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Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Barely 24 hours after meeting with the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), code-named Operation Amotekun, is shaping up brilliantly, adding that the regional security outfit has come to stay.
He made the disclosure on Thursday at the opening of a three-day 2020 annual general conference of the Cherubim and Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria, entitled: ‘Enlarge the Place of Thy Tent’, holding at the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church General headquarters Secretariat, Ashi, Orita Bashorun, Ibadan.
Makinde, who was received by the Supreme Head of the C&S Unification Church Worldwide, Prophet Solomon Alao, stated that he had a 30-minute fruitful deliberation with the IGP and the situation reports on the injunction restraining the sacked council chairmen in the State from the forceful takeover of local government secretariats in the state.
His words: “So, I a happy that Amotekun, the regional security outfit, to which Oyo State strongly subscribes, is shaping up brilliantly.
“I was with the Inspector-General of Police yesterday (Wednesday) and we had close to 30 minutes of deliberation back and forth on how to make our country safe and secure, and how Amotekun will not replace the functions of the Nigeria Police. It is not supposed to replace the functions of the community police that they are setting up.
“They are to complement those efforts to make our society safer. So, very soon, I am sure, we will begin to reap the reward of ‘Project Amotekun.’
“Amotekun is a work in progress. All the issues that people have raised are being addressed right now. But Amotekun is definitely here to stay.”
Makinde, however, said his administration needs prayers so that he would be able to deliver the dividends of democracy, which he promised to them, adding that the recent forceful takeover of local government secretariats by sacked council chairmen in the state was a calculated move by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to cause serious troubles for the People’s Democratic Party-led administration in the state so that the Federal Government could declare a state of emergency in the state. But he did not make further comment on the issue, saying the development had become a subject of litigation.
“As I am standing before you today, does Oyo State need prayer or not? (The congregation responded with a shout that the state needs prayers.) You are aware that some people are moving around that they want to destabilise local government councils in this state. They want the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Oyo State. But through our prayers, all shall be well.”
The governor, who also preached religious tolerance, stated: “All of us, irrespective of our religious inclinations, want a good government. And that is why you voted for me. All of us want a good life. We all want development in our communities, local governments, our states and Nigeria at large. So, we must not allow the obligation of serving God, which should ordinarily unite us, to divide us.
“Personally, I will continue to work for the benefits of all, to provide the peaceful, safe and secured state, where we can all worship without fear. We cannot sincerely service God in an atmosphere of fear.”
