Ahead of the planned nationwide protests scheduled to commence between August 1 and 10, throughout Nigeria, Osun state Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has hinged on the need for members of the Civil Society Organisations in Osun as well as other stakeholders planning to take part in the protests to eschew any act capable of undermining the peace and security of Osun State.
Governor Adeleke who acknowledged that the protesters have the inalienable right as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to embark on a protest, however, frowned at any act that has the tendency of mortgaging the peace and tranquility of Osun State and its people.
Represented by the state Deputy Governor, Prince Kola Adewusi alongside some members of the Osun State Executive Council, Governor Adeleke, had a mutually comprehensive citizen engagement dialogue with the members of the Civil Society Organisations and other groups throughout Osun State, who converged at Finance Building, State Secretariat, Abeere, for the dialogue.
According to the Governor while, at the meeting, which lasted over two hours, ” the peace and harmony of Osun state should be of paramount interest to us during the planned protests.
“My administration commitments, at all times, is to make Osun a reference point for other states in Nigeria.
“I therefore implore you to be law abiding before, during and after the coming nationwide protests, as no act of violence of any kind would be entertained by my administration in Osun State while carrying out your protests.
“In Osun, we are known to be good and peaceful and we should allow that to remain our pride as a state that is always ahead of others in all things that are good and developmental,” the Governor stated via an address by his Deputy, Prince Kola Adewusi.
Earlier in their remarks, Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mr Umar Abba, and General Officer Commanding, Engineering Construction Regiment, Ede, Brigadier General Abdul Kareem Aliyu, equally admonished the protesters to be decorous while carrying out the protests in Osun State.
The G.O.C of E.C.R Ede who pointed out that Osun is unarguably the most peaceful state in Nigeria, also counselled the protesters not to compromise on this and other good attributes of the state on the altar of staging a violent protest.
In the same vein, all the Service Chiefs comprising the Nigeria Police, Army, DSS, Immigration, Correctional Centre, Civil Defence, Air Force and Road Safety among others at the meeting were also unanimous in their contributions to deflate any tendency to make the protests assume the toga of hooliganism and other untoward acts of unbridled lawlessness, stressing that, anyone caught will be made to face the music.
Members of the Civil Society Organizations and other Non Governmental Organizations on whose premise the dialogue was called for, in their different remarks, commended Governor Ademola Adeleke and his administration for providing the forum for such a dialogue, sequel to the kick off of the nationwide protests throughout Nigeria on Thursday. Accordingly, they all endorsed the need to abide by all the terms of agreements reached at the meeting, which basically centred on achieving violent free protests in Osun State during the coming nationwide protests.
In his address at the dialogue, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, dismissed the notion in some quarters, that Governor Adeleke called for the meeting in order to grease the palms of the CSO and other Comrades/Activists to dissuade them from being effective in the protest, while describing the allegations as completely baseless and mischievous, Oluomo Alimi commended the CSO members and other Activists for their large turnout, saying they are genuine activists for being bold and courageous enough to attend the meeting, despite pressures in some quarters to do otherwise.
The Information Commissioner maintained that the dialogue with them was borne out of the good intentions of Governor Adeleke to make the planned protests completely free of brigandage and lawlessness in Osun State.