Oyo state progressives congress lawmakers tackle Governor Makinde on relocation of mobile police base
Segun Showunmi in Ibadan
The Oyo State House of Assembly caucus of All Progressives Congress (APC) have expressed dissatisfaction over alleged relocation of Mobile Police (MOPOL) Squadron by the Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde.
Penpushing reports that, the lawmakers while emphasisng that the mobile base was originally penciled down to be sited at Oyo to Ago-Are, in Oke-Ogun area ,expressed shock that the Governor took it away from Oyo town to another location.
The Minority leader, Hon. Ashimiyu Alarape, who is the leader of Oyo Assembly All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus, while speaking with journalists in his office amidst his colleagues stated that the lawmakers were appalled by the Governor’s move stressing that it was unfair to treat the people of Oyo with such denial.
Penpushing further reports that, Alarape, who is a former Speaker of Oyo Assembly affirmed that even though it was a good development for residents of Ago-Are to have such security presence in the area, it was an undeserved treatment meted out to the people of Oyo.
The lawmakers however expressed suspicion of vendetta against the people of Oyo zone as a result of their bloc votes for All Progressives Congress(APC) members during the last general elections.
Nigeria’s government on May 18 warned against “illegal strike action” after some union members vowed to press ahead with a national strike over petrol price rises despite a court injunction.
/ AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)
Penpushing also reports that, the aggrieved lawmakers pointed out that the governor swore to an oath to protect all residents of the state not a section on ground of delivering favourable votes at the last election.
“We have invited you for this press briefing as a result of what happened recently to us in Oyo federal constituency, it is already on social media which has gone viral’, the All Progressives Congress lawmakers stated.
‘His Imperial Majesty, The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, wrote a letter asking for location of Squadron section of MOPOL unit in Oyo and from what we have seen, the documents that you must have seen too on social media, he wrote another reminder in 2020, and there is a list that is in circulation as a result of internal memo of the MOPOL unit of the police headquarters, highlighting or specifying Oyo to be one of those places to locate the requested section of the MOPOL unit’.
“But unfortunately, what we discovered very recently was that the thing has been taken to Ago-Are, which was going to be attributed to probably the failure of the Oyos to vote for PDP at the last general elections, and we want to believe too that the executive governor swore to an oath to protect every member of Oyo state.
“And we must tell you that we find it very appalling to discover that it has been taken, if it’s for political reason then it is not fair enough. It has been denied but reading between the lines and from the documents in circulation, we do not want to believe that it doesn’t have a political undertone’
“So in this case, I want to on behalf of all other APC members of the house of assembly and the lawmaker representing Oyo federal constituency, to appeal to the governor to without further delay commences work if he has not done I’t.
“And if he wants to prove that there’s no political vendetta to commence work on confirming or seen to fruition what His Imperial Majesty started. Security should be the business of everybody and we believe that we are entitled to it, we have been penciled down to have it, and he should facilitate the location of the MOPOL unit in Oyo federal constituency.”
