The administration of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State came under severe attack on Thursday, as the state’s opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blamed the governor over the withdrawal of soldiers from Ondo highways.
Reports indicated that soldiers had been withdrawn from the state’s highways, as checkpoints across the state now dot men of the Amotekun Southwest Security Corps.
Though unconfirmed, sources said that the soldiers were withdrawn as the governor allegedly defaulted in the payment of monthly ‘incentive’ to motivate the soldiers.
But in a statement made available to FirstNews on Thursday, the state’s PDP blamed the situation on Akeredolu, whom it said did not rise up to the occasion.
In the statement issued by the party’s state publicity secretary, Mr. Kennedy Peretei, the PDP said the governor with “a lackadaisical attitude”, had put the security of the people of the state in jeopardy.
“At his time of the year, every serious-minded governor with genuine interest of his subjects at heart is expected to beef up security ahead of the festive season.
“But what we have seen is a lackadaisical attitude of the governor, leading to the withdrawal of the soldiers from the checkpoints,” the party lamented.
The PDP punctured government’s justification that the Amotekun Corps would live up to expectation in securing the highways from bandits, kidnappers and other criminals.
“In the first place, what has been the spectacular achievements of the Ondo Amotekun? Is there no Amotekun in Ekiti State, a juridiction covered by 32 Artillery Brigade, stationed in Akure?
“Are soldiers not at the checkpoints in Ekiti State? Why does he (Akeredolu) think that it is the Ondo Amotekun that must be sabotaged of all the states in the Southwest?
“Governor Rotimi Akeredolu should own up to his failure to live up to his responsibility in this regard. Of all the six states in the Southwest, it is only in Ondo State that Amotekun is led by a man who has no military background.
“This is not farfetched, as Akeredolu is simply patronising his kinsman from Owo, and using the avenue to syphon public funds,” the party alleged.
But countering the PDP, the Campaign for Democracy (CD) said the Ondo governor should not be blamed, having been boxed to a corner in the expectation that he should be paying monthly stipend to soldiers safeguarding the highways.
In a chat with FirstNews, the CD Secretary-General, Comrade Ifeanyi Odili, said military officers who withdrew the soldiers from the highways should be arrested and charged with mutiny.
According to him, salaries, allowance and other perks accruing to the military personnel are all on the exclusive list, and not on the concurrent list, and as such, Akeredolu should not be burdened with paying stipend to soldiers.
“Are the officers who ordered for the soldiers’ withdrawal not aware that the governor is not under obligation to give incentive to soldiers?
“The fact remains that, salaries, allowances and other perks that should accrue to military personnel are all on the exclusive list and not on the concurrent list; so, Akeredolu is not under any obligation to give monthly stipend to the soldiers.
“So if any military officer had withdrawn the soldiers on that basis, such an officer should be arrested and charged with mutiny, as it is a sabotage against Nigerian tax payers who pay them to guarantee our security,” Odili appraised.
The CD scribe further expressed sympathy with Akeredolu whom he said had been exceptional in funding security in Ondo State, despite the lean resources available to his government.