We’ve overhauled Oyo’s security architecture in interest of all stakeholders –Makinde

By Stephen Gbadamosi, Ibadan

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, said his administration has overhauled the security system he met in the state, so as to guarantee the interests of all stakeholders.

The governor, who was speaking during the Hijrah 1444 luncheon, held at the frontage of the Presidential Lodge, Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, on Wednesday, said security was a key aspect of his administration’s four-point service agenda.

According to him, the government would continue to protect the interest of all stakeholders in the state, irrespective of their religious or ethnic affiliations.

Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, in a statement, quoted the governor as saying that his government would always give every interest their due.

He maintained that his administration had not only overhauled the security architecture of the state, but also doing everything within its capacity to make the state save and secure for every citizen.

The governor said the Hijrah being celebrated in the state amounted to what he called “a turning point,” adding that the turning point in the case of Oyo State was brought about by his victory in 2019.

“What is the Hijra we are celebrating today? It is a turning point; the turning point that came into effect in 2019, which brought light and made darkness to vanish in the state.

“Righteousness also replaced wickedness and I can assure all of us that darkness will not return to Oyo State,” he said.

He also stated that his administration promised to be tolerant and avoid religious bias and that it would continue to give everybody what they deserved to get, adding that it would not deviate from such promises.

Makinde also admitted that being a human being, he could make mistakes, but that stakeholders should readily point out such mistakes and they would be corrected.

“When this government came in, the security architecture we met on ground was different from the layers we have created. We re-jigged the Special Response Squad (SRS); we provided 100 cars within 100 days in office for the police.

“Another layer of security we came up with was Operation Burst, which is composed of Army, Air Force, Civil Defence and DSS personnel. We provided logistics and all they needed to function effectively for them.

“Another layer of security we created is Amotekun. Still, we have another layer – voluntary policing; but we are encountering some challenges in coming up with it.

“Vigilante people are working in Ibarapa zone of this state, as I encountered them personally in my recent journey along the area. And I will continue to say that we cannot demonise any ethnic group in the state.

“Who are our enemies? They are the criminal elements, but whoever they are, we will deal with them in Oyo State. So, we are trying our best and we will continue to ensure Oyo State is safe and secure.

“Secondly, those who think they can separate us through religion won’t make any headway, because the two religions (Islam and Christianity) are in our families.

“In Oyo State, we have Hijab policy. If that policy is going to change, there must be engagement with stakeholders and I am happy to say that we are ready to have that engagement,” he said.

While debunking an allegation by a group called Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), the governor said that his administration had never nursed any plan to return public schools to their owners, noting that those inciting religious bias in the state would fail, in as much as he was not going contrary to the mandate given to him by the electorate.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the deputy governor of the state, Chief Bayo Lawal, stated that the present government in the state was open to criticism.

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He enjoined stakeholders to always come up with relevant ideas that could move the state forward.

In their various remarks, chairman of the occasion, Chief Bayo Oyero; Senator Monsurat Sumonu, Okeere of Saki, Oba Khalid Olabisi; Alhaji Hammed Raji, SAN, and Alfa Oloore, commended Governor Makinde for his open-door policy which they said accommodated the interest of Islam.

They charged religious bodies in the state to always channel their grievances through appropriate quarters, rather than expressing them on the social media.

In his sermon, the chairman of the Pilgrims’ Welfare Board (Muslim Wing), under the immediate-past administration in the state, Sheik Taofeek Akewugbagold, commended what he called the masses-oriented policies of Governor Makinde, admonishing Muslims to work for the success of the administration.