By: Thomas Abidoye
The All Progressives Congress National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, has responded to the Osun PDP over the party’s outcry as he called for a state of emergency in Osun.
Recall that Senator Ajibola Basiru on Tuesday urged President Tinubu to replicate the state of emergency declared in Rivers to Osun, where the state government has grounded local government administration.
Ajibola noted that the President’s decision in Rivers has shown that he is not only a statesman but also very neutral in the crisis rocking the state.
In his appeals to President Tinubu to replicate the same decision in Osun, senator Basiru said: “We also want to use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to also declare the same State of Emergency in Osun State.
“The government has grounded local government administration despite the Court of Appeal decision and the advice by the Attorney General,” he appealed
Reacting to the call on Wednesday in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, Osun government said such a call is callous, self-centered, and unlawful.
The State government advised Senator Basiru and his party, the APC, not to throw the peace and tranquility currently enjoyed in Osun into turmoil in an attempt to take the reins of governance through the backdoor.
In a follow-up response on Friday, Senator Basiru insisted that he is a major stakeholder in Osun politics and that the call for a state of emergency is intended to sustain peace in the state.
Senator Basiru noted that the call for a state of emergency is just a warning.
He wrote, “President Bola Tinubu didn’t just wake up on Tuesday to declare a state of Emergency in Rivers. The announcement was just the product of a series of actions and reactions. No sane President will toy with the security of his people.
“Goodluck Jonathan declared such in 2013 in Yobe Borno and Adamawa to checkmate Boko haram insurgency.
“Obasanjo did it in 2004 in Plateau to stop a massacre between Muslims and Christians. Tafawa Balewa did it in 1962 in Western Nigeria to avert bloodshed.
“The call by Senator Ajibola for a State of Emergency in Osun is to sustain the peace in the State.
“As things are now in Osun, the relative peace is like swallowing a slow poison. The face-off between APC and PDP over the control of the Local Government Council is like a bomb waiting to detonate at any time.
“If PDP and its allies think Basiru is selfish for calling for a SoE in Osun, then the ruling party in the State is a vampire thirsty for more blood after the pints it drank on the 22nd of February.
“We will say the Government in Osun uses citizens’ blood to water its administration.
“A government that stokes communal crises and then comes out to dance on victims’ graves after shedding crocodile tears.
“Blood at Esa Oke. Blood at Ilobu/Ifon. Blood at Ègbedi Blood at Ilesa. Blood at Ikire.Blood at Iragbiji.
“The best way to stop further bloodshed is for Governor Adeleke to obey the court order.
“The river crisis didn’t start and end on Tuesday. Basiru’s call for SoE is just a warning. Many warned Fubara, too, but he chose to call their bluff. Basiru is not the Court of Appeal. He is not a local government chairman. But he is a major stakeholder in Osun politics.
Also taking to his social media page on Friday to tackle Senator Basiru, the Osun PDP Spokesperson, Bamiji Oladele, said a state of emergency is a newly found shortcut to usurp the administration of states lost by the APC in the country.
He wrote;”SoE seems to be the newly found shortcut to usurp administration of states lost by the Apc. The carrot they dangle on the face of Baba Presido is his 2027 reelection bid which invariably add fire to the desperation without any second thought of whether it is popular with the people or the legal implications. That’s why mad dogs like Basiru are coming out without shame to be calling for SoE in Osun.”
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