3 months ago
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The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of gagging the opposition, saying such efforts would fail as they are at variance with the dictates of democracy globally.
This allegation followed the questioning of the opposition party chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, by the Osun State Police Command over the alleged cyberbullying of the state governor.
A statement on Tuesday by the Director of Media and Information of the APC, Kola Olabiyi, recalled that the state commissioner of police invited Lawal a few days ago based on a petition written by a senior special assistant (SSA) in the state’s Ministry of Justice, accusing him of cyberstalking against the administration of Governor Adeleke.
“The state APC chairman was invited, interviewed, and promptly released,” he said.
It was gathered that Lawal denied the allegations when he was questioned at the police headquarters in Osogbo in the presence of his lawyers.
Reacting, Olabisi argued, “It is ridiculous that Adeleke and his handlers could descend into the realm of the abyss by thinking that they could stay in a bathroom without being wet with trickles of water.
“Governor Adeleke should know that criticism is an essential ingredient of any serious democratic government, which any administration worth its salt should express gratitude for, as history has shown that a government without a potent opposition may metamorphose into a dictatorship, which is an expressway to political perdition.
“Is it not known to Governor Adeleke and those who are advising him that anything can happen during any mob action that may accompany an unguarded protest, as has been witnessed in Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Plateau, etc., under the auspices of the EndBadGovernance national protest?
“Should Sooko Lawal have waited until the state secretariat of the APC and the campaign office of Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Office were razed before he could voice out his complaint by making it a subject of a published news story?
“Did Sunday Bisi, the factional chairman of the PDP, not, in a statement issued by him, state that he had intelligence information about some members of the opposition who wanted to raze the Osun State Secretariat of the APC and hang it on the neck of the ruling party?
“Governor Adeleke and his cohorts should know that they have failed woefully in their autocratic and unpopular mission to gag the opposition with their frivolous petition under the guise of making a statement through cyberstalking.”
When contacted by telephone for a reaction, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment in the state, Kolapo Alimi, said Adeleke was not out to gag anybody, adding that the APC is known for telling lies to curry sentiment from members of the public.
Alimi said the invitation of Lawal was the making of the police, which the law empowers them to do, stressing that the development did not amount to gagging.
“The police and other security agencies under the law have the right to do their job. His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke, is not out to gag anybody whatsoever. However, when there is an allegation or privileged information which has to do with the security and peace of the state, the police have the right to invite anybody to come and clear the air. That does not amount to gagging anybody. The governor is the chief security officer of the state, and the security agencies are doing their job. The APC is known for telling lies to get undue sentiment from members of the public,” the Commissioner said.
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