Relocate Kwara capital, Ilorin is not for Muslims alone – OPC declares

The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has advised the federal government that the capital of Kwara State should be relocated from Ilorin if Muslims continue to insist that Ilorin is an Islamic city and that traditional religious worshippers are not allowed to practise their faith there.

Bayo Fabiyi, the Kwara State Coordinator of the OPC New Era, made the declaration in a statement on Sunday, August 20.

According to him:

“There are Muslims in other places cohabiting with others without crises or disturbances.

“Therefore, if Ilorin is the only place where Isese becomes a challenge, the status of Ilorin as a state capital should be changed while the ancient town can be allowed to remain purely an Islamic place because of all towns in Kwara, only Ilorin is where Islamic extremism thrives,” he said.

The OPC coordinator, however, advised the traditionalists to be patient and not fight back against the Muslims in Kwara.

Meanwhile, traditional worshippers in Ekiti State renewed their call on the state government to declare a national public holiday for the Isese festival.

They lauded the governments of Lagos, Osun, Oyo and Ogun states, who had recognised the day and declared a holiday.