The south-west chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria has insisted that Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, is plotting against the corporate existence of Nigeria, and that the planned trip for student union leaders to Cuba later this month includes schedules for paramilitary and revolutionary training.
According to the representatives of the regional bloc of the PDP, the contradictory statements from Governor Aregbesola’s Information Commissioner, Mr. Sunday Akere, and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Spokesperson in the State, Mr Kunle Oyatomi, are indications that there is more to the planned trip to Cuba.
Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, Kayode Babade, said in a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti Sunday that “Security agencies must ask Aregbesola and his commissioner for information to produce the list of the 53 individuals whom he admitted he sent to Cuba last year and the list of those going this year.
“The governor and his commissioner should also be asked about those ‘local human rights activists’ whom he and Bola Tinubu sent to Libya last year.”
The statement read, “It should be recalled that we said in a release issued on Saturday that as part of the ACN’s secessionist agenda, Governor Aregbesola was coordinating plans by the ACN to give some student activists paramilitary and revolutionary trainings in Cuba.
“ACN denied the allegation, calling for proofs, but Aregbesola himself, through his information commissioner confirmed it, saying however that; ‘It has been the tradition of Aregbesola to send students to Cuba to observe the May Day.
“The Osun State information commissioner, Mr. Sunday Akere went further to say that Governor Aregbesola has been sending students to Cuba even before he became governor of Osun State, and that last year, 53 students were sent there.
“So, shouldn’t the ACN cover its face in shame that it does not know the plots of its governor in Osun state?
“Our question is; if as posited by Aregbesola’s commissioner for information, the students activists are going to Cuba to observe the May Day, what is the relationship between students and May Day? Why Cuba for May Day? What lessons are there to learn from Cuba apart from out dated, crude rascality?
“Or does Governor Aregbesola think we are not aware of the role that he played as student leader in Ibadan Polytechnic, when he led a band of ‘terrorists’ that destroyed and looted the business premises of the Rector’s wife during an unrest? The students were protesting power outage then and he (Aregbesola) led boys to the rectors place. The records are still there.
“We are also aware that some of those who destroyed the Rector’s business are running the govt with him today.
“Therefore, considering Aregbesola’s antecedents, recent utterances and activities, which include use of ‘hard boys’ as security guard instead of men of the Nigeria Police and State Security Service (SSS), security agencies should investigate this allegation.
“Like we said, threat to the corporate existence os Nigeria as an indivisible entity is not one that should be handled with levity, and we urge security agencies to act now!”