By Disun Amosun
The 12-man strong Osun State caucus of the National Assembly has called for a timely and decisive intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over bloody attempts by duly sacked local government chairmen to forcefully take over their seats, barely a week to scheduled local government elections.
Rep. Bamidele Salam, leader of the Osun State House of Representatives caucus who represented the three Senators and nine Reps members emphasized during a briefing Monday that the president’s intervention was necessary if the peace and tranquility the state is known for, will not be shattered due to the mayhem unleashed by the All Progressives Congress APC supporters on perceived political opponents in attempts to takeover local government chairmanship seats, from which their sitting members were dislodged by a federal High court ruling two years ago.
Backgrounding the scenario, Rep. Bamidele said people in the various local governments woke up Monday morning to various levels of gun attacks by supporters of the APC trying to force their way back into party secretariats in the bid to reinstall L/G chairmen sacked by law two years ago and caretaker committees appointed in their steads.
He said “We use this medium to condemn the brazen effrontery of sacked L/G council officials to return to office notwithstanding the yet to be set aside decision of the Court of Appeal, Akure, against their return to the office.”
“The people of Osun woke up to a criminal take-over of L/G secretariats across the state, forcefully broke into the premises of the councils, aided by thugs and hooligans, shooting sporadically, wreaking havoc on the people and State property and generally breaking down law and order”, he said.
Rep. Salam said in the process, PDP members, local government workers and innocent people were shot, brutalized and harassed by APC thugs and security men, with reports of attacks at Isokan, Boripe and Ayedade local government areas where three PDP members were allegedly shot dead, PDP party members holding peaceful meetings reportedly attacked by MOPOL and thugs again linked to the Minister, Gboyega Oyetola.
He said the Osun State governor Sen. Ademola Adeleke had on Sunday appealed to president Tinubu to rein in the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola and some notable APC leaders in the State, in collaboration with heads of security agencies in the state – the Commissioner of Police, Director of State Security Services and the State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps who were all fingered as being the arrowhead of the imbroglio being perpetrated in the state
The Osun NASS caucus through its spokesman further called on the president to instruct the National Security Adviser and the Attorney General of the Federation, to properly advise the APC in Osun on the futility of their actions and guide them appropriately on the true position of the law on this matter.
