A prominent ally of Governor Ademola Adeleke, Mr Olalekan Ajagungbade Oyeyemi, popularly known in political circles as “Emir,” was shot dead on Sunday in Ile-Ife, in the bloodiest escalation yet of the long-running battle for control of motor parks in Osun State.
Ajagungbade was reportedly lured to the Mayfair Garage area of the ancient city for what he believed was a meeting, where gunmen shot him in the head. He died on the spot. His death triggered immediate tension in parts of Ile-Ife, with residents and commercial drivers fleeing the area as news of the killing spread.
Sunday’s killing is the latest chapter in a violent power struggle that has gripped Osun’s transport sector since Governor Adeleke assumed office. At its core is a contest between factions loyal to competing political and union interests over who controls the state’s lucrative motor parks — a prize that carries not just daily revenue but enormous political mobilisation power.
Ajagungbade, a staunch Adeleke loyalist, had been locked in a bitter rivalry with the current leader of commercial drivers in the state, Nurudeen Alowonle, the state chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW. The two men — both ostensibly in the governor’s camp — had clashed repeatedly over the control of parks and garages across the state.
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The crisis has deeper roots. Shortly after the July 2022 governorship election, a faction accused NURTW officials of working against Adeleke’s candidacy, setting off a series of clashes that have periodically shut down parks and drawn police interventions. The state government has at various points suspended NURTW operations entirely and ordered the police to take over motor parks to contain violent confrontations between the NURTW and rival transport bodies.
In July, Governor Adeleke threatened to scrap the NURTW leadership and withdraw control of motor parks from the union altogether, citing recurring violence. The state government subsequently affirmed Alowonle as the recognised NURTW chairman, as appointed by the union’s national leadership, and ordered security agents to flush out rival elements from the parks.
Governor orders arrests, parks vacated
Reacting to the killing, Governor Adeleke directed the Osun State Police Command to track and arrest all those involved, and ordered the immediate vacation of all motor parks by the warring groups.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the governor announced the reintroduction of a Park Management System to take the parks out of the hands of union factions.
“Law and order must be maintained. There will be no sacred cows as all culprits will be brought to book. We call on members of the public to remain calm,” the statement read.
“We will ensure restoration of peace in all the affected parks and areas. The security agencies are under instruction to ensure the sustainability of peace at all cost.
“We are reintroducing the Park Management System. I will soon issue an executive order to give effect to the new management system to manage parks and garages across the state.”
The governor further directed security agencies to restore normalcy across the parks and maintain law and order statewide.
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