OPC (New Era) leadership crisis deepens, as Akinpelu dismisses expulsion claim
KEHINDE AKINPELU,ILORIN
Leadership crisis has deepened within the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) New Era, as Comrade Adesina Akinpelu has dismissed his purported expulsion from the group, describing the action as futile and unconstitutional.
Akinpelu insisted that he remained a national leader of the Yoruba sociocultural organisation, arguing that the National Executive Council (NEC), led by Alhaji Rasaq Arogundade Balogun, popularly known as ‘Sadam,’ no longer had the authority to take such a decision.
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According to him, the NEC that announced his expulsion ceased to exist on December 12, 2025, following the expiration of its eight-year tenure as stipulated in the organisation’s constitution.
Speaking on the development, Akinpelu, who served as National Publicity Secretary in the dissolved NEC, lamented that Balogun had refused to vacate office to pave the way for the constitution of a caretaker committee that would oversee the affairs of the organisation pending the emergence of a new NEC.
He accused Balogun of attempting to cling to power and deliberately stoking tension within the organisation.
“In his bid to sit tight in office, Sadam is trying to ignite violence within the organisation. This development was reported to the Department of State Services (DSS) in Lagos,” Akinpelu said.
He added that the matter was also reported to the police at Zone 2 Command in Onikan, Lagos, where members involved in the dispute were invited.
According to him, the police subsequently asked all parties to sign an undertaking committing themselves to maintaining peace across Lagos and other states in Yorubaland pending the outcome of investigations into the leadership dispute.
“We are still waiting for the report of police findings when Sadam, alongside the Secretary of the dissolved NEC, Chief Bayo Oyename, came out with the purported letter of expulsion without consultation or approval from the Elders’ Council,” he said.
Akinpelu maintained that under the OPC New Era constitution, only the Elders’ Council had the authority to discipline or expel leaders of the organisation.
He, therefore, declared that the purported expulsion would not stand.
The OPC leader further accused Balogun of deliberately planning to trigger violence within the group, contrary to the collective resolution of senior leaders who had agreed that the leadership tussle must not degenerate into bloodshed.
The development highlights growing tensions within the OPC New Era as members await the outcome of police investigations and a possible resolution to the leadership dispute.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, MARCH 8TH 2026)
