Osun ACN: Omisore’s threat can cause national mayhem

[TheNation]

   Senator Iyiola Omisore  •Senator to rumour-mongers: stop distracting Aregbesola •'Ex-lawmaker a disgrace to his constituency'

 

The Osun State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said the threat by a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, to “attack, stop and disarm” Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s convoy is capable of causing national mayhem.

The party noted that the controversial politician’s threat was a sign of “desperation gone berserk”.

It urged the former senator not to nurse the evil idea as it has the potential to blow up on his face and cause a national unrest.

In a statement by its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, the ACN said: “Such act would be treated as an assassination attempt by a criminal miscreant and will be decisively terminated by the security forces.

“We call on all lovers of peace in the country to advise Omisore and his cohorts against this act of desperation, first in his own interest, and in the interest of peace and survival of democracy in the country. If the PDP in the Southwest even has a private army, it will be suicidal to use that illegal army against the Chief Security Officer and Chief Executive of a state. This is a federating unit in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“When did it become the responsibility of Senator Omisore to determine who constitutes the security convoy of the governor? Is he now the National Security Adviser? Or, has he replaced the Inspector-General of Police or the Director of State Security Service (SSS)?

“In a civilised clime, Omisore should have been placed under security surveillance and prosecuted for plotting a criminal assault against a sitting governor. That is what we call on the SSS to do immediately; otherwise, they will stand accused of complicity in Omisore’s criminal attempt.”

The party urged President Goodluck Jonathan and other national officers of the PDP to call Omisore to order in the interest of peace.

It said: “Ihe President should be aware that chieftains of his party are plotting anarchy in the Southwest.”

ACN recalled that the National Vice-Chairman (Southwest) of the PDP, Mr Segun Oni, last month, declared that the PDP would make Osun State ungovernable for Aregbesola and the ACN.

The party noted that the declaration was followed by a “dubious security report, which accused the governor of plotting secession against Nigeria”. According to the ACN, Omisore is now threatening physical assault on Aregbesola, to show that the earlier threats were genuine.

“These are not just mere coincidences. They have the hallmarks of strategic planning of criminal nature. President Jonathan, who is a national leader of the PDP, has a responsibility to protect the citizens of this country against criminals, assassins and political thugs who are driven by desperation to create mayhem, such as the one being plotted against Aregbesola by the PDP and its chieftains in the Southwest,” it said.

ACN added: “This state has already been certified as peaceful by no less a responsible and highly placed leader of the PDP than Aminu Tambuwal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and other international personalities who have visited the state in the last couple of days. It will, therefore, be a crime against state security for an ordinary citizen of the state to want to ignite mayhem by attacking the governor’s convoy.”

   Senator Mudashiru Hussein (ACN, Osun West) yesterday urged rumour-mongers in Osun State to desist from distracting Governor Aregbesola.

  The senator noted that those fueling religious  sentiments in the state have failed.

He said: "The ousted PDP government, under Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, failed for seven years in the state. Now, we have a legitimate government. But the tiny minority is bent on distracting the attention of the workaholic governor, who has recorded more feats within the spate of two years. They will fail.”

Hussein flayed the PDP leadership in the Southwest for fuelling rumours against the governor to discredit his achievements.

He described the election of Oyinloa as PDP National Secretary and Mr. Segun Oni as zonal leader as "a parade of wounded lions".

According to him, they have not recovered from the illusion of hanging on to illegitimate power.

The senator hailed the job creation programme of the Aregbesola administration, saying this has put smiles on the faces of unemployed youths in the 31 local governments of the state.

He said: “Aregbesola inherited the problems created by the deposed governor and it is curious that the PDP is not happy with the progress being made. The governor will not be distracted because the people are with him.”

A member of the House of Representatives, Mikhail Rotimi Makinde (ACN, Osun), has said Omisore’s threat against Aregbesola has brought disgrace to the people of his constituency.

Describing the PDP chieftain as an “agent of destruction”, Makinde noted that Omisore’s kind of politics has led many youths astray.

He said: “We know the Omisore family to be of good record. But Iyiola Omisore has become so notorious yet he enjoys being referred to as an agent of destruction.”

Makinde expressed disappointment that the former Osun State deputy governor, who is from Ile-Ife as himself, “is giving the Ifes a bad name”.

He added: “I represent the community of Ife. But with his clout, money and thugs, Omisore was floored in every polling booth in the land, including his family compound.

“Gone are the days when he could come home and recruit innocent youths and use them for untoward purposes.

“By his act (of violence), many promising young men are now in jail and detention, including his close lieutenant, who is standing trial for murder and kidnap.”

A rights group, Justice Now Foundation, yesterday queried the PDP on why it is bent on creating crisis in Osun State.

In a statement by its leaders, Comrades Waheed Lawal and Lanre Afolayanka, the group noted that Omisore’s statement against Aregbesola was reckless.

The statement reads: “This action by the defeated senator begs many questions. One: What concerns Omisore with the philosophy of life of the governor? Second: the allegation raised by Omisore is untrue, fallacious and baseless. Third: even if the allegation Omisore raises was true, this is a security issue that should be left to security institutions to handle.”

Another pressure group, the Osun Good Governance Forum, said it has been monitoring a “sinister plan” by the state PDP to sink the ship of state.

A statement by its chairman, Abagun Adebayo, said: “We, as concerned stakeholders in the State of Osun, having read the report have decided to tell the world who Omisore is and what he is capable of doing.

“…It is pertinent to say that what Omisore said about change in security guard is the same tissue of lies the rumour mill of the PDP machine has been churning out. This is a pure but a poor fabrication that is devoid of any iota of truth.”

 

 



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