Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, at the funeral mass for 22 of the 40 slain victims of the Sunday, June 5 Owo massacre… at the Mydas Resort and Hotel, Owo, on Friday, June 17, 2022
- Criticises salary arrears owed teachers, promotion plans
By Banji Ayoola
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo State on Monday said that the admission by Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, at the burial of some of the victims of the Sunday June 5 Owo massacre, that government had failed to protect the people as a further proof that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, should be voted out of power in the 2023 elections.
In a statement by the party’s spokesman in the state, Mr Kennedy Ikantu Peretei, it said: “What Akeredolu said at the burial service, was a confirmation of what every sensible Nigerian has said about the APC government and its agents. That the government has failed the people is the truth. Akeredolu’s qualification of the failure as “not because we have not tried but because those forces on the other side are evil and they have support” amounts to begging the question.
“At least l appreciate the humility of the Governor to openly admit the failure of the APC government, whether at the centre or at home in Ondo State. It is a further proof as to the reason why such an “evil” government should not be allowed beyond 2023.”
The statement was titled: “Akeredolu’s misrule in Ondo State (19): Flip side of the Owo massacre.”
Besides, it criticised the governor over the salary arrears being owed teachers in the state, as it faulted the alleged plan to compel teachers to obtain a mandatory Master’s degree in Education, or attend a six month training at a government institute and part with N130, 000 financial inducement to qualify for promotion.
It described the plans as “a very ingenious way of creating hardship for the people;” and the flip side of the sad incident of the Sunday June 5 Owo massacre, which “we cannot shy away from.”
According to the statement: “In the last two weeks, Ondo State has played host to the rest of the world. Receiving condolence messages, men and women who paid visit to the ancient city of Owo, over what has been appropriately referred to as the Owo massacre.
“Gunmen (who are still unknown, apart from Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior’s declaration that they were members of ISWAP) attacked St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo with explosives and guns. At the Funeral Service for a mass burial organised by the Catholic Church, Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu who was in tears remarked that, the government failed to defend the victims.
“There have been several matters arising from the barbaric incident. The first was the war of words between Akeredolu and Aregbesola, both members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The second was a tweet that went viral, credited to a civil servant in the State who questioned the call for people to donate blood to some of the victims who were in hospitals in Owo and environs.”
The statement said: “While the whole of Ondo State mourned and grieved over the massacre, the pains of civil servants came to the centre stage again. This was against the backdrop of calls for volunteers to donate blood to save lives of those who were in hospitals.
“The response captured on Twitter was this: “While most children are anemic, parents can’t afford proper medical care for men… prior to this, there had been a crazy staffing crisis.
“Civil servants have parked their cars due to inability to buy tyres, service or fuel them. We owe tonnes of bills in kid’s school fees and food stuff bought on credit. Hungry people neither donate blood nor volunteer.” In what other ways can a government fail the people other than this?
“Teachers in Ondo State who just received January, 2022 salaries on 7th June have been put on notice that, effective from July 2022, it will be mandatory to have a Master’s Degree in Education or a six months training at Public Service Institute, Ilara-Mokin to qualify for promotion. For those without M.Ed, the six months training comes with a one hundred and thirty thousand naira financial requirement.
“For this category of workers who are already in a very bad shape, what a very ingenious way of creating hardship for the people. In what other ways can a government fail the people?
“Training and re-training are key requirements for every organization desirous of efficiency and growth. But there are always safety nets and welfare packages that make such training sought after. This one being proposed by Akeredolu is ill-timed and the height of insensitivity to the plight of the people.
“As much as l share in the pain and grief of the massacre in Owo, this is the flip side we cannot shy away from.”
Akeredolu had at the funeral mass held on Friday for 22 of the 40 slain victims of the Sunday, June 5 Owo church killings, while weeping, lamented that government failed to protect the deceased who looked on to their leaders full of misplaced hope and trust.
Looking at the caskets bearing the remains of the slain victims, laid before the sorrowful congregation at the funeral mass which held at the Mydas Resort and Hotel, Owo, his home town, the Governor burst into tears, regretting that government failed to protect the victims of the terror attack, describing the forces on the other side as evil. Affirming that the culprits would soon suffer a waterloo, he said something serious must be done about the rising insecurity in the country.
His words: “We have failed to defend these people. Not because we have not tried. But because these forces on the other side are evil and they have supports. They will not triumph over us forever.
“The security architecture of the nation needs rejigging. When I see the sea of heads that are here, it speaks volumes. What has happened to us in Owo in Ondo State is indescribable. A lot of words are used to qualify it. Dastardly, horrendous. But I still believe there are other words to use to describe it but I am still short of those words.
“We have just 22 (deceased) in this hall. A few of them have been buried. Because the relatives couldn’t wait till today. But as at the last count, these animals came to the church and murdered 40 people.”
Read also:
Akeredolu weeps at Owo mass burial, says ‘we failed to protect these people’
