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A former deputy governor of Oyo State and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Alh. Hazeem Gbolarumi, has warned to the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state to desist from criticizing Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration over dissolution of local government councils.
Gbolarumi, in a statement on Saturday, said Makinde did not breach any law in dissolving the councils because, according to him, the May 12, 2018 election that produced them was illegal.
“The purported election that produced them as the chairmen of their respective local governments on May 12, 2018 was the election in which court restrained the formal governor Of the state, Abiola Ajimobi, from conducting but, insisted that no court has the power to stop the conduct of the local council polls scheduled to hold across the 33 Local Government Areas and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) when Ajimobi was reacting to the ruling delivered by the court presided over by Justice J.O. Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, which on Wednesday 2nd of May, 2018 suspended the election to the LCDAs…” Gbolarumi said in the statement.
The former deputy governor said Makinde is working to change the state for the better, adding that the good people of Oyo State to support him to succeed and avoid distractions from the APC.
According to him, “Makinde is a complete democrat who has been adjudged to be fair in his political approach by both local and international communities, and has remained focused in restoring the values of the state debased by their ilk in order to guarantee them a better future”.
He maintained that APC will kick, knowing full well that they allegedly governed the state for eight good years without meaningful progress.
“In other words, it is too early to criticize a government of less than a year which concentrates on farming, infrastructures, healthcare services and education. It is my fervent belief that this government will surely make Oyo State great. As a result, the people of Oyo State should be proud of the attention, love and admiration, importance, respect and investment the it will experience soonest. A constructive approach is welcome for this administration to be more focussed and to deliver the dividends of democracy.” Gbolarumi added.
Meanwhile, ALGON has responded to the statement credited to the former deputy governor.
In a statement by its Chairman in the state, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, ALGON said Gbolarumi was entitled to his opinion.
“On the part of ALGON we will always put record straight without using abusive word or being violent. But we will never fold our arms to allow naked lies and miss information to thrive,” Abass-Aleshinloye added.