Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Monday, held a closed-door meeting with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which paid him a visit to sympathise with the Oyo State Government over the abduction of teachers and pupils at Yawota and Esinele communities of Oriire Local Government.
The PDP BoT members led by its chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara and the PDP Interim National Working Committee led by Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN also condoled with the governor and people of the state over the killing of one of the teachers.
The meeting was held at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the meeting, Alhaji Turaki said the delegation visited the Oyo State Governor to sympathise with him and the people of the state and to encourage, strengthen and reassure the people of the state in their trying period.
Alhaji Turaki, who commended Governor Makinde’s efforts, commitment and resources put in place to ensure safety of lives and properties in the state, condemned banditry and attacks on innocent lives.
He pledged the support of the PDP to the government and urged Nigerians to be security-conscious and observant about their environments, remain vigilant and promptly alert the authorities whenever necessary.
He said: “The Interim National Working Committee and the Board of Trustees are here to commiserate with His Excellency, the government and people of Oyo State, over the unfortunate incident that took place in Oriire Local Government recently.
“We feel that the issue of security is an issue that is so fundamental and paramount that it must be taken seriously.
“On our part, we are aware of the efforts that His Excellency has been making to make sure that the people of Oyo State are safe, and to make sure that the frontiers of this state are safe.
“Now, seeing events like this happening despite the colossal amount of money the governor has been spending in that regard, is something that gives us serious concern, especially when election is approaching.
“So we have come to strengthen him and strengthen the people of Oyo State and say that this thing shall pass by the special grace of God.
“More than ever at this critical time, every single Nigerian must be security conscious. We must always look at what is happening around us and then alert the authorities as soon as we can.
“We must also ensure that we do whatever we can to protect ourselves, our lives and our properties.
“His Excellency has spoken to us, and we are confident that the efforts that he has started implementing are such that will ensure that this kind of ugly incident does not happen anywhere in Oyo State again.”
While fielding questions from newsmen on his message to the Federal Government regarding the unfortunate incident and the issue of insecurity generally, Alhaji Turaki called for the overhauling of the security architecture of the country.
He noted that state governors, who are the Chief Security Officers of their states, should have direct control over the security agencies operating within their states without any interference from the Federal Government.
“Our charge to the Federal Government is that the issues of security and security architecture need to be overhauled and this is long overdue. A situation where you will say the governor is the Chief Security Officer in the state and he has no control over the troops and the security agencies that work and live in the state, is something that should have to be reconsidered.
“I cannot imagine where a governor will preside over his security council meeting in the state and then decisions are taken and the commissioner of police will have to get clearance from the Inspector-General of Police in Abuja or the Commandant in the Military will have to also talk to his superiors in Abuja, by which time a lot of damage could have been done.
“So, we feel from our own perspective as the PDP, that there is a need for the security architecture to be overhauled. If you now say that the governor of a state is the chief security officer, then, for all intent and purposes, he should be seen to be in charge of the security apparatus that exists in the state. Commands and instructions should be taken from him. I think if that is done, probably we would be able to stop all these kinds of incidents from taking place in our states.”
