The Ondo Development Committee
The Ondo Development Committee was established by the Osemawe-in-Council and had its inaugural meeting on Monday 6th day of October 1986. The Committee with an initial Membership of thirty, cutting across different age groups and professions. All the High Chiefs: Lisa S.A. Oldapo, Jomu William Ogunye, Odunwo G. Akinyosoye, Sasere S.N. Agunbiade and Chief Odofin Ebun Olawole (as he was then) was made the Chairman. The committee was charged with looking into the developmental needs of Ondo Community and the progress and status of the Ondo Community within the larger context of Ondo State, as well as the deteriorating relationship between it and its neighbours. The Ondo Development Committee was registered under Section C (Land Perpetual Succession) of the Corporate Affairs Commission in Year 2004 and it is a legal entity: the name Ondo Development Committee should not be used by any other Club or Association. One of the earliest decisions of the ODC was to establish an annual Ekimogun Day as rallying point for all Ondos to come home for a Grand Carnival and contribute to the development of the Community.
The ODC has used its unique and pivotal position in mobilizing the people of Ondo for the Annual Ekimogun Festival, which has been highly successful and has been the ODCs major source of revenue for Communitys developmental efforts over the years. A testimony to the success of Ekimogun Day is the construction of the magnificent and beautiful edifies called Civic Centre. The Civic Centre has been built without assistance from the State or local Governments. The ODC has given a pride of place to the Monarchy and Osemawe-in-Council: specifically the intervention of the ODC in the long drawn out Osemawe Chieftaincy dispute was a considerable achievement and a milestone in its history. No less commendable was the role of the ODC in ensuring a smooth succession to the throne on the demise of Oba Festus Ibidapo Adesanoye Osungbedelola 11.
The ODC News, a bi-monthly publication of the Ondo Development Committee has helped to bridge the hitherto communication gap in the Kingdom by educating, informing and entertaining the people it has really changed the communication tempo in the Kingdom. It has in no small measure help the Committee to promote its corporate image. N.O. Mimiko and Dayo Awude have written a book titled Bearing Testimony on the First Twenty years of the Ondo Development Committee: Mimiko concludes that: It is successful mobilization of the Ondo people behind a collective aspiration to ensure development through communal action that constitutes the greatest achievement of the Committee. This is against the backdrop of the fact that the average Ondo tends historically to be individualistic and a bit nonchalant about the collective good. To have mobilized such a people successfully and got their focus to shift from individual heroism and personal accomplishment to a commitment to self-help is undoubtedly one of the greatest examples of attitudinal modification ever seen in these climes. It is the ODCs most outstanding achievement and a great contribution to development practice
The mobilization of Ondo people Started with First Ekimogun Day in December 1988 and the organizers were charged with the following objectives: