PDP, Omisore calling for war in Osun, says Ogun ACN

Senator Omisore

•‘PDP scared of Aregbesola’s achievements’ •Lagos Assembly warns on senator’s threat

The Ogun State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday said the threat by Senator Iyiola Omisore and the allegation of attempted secession by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola constitute a call for war.

It urged “all peace-loving Nigerians” to prepare and confront the PDP menace.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sola Lawal, the party noted that the false security report, which the PDP was peddling and the threat by Omisore amount to “a war song which should not be treated with kid gloves”.

ACN said: “Ordinarily, the hyacinth that dances on water has its drummer in the big underbelly of the water. If at this point the Goodluck Jonathan administration does not call those behind these provocative acts to order, then they may have secured executive nod somewhere.”

The party frowned at Omisore’s attack on Aregbesola over the governor’s security arrangement, saying: “It is not only provocative, irritating and insulting to the people of Osun State but also a slap on all decent Nigerians.

“We know his antecedents and recall when, as Osun State deputy governor, he engaged his governor, Chief Bisi Akande, in many uncivilised battles which claimed several lives. Because of his antecedents, the people of the Southwest, particularly our party, will not take his threats and actions lightly.

“Omisore made Osun State ungovernable then and, if he thinks he can re-enact the Akande days, we are ready to meet force for force. The circumstances are now different because the people are not only ready to defend their votes and rights with the last blood in their veins, but are also ready to defend the future of the next generation of Yorubas whom the PDP administration in the Southwest in recent time had messed up totally.”  

The party expressed surprise that Omisore, who was detained for his alleged role in the murder of the late Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, after policemen guarding the house of the late Chief Law Officer were said to have left their duty post for lunch!

The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday urged security agencies not to overlook Omisore’s threat that he would stop and search Aregbesola’s convoy. 

Through the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, Segun Olulade, the Assembly described the threat as weighty.

Addressing reporters at the Assembly complex, the lawmaker noted that the threat should not be treated with kid gloves because of the high- profile political killings that have occurred in Osun State. 

Olulade recalled the killing of a politician, Olagbaju, and Ige, among other cases that security agencies have not unravelled.

He said: “With this new threat to a sitting governor, it’s not just enough for security agencies to investigate the threat. Omisore should be invited for interrogation to ascertain the gravity of his threat. 

“We call on all security agencies to be alive to their responsibility by doing what is right. Nigerians are not prepared for another round of anarchy in the State of Osun or anywhere in Nigeria. We also call on well-meaning Nigerians to call the PDP and its chieftains to order and not turn our dear nation into a banana republic.” 

A coalition of rights’ groups, under the aegis of Civil Society Coalition Initiative (CSCI), has said it is because the PDP is scared of Aregbesola’s achievements it resorted to campaigns of calumny against the governor.

The coalition, comprising the Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and Honourable Olumuyiwa Jimoh Foundation, noted that the PDP is scared of the achievements Aregbesola has made and wants to eliminate him by fabricating lies.

In a statement by its Convener Ismail Olawale and Lagos State Chairman Comrade Buna Isiak, the coalition said: “Aregbesola’s people-oriented approach to development, coupled with popular mobilisation of the people, is enough to deter enemies of democracy. But the vigilance of Osun people and the revolutionary consciousness that is spreading are what the PDP is scared of. But they cannot stop the march of history…” 

Defending the governor’s decision to send Osun youths to Cuba, the group said Aregbesola’s path to alternative development could only be appreciated through countries such as Cuba, China and Brazil, which have taken the same path and emerged victorious.

Aregbesola, the coalition noted, is destined to transform Osun State to be the most industrialised state in Africa through an alternative path to development as represented by China, Brazil and Cuba. 

“There is also a diplomatic and bilateral relation between Nigeria and Cuba. This lays credence to the fact that Aregbesola is operating within the provision of the Nigerian Constitution,” it said.