Both the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State and the All Progressives Congress are trading accusations over the decision of Governor Seyi Makinde to travel abroad in the wake of insecurity in the state.
The APC group, The Pacesetter Initiative, noted that the governor’s trip to the United States of America at a time when the state was experiencing security challenges, was evident of his insensitivity.
TPI, in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Afeez Bolaji Repete, and Director of Organisation, Olawale Sadare, described the decision as the peak of insensitivity and ineptitude.
The statement read in parts, “How can a Chief Executive Officer and Chief Security Officer of Oyo State leave his people to the mercy of hoodlums, kidnappers and other criminal elements in the name of an unofficial foreign trip?
“To make the matter worse, the governor sneaked out without doing all that was necessary as laid down in the Constitution. Governor Makinde’s trip to the United States, this time came at a time his government needed to arrest the surging challenges of insecurity bedevilling virtually every part of the state.
“Residents of Ibadan, Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa, Ogbomoso and Oyo were gnashing their teeth on account of coordinated hoodlum attacks, kidnappings, killings and other organized crimes. The situation took a turn for the worse immediately the governor travelled last month and it became known to the perpetrators of crime that nobody was in the saddle again because Governor Makinde did not hand over the baton to his deputy as expected.”
However, the PDP group, The Oyo PDP-Visionaries, described the attack on the governor as unpatriotic and uncharitable. It added that the APC was obsessed with criticising the governor because they are jittery of his increasing popularity.
The group in a statement by its visioner, Qudus Olayide, made available to journalists on Monday in Ibadan, read, “We have watched, for some time, the shenanigans of a group within the APC in Oyo State, which is in a hurry to seek undue gains from politicising governance issues in the state.
“We would like to state that the attack on Governor Makinde is unpatriotic and uncharitable. These elements said in their statement that they did not have an official confirmation on the governor’s overseas trip but still went ahead to insinuate that the governor sneaked out without following constitutional procedure and that he did so at a time the state is facing insecurity.
“It is important to ask the sponsors of the statement whether or not the governor is allowed by law to travel. If he is, does his travel either within or outside the country affect the efforts of security agencies, who are saddled with maintaining peace and order?
“Today, the rapidity of responses from the state-backed Operation Burst and the Oyo State Security Network Agency also known as Operation Amotekun, has helped in stemming the tide of insecurity. Instead of allowing the Amotekun to do its job, the APC elements are terrified that the hoodlums and bandits they are banking on to rubbish the Makinde government will soon be unearthed and so they are already jittery and only resorting to infantile attacks to cover their shame.”
