The House of Assembly and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State got into a verbal sparring match yesterday over a purported plot to harm Ibrahim Shittu, an APC member who represents Saki West State Constituency.
According to a statement released by its spokesperson, Olawale Sadare, the APC praised the Saki town residents for their extraordinary bravery in speaking out against a purportedly bogus loan and Shittu’s denunciation by the PDP and the state legislative branch leadership.
According to the statement, “We have discovered multiple schemes by some people close to Governor Seyi Makinde to exact revenge on a State Assembly member on the grounds that he alerted the public and blew the whistle over the most recent N300 billion loan, but in reality, the said lawmaker only answered an inquiry from his party (APC).” His party’s leadership did, in fact, inquire about his role in the contentious legislative arm’s endorsement.
The three reliable APC members in the House have now become Governor Makinde’s men’s adversaries, and they are making every effort to irritate them. As part of the plans, thugs will be mobilized to the assembly complex’s entrance on Tuesday (today) with the intention of attacking APC MPs, particularly Shittu, who has a history of physical violence and public harassment.
Additionally, the House leadership has decided to charge Shittu of breaking certain regulations, which would result in him facing a kangaroo panel and receiving an indefinite suspension from the assembly complex. Some dishonest people close to the governor are funding these demonic schemes and several others, taking advantage of the shrewd actions the current administration has been engaging in since 2019.
In light of this, we urge influential people both inside and outside the state to pressure Governor Makinde to stop any plans his operatives are putting in place in an effort to silence the state’s opposition.
Waheed Akintayo, the chairman of the House Committee on Information, Media, Public Affairs, and ICT, responded to the accusation by calling it naughty and untrue.
He claimed that the assembly was compelled to address the accusations because it owed the state’s citizens the truth, not just to thwart the APC’s attempt to arm-twist the legislative branch and blackmail it with its flawed preemptive strategies.
It is our responsibility to correct the record and present correct context and information.
It is both absurd and unfortunate that the Oyo APC, a responsible legislative body that has demonstrated a steady record of peaceful and orderly behavior since 2019, would reach such extremes. Their political strategy, which has become standard in states ruled by the APC, is to make up allegations of intimidation and thuggery.
Let us clarify unequivocally that there is no real or imagined plot to harm Shittu or any other politician. The Oyo State House of Assembly is still a stronghold of democracy, with all of its members treated fairly and with respect, regardless of their party affiliation, and given the opportunity to voice their opinions.
