House Members Disagree over Amotekun

The arguments for and against the South-west Security Network, code-named ‘Amotekun’ have shifted to the House of Representatives as lawmakers disagreed on the initiative by the governors of the region.

A lawmaker representing Oriade/Obokun federal constituency, Hon. Oluwole Oke, in a chat with journalists in Abuja, said the initiative was for everybody living in the South-west region and not for the Yoruba people alone.

According to him, "I expect the federal government to give the governors-the initiator of this idea-a pat on their backs because they have done well. So, there is nothing to argue about, rather, let me also concur with the position of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that they should dialogue. There is nothing to fight or worry about."

 

He stressed that the governors of the North Central zone equally  gathered in Lafia last Wednesday to discuss on how to police their zone, their people and  find a solution to the insecurity problem in the region.

Oke noted that those calling for the arrest of the proponents of Amotekun are not conversant with the country's constitution, adding that when such people are engaged and the initiative is explained to them, they would understand and jettison such reasoning.

On the claim by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, that the security outfit is a regional initiative and the power lies with the federal government, while saying  the governors should have approached the National Assembly to get a law to back it up, the lawmaker said the government has a duty to protect the lives and property of the people.

Oke said: "Such people who hold such opinion need to familiarise themselves with the constitution. You have three tiers of government-local government, state and federal. It does not matter whether we legislate from the central or at the state level or the local, what is important is the security of lives and property of the citizens, and we all have that duty to care. So there is nothing to argue about.

"Let me tell you this, we also have zonal institutions; we have Oodua, and we have so many conglomerate under Oodua. You have a company owned by the entire 19 states of the North. Even at the global level, we have continental bodies, like ECOWAS, AU, and European Union. So I don't think there is anything wrong about them, they are out for peace and to add value. So nobody should agitate or make unnecessary noise about this matter."

Oke said the South-west governors are on course, but urged them to dialogue as advised by Tinubu,  saying: "Because they want to achieve what they want to achieve, so whatever it takes to achieve what they want to achieve, they should embrace it."

Meanwhile, a lawmaker representing Jibia/Kaita federal constituency in Kastina State, Hon. Sada Soli, insisted that Amotekun is a threat to the system and the country.

He noted that: "Southwest is the most peaceful region in the country, and I want anybody to challenge me on that. What is Amotekun? That is a mythical story. All those people who are talking about it are not being honest and very insincere. They know the truth, they know the position of things, if they want something, they should not do something that would push the Southwest to create excuses and threats to the system and the country, what is Amotekun?"