CSOs, Ondo APC ex-chairman warn Akeredolu against inciting statements

Play more fiduciary roles to states, guber aspirant tasks FG
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Ondo State have cautioned Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to desist from political comments that can stoke crisis ahead of the October 10, 2020 governorship election in the state.

The coalition of organisations condemned in strong terms the utterances of the governor at the ground finale of his third-year anniversary at the MKO Democracy Park in Akure.

Akeredolu had openly expressed his unwillingness to make peace with the factional APC group, also known as Unity Forum, urging his supporters to launch an attack on the perceived political opponents in the state.

In a statement jointly signed and made available to journalists in Akure yesterday by the Chairman, Mr. Franklin Olomiju and other members: Mr. Martins Alo and Mrs. Folasade Bamigboye, the CSOs asked the governor to retract his statements.

Similarly, a leading governorship aspirant under the aegis of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Isaac Kekemeke, cautioned Akeredolu against making inciting statements out of provocation in the interest of the party’s unity.

Kekemeke, who was the first state Chairman of the ruling party and fell out with the governor, said: “I have also seen some video clips flying around and I just want to believe that the governor did not make the statement. We are in a time where you can see all manner of clips.

“So, I want to believe that the governor did not make the statement and if he did, I want to assume that it was a slip and if it was a slip, I want to think that the governor should have never allowed himself to be provoked to say those things he said as a governor.”

He, however, noted that “those who are provoking him should stop doing that, but he too should stop allowing himself to be provoked so that we can have one big party.”

Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant in Ondo State, Mr. Adekunle Adeleye, has decried the wide gap between existing institutions of government and the people, insisting that the Federal Government must concede more powers to the states.

He stressed that past police reforms showed the degree of ineptitude, failure and lack of human interaction between the institution and the society, adding that federal and state crimes should not be lumped up.

Adeleye, who spoke yesterday in Akure while declaring his intention to contest the October 10, 2020 governorship election in the state, said: “I am sure you will all agree that a rotten police system will permeate all the rest of our social system.

“I believe that the Federal Government has been able to hide the fiduciary relationship between itself and the states in a questionable constitution which I hope to highlight and correct in my administration as soon as I become governor.”