The Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Group on Tuesday accused the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the August 9 election in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, of being behind the series of plots to destabilise the state.
The group, in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, said it is ironic that Omisore, whose party brought Nigeria to her economic woes after 16 years of misrule, is now championing protests against the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, whom the group credited with outstanding successes in the state.
In its statement signed by the President, Ifedayo Ogunlana, and Secretary, Rasak Olokooba, COSEG warned Omisore, the PDP and others who might be involved in all the plans to set the state on fire to watch out for the long arms of the law.
The statement said: “We as a Yoruba organisation cannot watch as some people who have been part of the systematic decimation of our race and economic woes of Nigeria again openly thwart the efforts to rebuild this country.
“What is happening in Osun is clear case of treason and the earlier the whole world sees this the better. The Governor of Osun was elected by the same people who rejected Omisore. What he failed to get through the ballot on August 9 2014 and through the tribunal, the Appeal Tribunal and the Supreme Court, he cannot think of having it through these illegitimate and criminal avenues. Enough is enough.”
COSEG said it needed to inform the public of the treacherous pact between Omisore and a judge of the Osun State High Court to instigate mayhem in the state.
It added, “It is now clear that the whole salary issue has been seen as means the Aregbesola opponents think they can use to bring his government down. The entire allegations by the Judge is a grand design and it is all a repeat of the same baseless accusations that the PDP had bandied around since the Omisore’s misadventure to contest the election.
“It is instructive that just as Justice Faolahanmi Oloyede submitted her petition, the PDP had been very active to give bite to the petition. We are all not deceived by the grand design to destabilise the administration.
“We call on Osun people to continuously stand by their Governor who Omisore could not change during last election process of the law but trying hard to use instigated violence to achieve.”
The group also saluted the Osun State workers for what it called the understanding shown by them adding that it was instructive that the NLC dissociated itself from the protests.
—