By Yinka Adeniran, Ibadan
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Tuesday urged those he described as criminals and criminally-minded individuals and groups to stay away from the state and the Southwest geopolitical zone.
He said if they come to the region, the Amotekun Corps will catch up with them.
The governor stressed that the Amotekun Corps has come to stay and will complement the traditional security outfits provided by the Federal Government.
Makinde spoke while signing into law the Oyo State Security Network Agency Bill 2020, a week after the bill was passed by the House of Assembly.
The signing of the bill into law will legalise the domestication of the regional security outfit codenamed ‘Operation Burst’, held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan.
The event was witnessed by top government functionaries, members of the House of Assembly led by Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin, party stalwarts among other stakeholders.
Highlight of the signing was the customised dressing by members of the State Executive Council in leopard-designed outfit, the same pattern adorned by the legislatures while passing the bill last Tuesday.
The governor said the signing of the Amotekun Corps bill about nine months after the process started, is an indication that the government is determined to give citizens the dividends of democracy.
Makinde said: “Today is the 10th of March, 2020 and history has just been made, because the Amotekun law is in force in Oyo State. It has been a long and torturous journey. The concept, the first meeting, engagements, all these started as far back as July last year, and we are just signing this into law today.
“So, in reality, just like I always say to people, things don’t happen overnight, you have to plan, you have to engage, and then, you have to seek alignment, then you execute.
“This is exactly what has been happening here. We started with the engagement of the governors of the Southwest states.
“We spoke to the stakeholders and everybody and then we got alignment that we have to secure our people and I need to add quickly that this is not a replacement for our traditional security agencies.
“We saw that there is this gap in their operations, in their funding and even in the number of personnel that can be employed by the Federal Government, but we have to secure our people. So, this is complementary, it is to complement the efforts of our federal security agencies.
“And I also need to take this opportunity to thank our security agencies for the work they are doing. They are stretched to the limit, we have challenges in the Northeast, some of your personnel and officers have been deployed in that theatre, but we still need to create a safe and secure environment at the state level, at the local government level, so that our people can go about their lawful businesses. So, I take this opportunity to thank you for what you are doing and Amotekun is going to complement your efforts.
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“I have heard everywhere these past couple of weeks that the government is being attacked everywhere, saying we came into government without a manifesto and I wonder whether these people actually live in Oyo State.
“We came in with a proposal to the people of Oyo State. We came in with a promise of accelerated development, we produced a document, it is 102 pages, the document still exists and we are following through and those ideas that we expose in that document we are running, yet they want people to believe that we don’t have a clue.”
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