A former Deputy Governor of Ondo State and the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the 2024 Governorship election, Agboola Ajayi, has called on residents of the state to defend themselves as the security of lives and properties continues to deteriorate in the state.
He made this known following the protest which rocked Akure, the state capital on Wednesday over the killing of five farmers in the early hours of the day but alleged herdsmen and other incidents of killings and kidnapping that had taken place in recent time.
Agboola Ajayi also berated incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa over the surge of insecurity in the state emphasizing that the Governor needs to seek help in getting the state out of the security crisis it has found itself.
He advised that the governor need to ensure that he reposition the Amotekun Corps to be more effective while putting in place necessary measures to make sure that the situation gets better.
He said “Let me underscore the fact that the security challenge confronting Ondo State is not an entirely new development, but governments before the present have adeptly managed this odious crisis and disallowed it to fester to the level it is today.
“While I was Deputy Governor of Ondo State between 2017 and 2021, working dutifully alongside my late boss, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, we developed a robust plan and implemented actions that put banditry and criminality in check. We stopped outright open grazing of cattle by herdsmen, and sanity ruled.
Agboola pointed out that the incumbent administration has allowed the gains made by previous administrations in the area of security in the state to be lost because they have not been proactive.
“Unfortunately, the gains of that era have been allowed to slip away, and the people are now in pain.
“While I condemn the sloppiness and lethargy with which Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is conducting the affairs of our state, it completely underscores his ill-preparedness and incompetence to be in the saddle.
He called on the Governor to rise up to the challenge of rooting out the criminal elements terrorizing the state by seeking help and taking immediate actions to address the lapses exploited by the criminal elements.
“The need to take full grip of this crisis cannot be delayed a day longer. I therefore call on the governor to seek help and take actions that will take Ondo State back from the grip of invading bandits forthwith.
“The government must, as a matter of fact, revamp Amotekun immediately and ensure the re-creation of armed forest guards that will police our forests and uproot all invading criminal elements so that peace can reign in our state.
“Due to the fact that Mr. Governor takes over a billion naira as a security vote, it is time to make the administration of this fund bear results in the interest of the state; we, the people, do not deserve anything less.
He also called on the people of the state to rise up to the challenge of defending themselves against bandits while hoping that the state government will take necessary actions.
“I encourage our people to begin to organise to defend themselves from undue assaults by bandits while we hope that Gov. Aiyedatiwa will get his acts together soon.”
Credit: Guardian
