By Raji Adebayo

Copyright independent

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State yesterday engaged the House of Assembly in a war of words over an alleged plan to victimise its (APC’s) lawmaker, Ibrahim Shittu, representing Saki West State Constituency.

APC, in a statement by its spokesman, Olawale Sadare, saluted the people of Saki town, who, it said, demonstrated rare courage by speaking against an alleged fraudulent loan and the condemnation of Shittu by the leadership of the state legislative arm and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The statement said: “We have uncovered several plans by some individuals who are close to Governor Seyi Makinde to get back at a member of the State Assembly on an assumption that he blew the whistle over the latest N300billion loan and alerted the public, but the truth of the matter is that the said lawmaker only responded to an inquiry made by his party (APC). It was indeed the leadership of his party that asked about his involvement in the controversial approval given by the legislative arm.

“Now that Governor Makinde’s men have found an enemy in the three consistent APC members in the House, they are doing everything possible to frustrate them. Part of the plans is to mobilise thugs to the entrance of the assembly complex on Tuesday (today) with a view to unleashing them on the APC lawmakers, especially Shittu, who has been marked for physical assault and public harassment.

“Also, plans have been concluded by the leadership of the House to accuse Shittu of breaching some rules, upon which he would be made to face a kangaroo panel and handed an indefinite suspension from the assembly complex. These satanic plans and many more are being sponsored by some unscrupulous elements around the governor, who profit from the sharp practices that the current administration has perpetrated since 2019.

“It is on this note that we call on personalities within and outside the state to prevail on Governor Makinde to halt every plan being put in place by his agents, who are desperate to shut the mouth of the opposition in the state.’’

Responding to the allegation, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Media, Public Affairs, and ICT, Waheed Akintayo, described the allegations as false and mischievous.

He said the assembly found it imperative to respond to allegations, not merely to counter the APC’s attempt to blackmail and arm-twist the legislative arm through its defective pre-emptive tactics, but because it owed the people of the state the truth.

“It is our duty to provide accurate context and facts, and to set the record straight.

“As a responsible legislative institution with a consistent track record of peaceful and orderly conduct since 2019, we find it both laughable and regrettable that Oyo APC will descend to such depths of desperation. It is characteristic of their political playbook, one that has become commonplace in APC-controlled states, to fabricate claims of thuggery and intimidation.

“Let it be categorically stated that there is no plot, real or imagined, to victimise Shittu or any other lawmaker. Oyo State House of Assembly remains a bastion of democracy, where all members, regardless of party affiliation, are treated with respect, fairness, and afforded the freedom to express their views.’’