Insecurity: Ogun PDP berates Gov Abiodun over delay in inaugurating Amotekun Corps

The PDP said it is curious to know whether “Ogun is no more a part of the South West States as the State government, led by Gov Abiodun has refused to inaugurate the State Chapter of Amotekun to combat the rising security challenges in the State.”

DAILY POST reports that Ogun was the first state to approve the Amotekun Corps among other South West States.

In February, Governor Dapo Abiodun forwarded the bill, titled, “HB No 35/OG/2020- “A Bill for a law to establish the Ogun State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps to Assist in Maintaining Law and Order in the State and Connected Purposes,” to the State House of Assembly.

On March 3, barely 19 days after the bill was sent to the lawmakers, it was passed into a law by the House of Assembly.

Since then, nothing more has been heard of the Amotekun Corps in Ogun State.

Reacting in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Monday, the PDP said it was much disturbed by what it called “the uninspiring attitude of the Abiodun government in the state to leverage on the opportunities provided by the widely accepted Amotekun Corps as a formidable security initiative, as seen in other states.”

The Ogun PDP, according to its Publicity Secretary, Akinloye Bankole, said “it is most ridiculous that while its counterparts in other states across the South West geopolitical zones are marching steadily in addressing security challenges in their respective states with the inauguration of the very laudable Amotekun security agency, the Ogun State government has kept running government on the social media – mainly Facebook and Twitter.”

“We are quite aware of the significant presence of Neighborhood Watch, a local security agency operating in Lagos State, we also know that recently Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo and indeed, Osun states have just inaugurated Amotekun boards in order to supplant the unending challenges of threats to lives and properties in their respective states, but unfortunately, the Ogun State Government has been less concerned about the welfare of its citizens.

“As a responsible party, the PDP seems to be concerned about the reasons why Ogun state will choose a path so different from other neighboring states. A careful look around every part of the state reveals lack of internal security for the residents.

“Almost on a daily basis, the people are reduced to bitter realities of threats from kidnappers, rapists, herdsmen, cultists and so on. The recent case of an entire family whose lives were cut short in their prime by suspected herdsmen around the Ayetoro axis readily comes to mind. Cases of rapists and ritual killers are now a daily menu around Ifo, Ijoko and Sagamu.

“For us as a party, it is despicable that the ruling government in Ogun state is still in bed snoring while other states are consciously busy flushing out suspected criminal elements from their domains.

“The unchecked influx of dissidents through the old tollgate at Ogere, Mowe/Ibafo, along the Ibadan Express way and the recent intercepted trailer lorry conveying several people hiding in the truck along Sagamu/Ogijo road readily confirms this.”

The PDP added that it found it so tragic that in spite of the “deceitful stance of the governor on fantasies of being in government, Ogun state, under the watchful eyes of Abiodun, who swore to protect lives and properties of the people, is steadily drifting towards the Hobbesian state of nature where, life is brutish, nasty and short.”

Without any further delay, the Ogun PDP challenged the Abiodun government “to rise up from its slumber and begin to engage every relevant stakeholder in the security sector with the view to putting in place definite and strategic initiatives of securing the lives of the people, just as it is being done in other states of the South West.”