It is no longer news that Governor Seyi Makinde has dissolved the Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi a.k.a Auxiliary-led disciplinary committee of the Park Management System (PMS) in Oyo State.
It has also become a stale gist that the embattled former NURTW boss has had both his hotel and residence raided twice last week by the Oyo Police Command.
The Police not only ransacked Auxiliary’s properties within two days intervals but also recovered a cache of arms and ammunition as well as charms from the two search operations. Though Auxiliary was lucky to have escaped from the scene, about 78 persons believed to be members of PMS were arrested and paraded by the Police. What, however, got many people so surprised about the whole issue was how Governor Makinde sacked Auxiliary unceremoniously. This is because Auxiliary, before his present travails, was seen as one of the close allies of the Governor.
Infact, many had in the recent past raised eyebrows on how the governor still kept him around for four good years despite the loads of complaints from different quarters about his unruly behavior and violent tendencies.
So powerful was Auxiliary that some people even refered to him as the ‘deputy governor’. So not many saw his sack coming. He was a kind of law unto himself. Everybody who fought Makinde or spoke ill of him, especially his perceived political enemies, got crude response, if not more, from Auxiliary. The memory is still fresh of a video in which he was threatening the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose to stay away from the Southwest PDP’s congress held in Osogbo in 2021. That was just one of the many controversies Auxiliary was involved in. How then did Auxiliary got himself into trouble with Governor Makinde? It was revealed that though the governor has had enough of his misdemeanors but still tolerated him.
The last straw that was said to have broken the camel’s back was the sad incident of the last week Monday of the inauguration day. Auxiliary and his boys were said to have engaged the aggrieved members of NURTW in a free for all fight. An inside source revealed that the crisis started shortly after governor returned to his Ikolaba private residence. When Auxiliary and his PMS boys allegedly started beating members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, who had also followed the governor from the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, venue of the inauguration to his house. “I can tell you for a fact that the governor hasn’t been happy with the conduct of Auxiliary. He was tolerating him, thinking that with time, and considering his age, that he would change. People come to complain everyday.
“It didn’t start today. I can tell you that it was a hard decision the governor had to make. He did not plan to sack him and his PMS guys. But he cannot tolerate it again. It was in the best interest of the state. “Before and in the build-up to the election, the governor, believing that to bring peace in the state, there was a need to bring all warring factions in the transport unions together, detailed his ally, Otunba Seye Famojuro, to reconcile them. “Auxiliary became angry with the move. Not bothered, Otunba Seye called him and told him why they needed to work together in the interest of the state. Adamant Auxiliary won’t agree. They were managing it until this morning when he and his boys started beating everyone believed to be members of the NURTW.
“The governor had to direct the new chief of staff to go and issue statement sacking them. Governor did that in the interest of the state and peace. He won’t tolerate such nonsense any longer. If he proves stubborn, he knows where he is going,” a top member of the governor’s inner caucus, who doesn’t want his identify revealed told Oyoinsight.com.
It would be recalled that the Oyo State chapter of the NURTW was under the leadership of Ejiogbe before Makinde came on board. There were two warring factions; the Ejiogbe and Auxiliary groups then. But Makinde, shortly after his first term inauguration banned the union on May 31, 2019. This was done by the governor in other to nip in the bud the crisis within the union that nearly disturbed the peace and security of the state back then. The Governor was to later formed Park Management System and inaugurated a disciplinarian committee headed by Auxiliary.
For four years, Auxiliary was in control of all the motor parks in Oyo State. Thereby leaving the Ejiogbe’s group out of the scheme of things. But Makinde was said to have initiated a reconcilation move to bring all the aggrieved members of the union together and harmonized them into PMS.
This new development, however, didn’t go down well with Auxiliary, who is said to have insisted that the other group only wants to reap where they didn’t sow saying that he was the one who worked and stood by the governor during his election in 2019 and re-election this year.
It will be recalled that when Engineer Makinde was contesting the governorship election, in 2019, Auxillary was one of the top campaigners for the man who defeated the APC’s governorship candidate, Adebayo Adelabu. In appreciation of his loyalty and service, Makinde, who disbanded the state chapter of the NURTW, immediately he got into office, created the Parks and Garages Managers to run the affairs of motor parks in the state and made Auxillary Chairman.
The fleeing Parks and Garages’ boss was basking in the favour of the governor.
All efforts of the banned NURTW to make a return to the motor parks were blocked.
It was, therefore, not a surprise that the leadership of the board and the union were living as cat and rat in the state. It was the hostility and enmity between the rivals that the governor wanted to end to return peace to motor parks. The governor even invited former leader of the Union, Lateef Akinsola a.k.a Todeyo and other known personalities in the NURTW politics in his efforts to finally sink the difference between the Park Managers and the NURTW.
A source close to the governor’s office told City People that Auxillary was not happy over the governor’s decision to unite the board and the union headed by Abideen Ejiogbe. Auxillary who regarded himself as a fanatical supporter of Makinde who had no blemish in the last four years didn’t want any rival group in the garages. Hence his opposition to resolving the crisis between his board and the NURTW was an anathema that could not be tolerated. His short-sighted vista of the issue at stake was directly opposed to that of the governor who wanted to accomodate the largest number of people possible. At the peace meeting, the leadership of the union and the invited union ex-leaders were already on seat when men believed to be loyal to Auxillary stormed the governor’s home and unleashed violence. The intention was to frustrate any reconciliation. Dangerous weapons such as knives, swords and bottles were broken to inflict injuries on people inside the governor’s residence. Guests scampered to safety. Several persons were wounded. An unconfirmed report even said that a person who was wounded on the occasion later died.
Not to be outdone, people believed to be supporters of Abideen Ejiogbe, in retaliation, were suspected to have stormed Diamond Hotel site at Olodo a Sub-Urban area of Ibadan and inflicted maximum injury on people at the hotel. The attacking horde did not care whether the people attacked were members of parks garages or not. They also damaged all vehicles parked in the vicinity of the hotel. The hotel, it was learnt is believed to be owned by Auxillary.
– Dare Adeniran
08057639079 & Tajudeen Adigun
08039180360
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