SDP governorship candidate, Seyi Makinde
As the various political parties in Oyo State gear up for the last lap of their campaigns ahead of the March 28 and April 11 elections, the party leaders, especially the governorship candidates, have been called upon to warn their supporters against violence.
This call was made by the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state, Seyi Makinde, while reacting to the Sunday political rally in Ibadan which turned violent and during which three supporters of the Accord Party were murdered.
It would be recalled that the rally held by both the House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates, Gbenga Adewusi and Akeem Ige respectively in Odinjo area in Ibadan South-East Local Government area on Sunday turned bloody over which the police arrested eight suspects.
Makinde, who was deeply worried by the incident described it as unfortunate saying it should be condemned by every right thinking person, stressing that the time had come now when as leaders, “we should rein in our supporters and any among them who are recalcitrant should be allowed to face the consequences of his or her untoward action.
“We are all brothers seeking the good of the people of the state under different political party platforms and as much as I know, I don’t know any of the gladiators who is blood thirsty, no one among the leaders can send anybody out to go and kill or maim anybody, what for?
“But, we can’t rule out overzealousness on the part of our supporters on occasions and that is why we should constantly drum it in their ears what our philosophy of ruling is all about, so that they don’t go out of their way, thinking that they want to please us by committing crimes.
“On the case at hand, I think kudos should be given to the police for taking prompt action leading to the arrest of some suspects and one can only implore them to do a thorough investigation as being requested by all the parties so as to get to the root of the matter.
“The police will assist us greatly by making their findings public so that all of us can know who the aggressors are and for what reason they did what they did, by that, leaders will know how to handle their supporters,” Makinde stated.
