•Over Gov. MAKINDE’s Re-Election Bid
As the 2023 general election draws near, the political atmosphere in Oyo State, like every other part of the country, is charged. That of course is to be expected at a period like this when stakeholders across various political parties are trying hard to outshine one another in selling their candidates to the electorates ahead of the coming elections.
Already, different intrigues, cards, as well as tantrums have been introduced into the game. One of such political antics, however, is the recent viral video of the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Park Management System (PMS), Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi also known as ‘Auxiliary’. In which he was apparently reacting to the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Teslim Folarin’s call for him to be called to order. As a result of what Folarin described as incessant attacks on the members of his party by Auxiliary and his PMS guys.
Folarin, at a political rally recently, issued a strong warning to Auxiliary to desist from attacking members of APC or be prepared to face the consequences. Stating that he and others wouldn’t fold their hands and allow Auxiliary and his gang to turn the state into a place where insecurities reign supreme.
“Whatever they call his name-Auxiliary or what? He should be prepared for the consequences if he doesn’t stop attacking members of the APC. We will not fold our arms while they continue to unleash terror on our members and people. He should be warned,” Folarin stated. The whole issue has however taken a rather interesting dimension when Auxiliary’s video surfaced on the internet, last week. Auxiliary, in a one-minute video, had threatened to kill Folarin, the three-term senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District if he does not behave himself.
The PMS boss, who is believed to be mobilizing support for the re-election bid of his benefactor, Governor Seyi Makinde, accused the APC leader of recruiting militants against him ahead of the 2023 election in the state. Since the emergence of the said video, it has been a war of words, accusations and counter-accusations between the two leading political parties in the state, the PDP and APC.
In fact, APC has not only raised an alarm but has also charged the appropriate security agencies to probe Auxiliary’s alleged death threats on its guber candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin.
Why the threats shouldn’t be taken for granted, according to APC, in a press release, was because of Auxiliary’s violent tendencies. Citing as an example his involvement in the clash at the Iwo Road Interchange that led to the killing of a medical student of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and other travellers; the bloody attack on innocent telephone sellers at Iwo Road that claimed the life of one of the phone sellers in the area, and the recent attack on residents of Ali-Iwo area. The statement signed by Oyo State Secretary of APC, Alhaji Tajudeen Olanite reads: “We wish to express our concern about the safety of Senator Teslim Folarin.
“The infamous clash at the Iwo Road Interchange that led to the killing of a medical student of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and countless travellers; the bloody attack on innocent telephone sellers at Iwo Road that claimed the life of one of the phone sellers in the area, and the recent attack on residents of Ali-Iwo area that killed two people are still fresh in our memories.
“We have no choice but to call on the state security agencies, particularly the Oyo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) to expedite the investigation on Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi’s threat to Senator Teslim Folarin’s life before it is too late. “We are also asking the police and the DSS to beef up security around the APC governorship candidate.
“There is no doubt that Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi views our party and its governorship candidate as the stumbling block to his principal, Engineer Seyi Makinde’s second term bid. “The campaign for the 2023 general election will begin soon, and we don’t want our party’s governorship candidate to be a victim of attack. So, the security agencies should investigate this blatant threat to life.
“Also, we are intimating the general public to hold Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi Auxiliary and his principal, Governor Seyi Makinde, accountable if anything untoward should happen to our party’s governorship candidate or any of his close allies before, during or after the general election.” Meanwhile, in its own reaction, PDP had accused APC of raising a false alarm. Saying that Folarin was the one making attempts to attack Auxiliary.
The PDP Publicity Secretary in Oyo State, Akeem Olatunji, in a statement, said that the allegation was a fabricated story to gain public sympathy.
He said: “It is a complete lie. They just want to be in the news. They have lost relevance.
“It is a cooked-up story. Folarin is not in the race. The platform has been destroyed. They are the ones making attempts on ‘Axulilary’ just to take him out of circulation. Auxiliary is raising the alarm so that he would not be killed. The Federal Government, police and DSS should call Folarin to order.
“Auxiliary is only focusing on how to generate revenue for Oyo State through PMS.”
For those who are familiar with the political happenings in Oyo State, this is not the first time the Auxiliary will be taken on the perceived political enemies of Governor Seyi Makinde. A former member of PDP in the state and erstwhile political ally of the governor, Bisi Olopoeniyan and others who are no longer with Seyi Makinde had, at one time or the other, been taken to the cleaners by Auxiliary.
As a matter of fact, he did a similar video to the current one at the South-West PDP Congress in Osogbo in 2021, during the faceoff between Governor Seyi Makinde and the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose. Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi aka Auxiliary was a factional Chairman of the Oyo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) before he got his new appointment as the Chairman of Oyo PMS.
-Dare Adeniran
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