Newscenter Media News Oyo State Governor ‘Seyi Makinde has issued a stern warning to the All Progressives Congress (APC), urging the party not to undermine democracy by resorting to self-help over local government administration in Osun State.
Makinde made the call on Sunday during the swearing-in ceremony of 30 newly-elected local government chairmen in Osun State. His comments come amid rising political tension following the contentious local government elections.
“Recently, we were in Lagos for the South-West Governors’ Forum meeting. We had both PDP and APC governors from the South-West in attendance. We came together in the interest of our zone to tackle those problems that are common to us. Our expectation is that we would have support all the way to the top because the essence of governance is to deliver the goods to the people in our various states and zones,” Makinde said.
He expressed concern over the violence that erupted in Osun, leading to the loss of lives. “When events started unfolding here in Osun State to the extent that lives were lost, we felt that we should come around and sound a note of warning. We are all students of history and we know what the South-West Region went through that made people tag it ‘Wild Wild West’ back then, and we do not want that again.”
Makinde called on the APC to respect due process and avoid using federal influence to disrupt democratic processes. “Nobody should resort to self-help. Even if you have a court judgment, there is a process; let the process go through. You cannot say that because you have the so-called federal might, you want to truncate the process. This is a federal arrangement.”
The Oyo State governor also took the opportunity to congratulate the newly-elected chairmen and urged them to fulfill their campaign promises. “Let me congratulate the newly-minted chairmen and chairpersons of all the 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State. Don’t forget the promises you made to the people during your campaign. This is an opportunity for you to deliver to the people at the grassroots level. My prayer is that with the support of your governor and the state government, you will deliver.”
He encouraged the new leaders to see this position as a stepping stone. “For some of you, this will be your stepping stone to higher positions because the reward for hard work is more work.”
Makinde was accompanied by the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed. Both leaders said their presence was to show solidarity with Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and the people of the state.
“The chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and I decided to come here to witness this momentous occasion and to show solidarity with the government and the people of Osun State,” Makinde told the gathering.
The leadup to the Osun local government polls was fraught with conflict. Although the PDP swept the elections, winning all chairmanship seats, the APC dismissed the exercise, claiming it lacked credibility.
Security and legal concerns also clouded the elections. The Nigeria Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, had advised the Osun State government not to proceed with the polls. Despite the warnings, Governor Adeleke insisted the election would go ahead, and on Friday, he affirmed there was no going back.
The post Oyo gov, Makinde, warns APC against actions in Osun, says follow court process appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.