Ekiti Community Urges Govt to Be Decisive in Fight against Kidnappers, Bandits

Victor Ogunje

The people of Otun- Ekiti, Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, have called on federal government in partnership with the government of Governor Kayode Fayemi to be more decisive in the fight against kidnapping and killings in the state.

The community said the incessant killings and kidnapping of people along Otun-Ayetoro-Ewu road in recent time, was affecting business activities and general wellbeing of the people adversely.

The community said this in Otun Ekiti yesterday during a press conference heralding the first year coronation of the Oore of Moba, Oba Adekunle Adeagbo on the throne of his forebears.

The Oore stool became vacant on October 21,2019, after the death Oba Adedapo Popoola, who reigned for 20 years in the town.

Addressing journalists on the programmes for the coronation, the Chairman of the Committee and former Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Bayo Aina, said: “The cries of the people have gone to the governments, that was why the Southwest governors formed Amotekun . You could see that some of the perpetrators are being arrested and the evils are reducing.

“Above all, governments must be decisive in fighting these scourges. I didn’t see any governor in the South-west going to sleep at this time. We are assuring that a security committee headed by a Brigadier General of the Nigeria Army is on ground for the coronation, so the safety of our visitors are guaranteed”.

Aina commended Oba Adeagbo for ushering development to the town in the last 12 months in the areas of infrastructure development, education, youth employment and empowerment.

The former Commissioner called on the state government to site an institution of higher learning in the town, while also wooing private investors in the area of education to exploit the opportunities of lands and hospitality that abound in the community and site their businesses in Otun.

“The agenda of all of us is to attract an institution of higher learning here. We sent a delegation to the Speaker , Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Funminiyi Afuye where they told him that a State Polytechnic should be sited here. We are ready to provide the lands for public or private investors that exploit this opportunity”, he assured.

To mark the anniversary, Aina disclosed that Oba Adeagbo would bestow the title of Fiwajoye of Mobaland on the wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi.

“The monarch will also honour the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and former ImoStaye Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha. This shows how cosmopolitan our Oba is. He believed in one Nigeria.

“Some indigenes, who have done creditably well in the fields of Medicine, Engineering, Law and other professions will be honoured. We want to develop our people and build a good future for our community”.

The Senator representing Imo West and Proprietor of Rochas Okorocha’s Foundation, Chief Rochas Okorocha, expressed the interest of the foundation to establish a school in the town.

Okorocha, represented by Prince Ebunola Martins, commended the monarch for being patriotic, saying: “The foundation will have a school here. Some of the Scholarship given by him (Okotocha) cut across Nigeria, it has no political and ethnic colourations.

“The foundation has about 5,000 Yoruba students and 25,000 children across Africa. His scholarship is total, it includes feeding, clothing and payment of tuitions and that is the message of hope that we are bringing to this town .Whoever gets Chief Rochas Okorocha’s scholarship will benefit all these” .