Kemi Olaitan
The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday warned that the state would be in a total mess if the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, is re-elected for a second term in office in 2023.
The party in a statement yesterday issued by the state Secretary, Alhaji Tajudeen Olanite, alerted members of the public to what he described as “unapologetic manners with which Makinde has been using the instrumentalities of the state to empower thugs that have been fingered in the killing of some people in the state, as well as threats to lives of innocent Nigerians that are not members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”
The APC spoke against the backdrop of the alleged threat to kill the party’s 2023 governorship candidate in the state, Senator Teslim Folarin, stating that former factional chairman of National Union of Road Transports Workers (NURTW) in the state, Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi (aka Auxiliary), appointed by the governor as the chairman of the disciplinary committee for the Park Management System (PMS), was behind the threat to Folarin’s life.
Olanite alleged the threat to the life of the chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content by Lamidi has become a matter of public knowledge via video clips that have gone viral on the social media within the past few days.
The statement read in part: “Governor Seyi Makinde does not deserve a second term in office. During this outgoing first term, he has made our dear state to retrogress in terms of thuggery and hooliganism, which the immediate-past governor, late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, tamed effectively for eight years.
“Apart from the threat to the life of Senator Folarin, Lamidi and scores of his thugs have clamped down on the billboards and posters of the opposition parties, and predominantly, the leading opposition party in the state, APC. Auxiliary has been leading heavily armed thugs to destroy APC billboards and posters in different parts of Ibadan and the state.
“The billboard destruction by Auxiliary and his thugs engaged by the PDP government in Oyo State is tagged: ‘Operation Destroy APC Billboard and Posters’. They have also started the destruction of shops at Dugbe Alawo and Ogunpa being operated by people they perceived are not favourably disposed to second-term bid of Governor Makinde.
“It is an attempt to silence the opposition and turn Oyo to a one-party state. The PDP-led administration is very intolerant of opposition in the state because they know that they have failed woefully and don’t have any good thing to offer the good people of the state.
“But we have a mandate to rescue the state from the hands of these clueless, distracted, promise-breaking, rookies in government, and promoters of thuggery fellows. We shall not be deterred by their antics. We shall ensure the liberation of the good people of this state from the claws of these political hawks that have been reported to be in government to steal, kill and destroy.”
The APC state secretary stated further that within nine months of his governorship, “Makinde has rubbished the foundation for peace and tranquility laid for eight years by a former governor of the state elected on the platform of APC by appointing Auxiliary as chairman, disciplinary committee of PMS.
“Since February 2020 when Makinde appointed Lamidi, the state has not really known true peace. It has been threats and intimidation galore for the people in the state. One will not easily forget the killing of Ramoni at Iwo Road Shopping Complex for parking his car in front of his parent’s complex. Makinde came out to defend Auxiliary that Ramoni was a cultist. Can you imagine?
“Even in the presence of security agencies and media professional, followers of Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi, who is a former deputy governor of this state, and policemen, were mercilessly beaten by Auxiliary and his people during the PDP governorship primary held at Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan. The policemen were beaten without regards to the fact that they were in uniform and nothing came out of it.
“But it is imperative to raise the alarm because Auxiliary, who made the threat to the life of Folarin, is an ex-convict and has what it takes to carry out his threat, even with the backing of Governor Makinde-led administration.”
The statement continued: “It is on record that in 2011, Auxiliary was declared wanted by the Oyo State Police Command in connection with violence that occurred at Iwo Road interchange on June 4, 2011, where many people were killed in cold blood.
“During the bloody incident, former National President of the Nigeria Medical Students Association (NMSA), Mr. Bala Usman Shanono, a 500-level medical student of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was among other travellers felled by bullets. Following the incident, N500, 000 ransom was placed on Auxiliary by the police.
“In 2014, the Lagos State Police Command paraded Auxiliary for illegal possession of guns. He was arrested by the Command’s Special Anti- Robbery Squad at the Olodo area of Ibadan on May 10, 2014, after an incriminating statement made by an illegal arms dealer, Abdulazeez Amao, who was arrested with arms hidden in bags of flour.
“In June 2014, Auxiliary along with others were arraigned before an Oyo State Magistrate Court in Ibadan over three-count charge of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and murder. He was remanded in Agodi Custodial Centre. The trial took two years. He was eventually sentenced to six-year jail term in July 2016 without an option of fine.
“On the day he was arraigned before the magistrate court, Auxiliary, who did not show any sign of remorse, threatened to break cameras of the photo journalists taking his photograph after the court session. He also pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.
“Delivering the judgment, Justice Eni Esan noted that Auxiliary and others were sentenced because of conspiracy to murder, though they were also tried for murder. The Judge ruled that the prosecuting counsel failed in his attempt to convince the court beyond reasonable doubt over the allegations of murder and attempted murder.
“So, if Auxiliary and his men can be going around to make people cry during the first term of Governor Makinde, who wants a second term in office, the situation will definitely be worse during his second term. The reign of impunity will go to the next level, which will definitely be a monumental setback for Oyo State. We should not allow it to happen.
“We, therefore, call on the state Commissioner of Police and the Inspector-General of Police (IG) to do the needful over 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.”
