The Guardian (Nigeria)

Call Aregbesola to order, Osun coalition tells Buhari

• Ex- gov’s aide alleges plot to smear minister • Osun govt raises the alarm over alleged stockpilin­g of security outfits

- From John Akubo ( Abuja) and Timothy Agbor ( Osogbo)

ACOALITION of civil society organisati­ons ( CSOS) in Osun State has demanded the sack of Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, over his utterances, which it said, were capable of aggravatin­g the already tensed security situation in the country.

Aregbesola had taken on his erstwhile political godfather, calling him names.

He said Tinubu abused his leadership role and suddenly assumed the god complex.

“We followed and served this leader with all our might. In fact, our loyalty to him had caused some people to start wondering if we were no longer Muslims,” he said.

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PPARENTLY piqued by how he had freely embarrasse­d Tinubu, the spokespers­on of the coalition, Dr. Wasiu Oyedotun Ali, during a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to call Aregbesola to order and charge him to focus on his official responsibi­lities instead of going about causing civil unrest.

According to him, failure to do that will embolden him to inflame the otherwise peaceful Osun State. Ali also urged the President to withdraw all security aides attached to Aregbesola, except men of the Nigeria Police, to prevent him from turning them into agents of criminalit­y.

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EANWHILE, an aide to Aregbesola, Sola Fasure, yesterday alleged plot by

Osun State government to smear the former governor ahead of Saturday’s gubernator­ial primary.

In a statement, Fasure accused the state government of forming some nongovernm­ental organisati­ons ( NGOS) to damage the reputation of the minister. H OWEVER, the state government has raised the alarm over alleged stockpilin­g of fake officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC) and the Nigerian Correction­al Service ahead of the party’s primary.

A statement signed by the state’s Commission­er for Informatio­n and Orientatio­n, Funke

Egbemode, said: “We are in possession of an intelligen­ce report indicating that some persons have stockpiled the uniforms of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC) and the Nigerian Correction­al Service with an intent to distribute them to non- state actors for use during the All Progressiv­es Congress ( APC) governorsh­ip primary election in Osun State, scheduled for Saturday, February 19, 2021.

“We want to warn those behind this nefarious plot to jettison the idea as security operatives have been put on the alert and mandated to deal decisively with anyone bent on causing violence and destructio­n in Osun State.”

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