09/07/2014

Osun 2014: Omisore Afraid of His Shadows - APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has  accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, of deploying masked gunmen as security men during his ongoing electioneering for the August 9 election in the state.

The party wondered why uniformed or plain-cloth policemen as well as State Security Service (SSS) personnel are suddenly not good enough for  Omisore.

In a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the only reason Omisore could have resorted to hiring ‘ninjas’ for protection is because he is afraid of his own shadows.
It wondered how a man who wanted to rule a state would be afraid to move freely among the same people whose votes his is canvassing, saying the PDP candidate should emulate the state Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who is barely distinguishable from the ordinary citizens of the state.

‘’Every month, Aregbesola leads the people of the state in a jogging exercise on the streets, during which he mixes freely with them. Not once has a ‘ninja’ been spotted behind him in the name of security.


‘’During his ongoing electioneering, Aregbesola has continued with his tradition of being with the people without any invasive security. Omisore has a lot to learn from Aregbesola, and should realise that being a people’s governor goes beyond a made-for-television eating of roasted corn or riding of commercial motorcycle’’ APC said.

The party said if the PDP governorship candidate had known the history of masked gunmen or ‘ninjas’, he would not have resorted to using them for protection.

‘’The message which the use of masked gunmen sends to the populace is that of intimidation, harassment, espionage, sabotage, assassination and terrorism. No one seeking to rule a state should want to be portrayed in that light. 

“Therefore, we call on Omisore to immediately halt the use of masked gunmen unless of course it is a deliberate ploy to intimidate and terrorise the same people he wants to govern,’’ it said.

The APC said it was a bad judgment for anyone, least of all a public official, to resort to the use of ‘ninjas’ for security at a time the country was reeling from terrorist attacks that have left thousands of people dead or injured.
The party wondered why uniformed or plain-cloth policemen as well as SSS personnel were suddenly not good enough for Omisore.

‘’Omisore and the PDP should please spare the peaceful people of the state any further harassment and intimidation. The PDP should prevail on its candidate to be civil. A man who wants to rule a state should not be afraid to mix freely with the same people. Osun people say no to ‘ninjas’.

‘’If he and the PDP think we are crying wolf, they should monitor the comments being made on the picture that has been posted in the social media showing a ‘ninja’ standing behind the PDP governorship candidate. Perhaps then they will realise how much they have goofed,’’ it said.

Meanwhile, a pre-election assessment and opinion poll exercise on the Osun State governorship election slated for August 9 was carried out by Coalition Of Civil Society Organisations (COCSO)with a warning  that all the governorship candidates of the political parties and politicians should play politics by the fundamental electoral laws set by the constitution.

The Coordinator of the coalition, Dr. Nwambu Gabriel, who stated this at a press conference at the weekend in Osogbo, the state capital, noted that the youths of the state were reminded not to allow themselves to be used as instruments to perpetrate electoral related violence and also remain law abiding citizens as the political ambition of no politician is worth their blood.

He also reminded them that ignorance of the law is not an excuse, as the law must always take its course to punish any offender.

Speaking on the outcome of the group survey in the state, Gabriel contended that the APC governorship candidate, Aregbesola, would be re-elected as the governor of the state. (thisdaylive)

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