The Oyo chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC) has said Governor Seyi Makinde should be held responsible should anything happen to its governorship candidate Senator Teslim Folarin.
This was in reaction to a viral video of Chairman of the Oyo State Park Management System (PMS), Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, aka Auxiliary, alledgedly threatening to kill the APC gubernatorial candidate in the State.
A statement signed by Oyo APC Secretary, Alhaji Tajudeen Olanite said the party is concerned about safety of Folarin based on the vicious antecedents of Auxillary, which have resulted in the loss of many lives and properties in recent years.
APC alleged the clash at Iwo road interchange which led to the death of a medical student of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and countless intending travellers, the bloody attack on innocent telephone sellers at Iwo road that claimed one of the phone sellers in the area and the recent attack on residents of Ali-Iwo area that killed two people are handiworks of Auxiliary.
The party urged the Police and the DSS to beef up security around the its candidate as previous threats by Auxiliary were actualized by vandalism, attacks, intimidations, and purported killing and maiming of his targets.
“Our attention has been drawn to a video currently in circulation that shows the Chairman of the Oyo State Park Management System (PMS), Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, aka Auxiliary, threatening the APC governorship candidate in the state, Senator Teslim Folarin.”
“Owing to Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi’s violent tendencies, 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 investigation on Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi’s threat to Senator Teslim Folarin’s life before it is too late.”
“There is no doubt that Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi views our party and its governorship candidate as the stumbling block to his principal, Engr Seyi Makinde’s second term bid, and he seems to have decided to eliminate certain political bigwigs in our party in order to pave the way for his Principal’s emergence.”
“The campaign for the 2023 general elections will begin soon, and we don’t want our party’s governorship candidate to be targeted or involved in any kind of attack. So, the security agencies should step up to the plate and investigate this blatant threat to life.”
“We are intimating the general public to hold Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi Auxiliary and his principal, Governor Seyi Makinde accountable if anything untoward happens to our party’s governorship candidate or any of his close allies before, during or after the general elections.”
In the same vein, Oyo Integrity Goup (OIG) urged the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to immediately effect the arrest of Auxiliary within 72hrs.
The group said the Auxiliary threat should not be taken as a mere threat, urging Department of State Service (DSS) and other relevant security agencies to investigate the matter before it get out of hands.
A statement by its Convener, Com Sunday Bamidele condemned auxiliary and his accomplices violent attitude.