Sam Philip
Agboola Ajayi, a former Deputy Governor in Ondo State, has called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to fund the state Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps to stop the incessant kidnapping and killing of farmers by armed herdsmen in the state.
Reacting to the rising in the number of casualties of activities of killer herdsmen in the state in last few weeks, he urged Governor Aiyedatiwa to make fund Amotekun Corps and other security agencies adequately from the security vote he collects monthly.
He told Governor Aiyedatiwa the reason for the creation of Amotekun Corps and must as matter of urgency seek advice and assistance from all necessary quarters to stem the ongoing insecurity in the state.
The statement entitled: “Ondo State and The Insecurity Challenge,” reads in parts: “For the past few weeks, Ondo State has been in the news for the very wrong reasons, the people are troubled about an emerging culture of kidnapping, banditry and killings, as at the last count, about a hundred people have been killed by criminals who invaded our State from elsewhere.
“Today, the people of Akure felt that they have had enough of this ugly development, they invaded the premises of the Government office to express their indignation and frustration over this ridiculous development for which the APC government of Mr Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa has no answer.
“Let me underscore the fact that the security challenge confronting Ondo State is not an entirely new development, but Governments before the present have adeptly managed this odious crisis and disallowed it to fester to the level it is today.
“While I was deputy Governor of Ondo State between 2017-2021, working dutifully alongside my late boss, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, we developed a robust plan, and implemented actions that put banditry and criminality in check.
“We stopped outright open grazing of cattles by herdsmen and sanity ruled.
Unfortunately the gains of that era has been allowed to slip away and the people are now in pains!
“While I condemn the sloppiness and lethargy with which Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is conducting the affairs of our State, it completely underscores his ill-preparedness and incompetence to be in the saddle.
“I wish to call attention to my campaign manifesto where I canvassed for new thinking in solving security challenges and urged absolute proactive measures to solving them, I equally laid emphasis on the lethargic approach of Mr Aiyedatiwa during the Governorship debate, a clip of which is attached.
“The need to take full grip of this crisis cannot be delayed a day longer, I therefore call on the Governor to seek help and take actions that will take Ondo State back from the grip of invading bandits forthwith.
“The Government must as a matter of fact revamp Amotekun immediately and ensure the re-creation of Armed Forest Guards that will police our forests and uproot all invading criminal elements so that peace can reign in our State.
“Due fact is accorded the fact that Mr Governor takes over a billion naira as security vote, it is time to make the administration of this fund bear results in the interest of the State, we the people do not deserve anything less.
“In conclusion, I encourage our people to begin to organise to defend themselves from undue assaults by bandits while we hope that Gov Aiyedatiwa will get his acts together soon.”