By Adeleye Kunle
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Oyo State’s main opposition party, has stated that Governor Seyi Makinde does not deserve to be re-elected for a second term in office in 2023.
In a statement obtained by Tracknews on Monday, the APC stated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed miserably in the state, and that another opportunity to lead will breed serious insecurity in Oyo State.
According to a statement issued by the state’s APC State Secretary, Alhaji Tajudeen Olanite, the PDP is out to silence opposition and turn Oyo into a one-party state.
It accused the Makinde-led government of becoming too intolerant of opposition in the state because the PDP recognizes that they have failed miserably and have nothing good to offer the good people of the state.
Olanite accused Governor Makinde of using state resources to empower thugs who have been implicated in the deaths of several people in the state.
The APC condemned an alleged threat to assassinate the party’s 2023 governorship candidate in the state, Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin, who also serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content.
Olanite stated that Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, popularly known as ‘Auxiliary,’ who was appointed by Makinde in February 2020 as the chairman of the disciplinary committee for the Oyo State Government’s Park Management System, issued the threat to Folarin’s life in a viral video, and the governor remained silent on it.
APC expressed concern that Makinde chose to remain silent in the face of Auxiliary’s threat to Folarin’s life.
It claimed that Makinde’s style of governance has rendered the state retrogressive, and that video clips that have gone viral on social media in recent days have revealed that the governor is empowering armed criminals.
“Governor Seyi Makinde does not deserve a second term,” the statement said. During his current first term, he has brought our beloved state backward in terms of thuggery and hooliganism, which the immediate past governor, the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, effectively tamed for eight years.
“Aside from the threat to Senator Folarin’s life, the Mukaila Auxiliary and scores of his thugs have clamped down on opposition party billboards and posters, particularly the state’s leading opposition party.”
“Auxiliary has been leading heavily armed thugs in various parts of Ibadan and the state to destroy APC billboards and posters.”
“The PDP government in Oyo State has tagged the billboard destruction by Auxiliary and his thugs as ‘Operation Destroy APC Billboard and Posters.’ They have also begun the destruction of shops in Dugbe Alawo and Ogunpa run by people they believe are opposed to Governor Makinde’s second term bid.
“It’s an attempt to silence opposition and make Oyo a one-party state.” The PDP-led administration in the state is very intolerant of opposition because they know they have failed miserably and have nothing good to offer the good people of the state.
“But we have a mandate to save the state from these clueless, distracted, promise-breaking rookies in governance and thuggery promoters.” We will not be deterred by their misbehavior. We will free the good people of this state from the clutches of these political hawks who have been reported to be in power to steal, kill, and destroy.”
Olanite went on to say that Governor Makinde trashed the foundation for peace and tranquility laid by a former governor of this state on the APC platform for eight years within nine months of taking office.
“So, if Auxiliary and his men can go around making people cry during Governor Makinde’s first term, who wants a second term in office, the situation will definitely be worse if he wins the second term,” he said. The reign of impunity will be extended further, which will undoubtedly be a major setback for Oyo State. This should not be allowed to happen.
“We, therefore, urge the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State and the Inspector-General of Police to take appropriate action in response to the threat to the life of a three-term senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a former Senate Leader in the National Assembly.”
This article first appeared on Track News.
