Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, since the last five years of his administration has achieved 99 percent in the area of security of lives and properties Ilaje Forum has said.
The forum added that people of Ondo State, especially Ilaje will forever be grateful to him for his brilliant performance.
Prince Emorioloye Owolemi, Publicity Secretary Ilaje Leadership Forum (Citizens Security Council) stated this in a chat with our reporter in Igbokoda.
Owolemi said, “In this life, only people who are protected will be able to look beyond today and think of good things that will happen to them tomorrow.
He noted that since 2012, there have been worrisome of daily Killings in Ilaje local government, especially in Igbokoda.
Igbokoda is the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government where everyone in every part of Ilaje visits to look for a job, buy and sell.
“Every fisherman and trader in the Riverine area will visit Igbokoda to sell their fish and even palm wine and others at a market day.
“There is also an international market in Igbokoda that both people across Nigeria and overseas usually visit to buy goods while some visit to sell all kinds of things.
“But since the 2012 crisis erupted which led to daily Killings, a lot of business men and women have stayed aside from visiting the Igbokoda market, because whenever the crisis started, within five minutes the target of the Killings will be slaughtering, robbery, kidnapping, raping, and planned for reprisal attack by oppositions.
“There cried to then Governor, Olusegun Mimiko who spent 8years in office but couldn’t look into the crisis and save the people, unfortunately throughout his government, the crisis worsened.
“When Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu came on board in 2016, he met the Killings on the ground but all that some of our people were busy telling Mr. Governor was a different thing including framing, misinformation, and while some pretended before Mr. Governor as if nothing like Killings in Igbokoda.
The daily Killings persisted till the last year 2021 when daily Killings of a single soul becomes daily Killings in multiple, some times two persons, some times three persons; at an open day on December 23rd, 2021 two persons were brutally murdered, and this prompted Mr. Governor to urgently conducted his findings and discovered that there was indeed daily Killings and disruptions of business activities in Igbokoda, and he immediately waged in to arrest the situation.
“His prompt intervention within a week resulted in today’s peace in the entire Ilaje Local Government. Peace has returned to Igbokoda after ten years of Killings. Business activities have been restored in Igbokoda.
There is no doubt, the Governor has gained the minds of the people. We are now living in peace. Relative peace is now everywhere in Ondo State.
“The Governor’s sword is reaching every home of criminal activities, and the Ondo State security personnel are not slacking anymore because there had been an awaking call by Mr. Governor. And I’m sure, everywhere peace is, it means every other thing will be living in such area.
“While responding, if there is any weakness in the administration, Owolemi said, the Governor’s weakness is within some of the cabinets members and some elected representatives in the state whose belief and mentalities are not helping nor benefiting their people.
“Some do not want peace in their areas because they are benefitting in darkness and they have their followers as thugs.
“When someone is elected or appointed to various offices, his primary objective was to give back to his people in his constituency, so that it will also relieve Mr. Governor from attending to every empowerment for the people in the state, but the reverse is the case in Ondo State, especially representatives from Ondo south.
The entire Ondo south has been in darkness for some years which we both challenged the previous Government of being responsible for, but now all our representatives kept silent. If they are adding wisdom to the Government, they ought to have looked beyond their offices, and see to a possible solution for electricity to be restored.
“Throughout these five years, no project is commissioned in Ilaje local government by the state government where our son as Deputy Governor comes from.
“One could imagine the embarrassment displayed by the House of Assembly Members during the impeachment motive of the then Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Agboola Ajayi due to some low level of knowledge in governance at their respective offices to keep the state running effectively.
“Some representatives were misselected by Mr. Governor among a few representatives while some others were elected especially as members of the state house of assembly in the state, hence some setbacks in moving the state infrastructure forward.
“We have to criticize ourselves so that we will amend our ways to help the people we are governing. Owolabi said.
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