A broadcast journalist and political commentator, Olalekan Shoyinka, has faulted the recent claim by the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that Governor Dapo Abiodun deliberately sidelined some regions of the state from hosting the ongoing National Sports Festival.
Reacting to a statement credited to Hon. Abayomi Tella, a PDP chieftain, Shoyinka described the allegation as baseless and reflective of a pattern of “opposition for opposition’s sake.”
In a piece titled “Ogun Needs Responsible Opposition, Not Baseless Accusations,” Shoyinka warned that the state’s opposition must move beyond “divisive rhetoric” and engage in fact-based criticism if it intends to remain relevant and serve the people meaningfully.
“It is both acceptable and necessary for opposition parties to hold the government accountable.
Democracy thrives on robust and constructive criticism,” he said.
“However, for an opposition to be respected, its interventions must be grounded in fact, logic, and genuine concern—not sensationalism.”
Hon. Tella had alleged that the exclusion of Ogun West and the Ijebu axis of Ogun East from hosting any aspect of the sports festival was a deliberate act of marginalisation by the Abiodun administration.
But Shoyinka dismissed this claim, insisting that the logistics of hosting large sporting events globally often restrict them to one or two cities, not every region within a state.
He referenced several historical examples, including Nigeria’s hosting of the 2nd All-Africa Games in Lagos in 1973 and the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations in Lagos and Ibadan—under a northern presidency—as standard practice.
He further recalled that during the 2006 edition of the National Sports Festival, held under a PDP-led administration in Ogun State, only Abeokuta and Ijebu Ode were used as venues, and no accusations of bias were raised at the time.
Shoyinka urged the PDP to redirect its attention to more pressing matters such as the welfare of athletes, transparency in budgeting, and the infrastructural legacy of the festival.
He also advised the party to focus on issues of public interest, including the state’s debt profile, management of local government funds, and legislative oversight by its members in the House of Assembly.
“If the PDP is serious about regaining public trust ahead of the 2027 elections, it must rise above petty, unsubstantiated claims,” he said.
“What Ogun needs is a responsible opposition that offers alternative ideas—not just an echo chamber of grievances.”
Shoyinka, popularly known as Ayinla Egba, is a journalist and politician based in Abeokuta.
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