this year come out to disown him, stating
that the aspirant is not a member of the family as he has claimed. The Baale
Buraimo Edu family he claims to belong to in Epe had issued the statement to
disown him. The family, in a release signed by both Alhaji M. Oladeinde Edu and
Alhaji T. A. Edu, also insisted that Ambode hailed from Ilaje in Ese Odo area
of Ondo State and not from Epe as he claimed.
According to the release, the
family stated that the Baale Edu while alive had 22 wives and 38 children and
challenged Ambode and his supporters to trace his side of the Edu family tree
and name his mother among the 22 wives. According to them “We hereby bring it
to the notice of all Lagosians that we have tried but could not trace where the
said Akinwumi Ambode belongs in the family tree of Baale Buraimo Edu of Epe.
“At this juncture, we can
categorically state here that in actual fact, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode was a son of
Festus Akinwale Ambode, one of the teachers posted to Epe in the old Western
Region; a native of Ilaje Ese Odo in the present day Ondo State.
“As a school teacher, the elder
Ambode was very familiar and friendly with several Epe indigenes. The older
Ambode came to Epe through the waterways. He came with his wife, Christianah
Oluleye Ambode (nee Oresanya), who though initially did not stay with him which
made the older Ambode marry a second wife, an Epe daughter, popularly called
‘Iya Vice from Poka, Epe.
“She was a food seller in Epe
Grammar School. This development led to Akinwunmi Ambode’s mother who also
hails from Ilaje Ese Odo in Ondo State to eventually relocate to Epe to stay
with her husband,” the family said.
According to Edu family, at death, Ambode’s father’s corpse was taken
back to Ilaje, Ondo State for burial in line with the dictates of tradition and
royalty as he was a prince, adding that, “The royalty from the kingdom came
with the full royal insignia and ferried his remains back to Ilaje land for
interment.
“With these facts stated above,
it is a rude shock to the entire clan of the Edus in Epe that the said Mr.
Akinwunmi Ambode is laying claims to being a clan of the Edus. We reject this
linkage, both paternal and maternal, or even marital,” the family said.
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