The Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to truncate democracy by resorting to self-help on local government administration in Osun State.
The governor issued this warning on Sunday during the swearing-in of the 30 newly elected local government chairmen in Osun State.
Makinde asked the APC not to exploit 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 common problems, and we expect that we will have the support of the top because the essence of governance is to deliver 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 history students, 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 deliver the dividends of democracy to our people peacefully. 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 you want to truncate the process because you have the so-called federal might. This is a federal arrangement.”
Today, in the presence of my colleagues, the PDP Governors Forum Chairman, Senator Bala Muhammad of Bauchi State and Engr. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, I swore in the newly elected Chairmen of the 30 local government councils across Osun State.
He congratulated the newly-elected chairmen, charging them to deliver dividends of democracy to their people and justify the confidence reposed in them.
“Let me congratulate the newly-minted chairmen and chairpersons of all the 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State,” the Oyo governor said.
“Don’t forget your promises to the people during your campaign. This is an opportunity for you to deliver to the people at the grassroots level. I pray that you will provide the support of your governor and the state government.
“For some of you, this will be your stepping stone to higher positions because the reward for hard work is more work.”
