A civil society group, Ikale Vanguard for Peace and Justice, has appealed to the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to sustain what it called “the restoration of life back to Okitipupa Oil Palm (OOP) Plc as one of the legacy achievements of his late boss, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

The group particularly called on Governor Aiyedatiwa to be mindful of ethnic jingoist, politicians and business opportunists fanning ember of disunity, ethnicity and disaffection, plotting to take advantage of his administration to achieve their selfish and divisive interest that is capable of throwing the state into unnecessary violence.

The group in a statement by the National Chairman, Dr Ademola Aiyekomogbon, while reacting to a call by a “purported National Union of Okitipupa Local Government Students on Governor Aiyedatiwa to investigate the finances of Okitipupa Oil Palm (OOP) Plc and sack the Managing Director, Mr Taiwo Adewole on an unfounded and generalised allegation of fraud, noted that the group was conjured by individuals who had tried in vain to get Adewole removed because he hailed from the same town (Owo) with the late and immediate past Governor of the state, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

In the statement the group noted that “We are not opposed to promoting transparency and accountability at OOP Plc when it arises from genuine and unbiased incident but this is not the case in this matter”.

It also condemned a similar call on the governor by one Canada based Jimi Adekanle on Aiyedatiwa to remove Adewole and replace him with an Ikale extraction Managing Director, noting that such a move was a brazen ethnicity capable of provoking avoidable ethnic violence in the state.

In the view of the group, “this call become more reprehensible, illegal, illogical and unjust against the hard fact that the company is not owned by the Ikale nation even though it is sited there, it is owned by Nigerians across the country, where Ondo State like others is only one of the shareholders”.

The group further noted that one other reason why Adewole was being hunted and wanted removed at all cost was as a result of some uncompromising policies he introduced to revamp the moribund firm and rescued it from the killing hands of those behind the group and other selfish individuals.