Group Berates Abejide Over ‘Lopsided Representation’, Underperformance

By Iyojo Ameh

United Yagba Forum, a sociopolitical group in Yagba Federal Constituency has taken a swipe at the member representing the constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Leke Abejide, accusing him of what it termed persistent underperformance, selective project allocation, and a deliberate sidelining of Yagba West Local Government Area.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the group secretary, Chief Adewale Olabosun, the group expressed displeasure over what it described as a pattern of concentration of constituency projects in Yagba East, particularly Isanlu and Alu communities, the lawmaker’s home axis, while Mopamuro and Yagba West are alleged to have received minimal developmental attention.

Yagba Federal Constituency comprises Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopamuro Local Government Areas. However, the group said development under Abejide’s tenure has been skewed in favour of Yagba East, leaving other LGAs, particularly Yagba West, “grossly short-changed.”

According to them, out of all water interventions recently publicised by the legislator, only one was recorded in MopAmuro district, while the bulk of similar projects were concentrated within Abejide’s home zone of Yagba East.

“Representation must not be reduced to sectional charity,” the statement read. “Yagba West cannot continue to receive crumbs while taxpayers’ development funds are channelled to one side. Federal constituency projects are not personal gifts; they belong to the entire Yagba people.”

Members of the group further alleged that the neglect of Yagba West may not be unconnected to the overwhelming resistance against the lawmaker’s third-term agenda, noting that development should never be used as a reward mechanism for loyalty or a punitive tool for dissenting communities.

In a comparative remark, the statement highlighted the achievements of a private individual within the constituency, who reportedly constructed 14 solar-powered boreholes across Yagba without holding public office or contesting for one.

Of the 14, five were said to be in Mopamuro, two in Mopa township, two in Amuro communities of Orokere, Takete-Ide and one in Oke-Agi, with others spread across various communities in Yagba East and West.

The group described the development as a “shameful contrast” that exposes the lawmaker’s lack of equitable distribution of resources, insisting that such an individual intervention has outperformed what they labelled as Abejide’s “selective and politically motivated” reach.

“If a private citizen can do 14 constituency-scale water projects without public funds and in the absence of funfare, then what excuse does a sitting federal lawmaker have?” the statement queried.

The group called on Abejide to adopt an even distribution approach and prioritise Yagba West in future projects, stressing that unity and fairness remain crucial as the constituency approaches another election cycle.