Scores of Osun State citizens were yesterday said to be warming up towards participating in today’s rally in support of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s impeachment, according to the organisers, Civil Societies’ Coalition for Emancipation of Osun State, CSCEO.
According to the group at a press briefing held in Osogbo yesterday, over 20 civil and faith based societies who are members of CSCEO are already mobilising their members towards the mass rally.
The group’s Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Sulaiman Alimi, gave the names of association ready for the rally as The Voices, KIMPACT, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice, Grassroot Democratic Network, Christian Initiative for Nation Building, Christian Leadership Mobilisation and Better Future Initiative.
Others are Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Justice, Development and Peace Commission Movement (JDPCM), Positive Movement, Good Governance Support Group, Democratic Socialist Movement and Conference of National Political Parties (CNPP).
Alimi explained that over three petitions including the one sent by a state serving judge, Justice Folaranmi Oloyede, calling for Aregbesola’s probe and impeachment are presently before members of the state House of Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
Hold Omisore, PDP responsible – APC
Meantime, the All Progressives Congress in the state has called on security agencies to hold the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Iyiola Omisore and his party responsible for any breach of the peace in the state.
The party, in a statement by the Directorate of Publicity, Research and Strategy yesterday said it was aware of plans by a group of profiteers who were being sponsored by Omisore and his party to unleash violence on the state, using the issue of workers’ salaries as camouflage.
‘’ Specifically we must alert the whole world to a threat issued by Omisore on June 14 this year at the secretariat of the PDP in Osogbo where he promised members of his party that he was prepared to make this state ungovernable for Governor Rauf Aregesola.
‘’ We are therefore certain that the crisis being orchestrated in the state is to get what the people of Osun denied him through a democratic process on August 9, 2014. This was his resolution after the Supreme Court decision which finally sealed his ambition through a pronouncement on May 27, this year.
‘’ We are using this medium to inform the public and the media to be wary of activities of this set of opportunists who are the real profiteers behind the undeserved focus on Osun among the more than 20 states that are currently facing salary challenges.
‘’ The APC government under Aregbesola in Osun has been having very fruitful negotiations with the labour and we can therefore say without any contradiction that the labour has no hand in this proposed protest.’’
The PDP in response said; “PDP observe with disillusion the allegation by Aregbesola and his paid agents that Otunba Iyiola Omisore and PDP are sponsoring workers to protest unpaid salaries.’’
A statement by the PDP spokesperson in Osun state, Prince Diran Odeyemi added, “It is unfortunate that the sinking government still be engaging in buck passing when he should be busy looking for money to settle unpaid salaries and allowances of workers.
“In the last one week, we have not issued any statement because we observe workers are rising to the occasion to fight for their rights.
“We are not involved as a party, Omisore is not involved and will never be party to any act of lawlessness but we demand from the governor to explain if he has paid these workers.
“Have they been paid their salaries? If no, whatever the steps they take inasmuch as such is within the ambit of the law, nothing can stop workers from demanding for their rights. Vanguard
