Outrage in Ido/Ibarapa East as Constituents Slam Rep Remi Oseni for Lack of Projects

Residents of Ido/Ibarapa East Federal Constituency have expressed deep disappointment over what they described as poor representation by the member representing the constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Remi Oseni, calling on him to publicly account for his over three years in office.

The aggrieved constituents, comprising artisans, market women, youth leaders, farmers and community development association leaders from Ido, Apete, Ologuneru, Apata, Omi-Adio, Eruwa, Lanlate, Agbofieti, Ayete, Tapa and Igangan, said the lawmaker has abandoned legislative duties for seasonal philanthropy, only becoming visible when election season approaches.

Pa Raimi Adeyemo, a community elder from Ido town, said the pattern has become predictable. According to him, “We only see Hon. Remi Oseni when election is approaching. He will come to markets in Apete and Ologuneru, throw money at CDAs, market associations and some organisations and immediately after election, he will disappear until another election year. That is not representation, that is transactional politics.”

Mrs. Funmilayo Oke, a trader at Eruwa Main Market, said traders in Eruwa and Lanlate are tired of handouts. She lamented that from Lanlate to Agbofieti, there is no project the communities can point to as his own, noting that roads from Ologuneru to Ido remain deplorable, health centres in Apete are not equipped, and youth have no sustainable empowerment.

Mr. Suleiman Adisa, a youth coordinator in Lanlate, said the federal constituency is lagging behind others in Oyo South Senatorial District. He challenged the lawmaker to show his record in the last three years, asking what bills he has sponsored that address the plight of farmers in Ibarapa East, what motions he has moved about insecurity on farm roads, and what federal jobs, trainings and constituency projects he has facilitated.

Mr. Sunday Olatunji, a farmer from Agbofieti farm settlement, added that people in Eruwa farm hamlets have not seen any federal intervention through him, stating that his predecessors, despite their flaws, at least sank boreholes, facilitated classrooms and brought trainings, and that Oseni should tell constituents if he has beaten their records.

Alhaji Moruf Akinpelu, Chairman of a CDA cluster in Ologuneru and Apete axis, said Community Development Associations are only remembered for political gains. He explained that during the last election, they were called and given envelopes, but after that, there was no engagement, no town hall meeting and no feedback, while community self-help projects in Apete and Ologuneru have received no support.

Similarly, Mrs. Bosede Alagbe, a hairdresser from Apete, said residents are now wiser ahead of 2027. She said in Oyo South, people are watching, and a lawmaker cannot abandon the constituency for three years and remember them only because 2027 is close. According to her, what the people of Ido and Ibarapa East are asking for is accountability, not market money, noting that throwing money into a market of 500 traders is an insult.

Mr. Tunde Adeagbo, a student leader from Ayete, said the people voted for effective representation, not absentee representation, and if after three years, they cannot point to one legacy project from Eruwa to Ido, they have the right to ask questions.

The residents therefore called on Hon. Oseni to immediately convene a constituency-wide town hall meeting across Ido and Ibarapa East to present his scorecard, including details of constituency allowance, zonal intervention projects, motions, bills and facilitation. They also challenged media and civil society organizations to conduct an independent audit of projects in the constituency from 2023 to date, to allow for objective comparison with previous representatives.