The governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde has cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against causing instability in Osun State by resorting to self-help.
Makinde gave the warning in Oshogbo yesterday during the swearing-in of the newly elected local government chairmen in Osun.
The governor’s concern came in the wake of political tension in Osun occasioned by the conduct of last Saturday’s local government election in the state.
The lead up to the Osun local government polls was marred with conflict. While the PDP swept the election, winning all chairmanship seats, the APC has dismissed the exercise.
Police authorities and the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) Lateef Fagbemi had asked the Osun State government not to carry out the exercise for security and legal concerns.
The governor, who spoke on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, said there is the need for political actors to resolve disputes through legal channels rather than fomenting unrest.
Makinde asked the APC not to exploit the federal might to truncate democratic processes.
“Recently, we were in Lagos for the South-West Governors’ Forum meeting. We had 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 and our expectation is that we would have the 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.
“So, 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.
“We just want to peacefully deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. So, 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,” he said.
Makinde emphasised the importance of learning from history and avoiding actions that could plunge Osun into crisis.
“Osun should not be turned into a battleground over issues that can be resolved by the judiciary. They should stay away from this group. We just want to peacefully deliver dividends to our people,” he said.
The governor also warned against any attempt to undermine legal processes.
“Nobody should resort to self-help. Even if you have court judgements, there’s a process. Let the process go through.
“You cannot, because you have so-called federal might, want to propagate the process. This is a federal arrangement.
“If anybody has a judgment, there is a procedure for enforcement of court decisions. It is illegal to resort to self-help,” he added.
Makinde, who was in Osogbo with the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and governor of Bauchi State, Mr Bala Mohammed, said they were in attendance at the swearing-in event in solidarity with the Osun State governor, Mr Ademola Adeleke.
“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 added.
