The political tension in Osun State took a new dimension on Monday, with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) urging the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the state after some people were reportedly killed.
However, the call for a state of emergency has been rejected by the state government who accused the APC of targeting to achieve their demand by deliberately causing mayhem in the state.
National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru and the Osun State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, were both guests on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
Responding to a question on what the solution to the current political crisis in Osun State should be, Senator Basiru said, “I will suggest that perhaps it will be necessary for the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency. It has gotten to that stage where hapless people coming from farms are attacked by uncontrollable PDP thugs.
But Alimi rejected the call for a state of emergency, saying, “I call on our amiable president to reject the call of Honourable Bashiru and his cohorts. That is exactly what they are targeting, they deliberately caused mayhem in this state.
“We are going to publish the names of our members that have been killed. There is no court of appeal that restored them, we urge them to toe the line of peace.”
At least two people were reportedly killed in the state on Monday as some reinstated local government chairmen and councillors across the state’s 30 local government councils resumed office at their respectful local government headquarters, claiming to be enforcing a court ruling in compliance with the rule of law.
The attempted takeover sparked resistance in places like Oshogbo, the state capital, Ikire and Irewole local government areas of the state, leading to the death of one of the reinstated council chairmen, Remi Abbas.
The ruling PDP and the opposition APC are trading blame over the crisis, with both parties claiming that their members were killed.
