SECURITY WATCH LIST: TENSION IN OSUN

Rattled by the recent threat to its government during the week by the dreaded Boko Haram sect, the ruling PDP has called on security agencies to ask Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, his mission to a North African country a few days ago, even as it warns against his romance with extremists. The party is specifically worried that the governor launched his campaigns in Osun State with a document he called 'the Green Book' patterned after Ghaddafi's Green Book.

The South West PDP in a statement issued by its Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon Kayode Babade, said it strongly suspects that Aregbesola could be working for some groups with links to extremist organisations in the Magreb. The party said shortly after the much publicised birthday celebration of Senator Bola Tinubu, Aregbesola with another top ranking leader of his party sneaked out of the country to a North African state and came back the third day, adding that security agencies should probe the trip, coming at a time the country was facing security challenges from all sides.

'We also want this man to explain his links with the ousted government of Muammar Ghaddafi of Libya and whether it was just a sheer coincidence that he launched his campaigns in Osun State with a document he called 'the Green Book' patterned after Ghaddafi's Green Book.

'We also want him to explain what informed his government's decision to introduce one single uniform for all public primary and secondary schools in Osun State and why it is a sin for teachers and civil servants not to sing his own 'anthem', which he has used to replace the national anthem.

While insisting that the party's concern went beyond political considerations, the statement said, 'Security agencies in the country should also show more than a passing interest in the suspicious movement of helicopters into and out of Osun Government House at odd hours. We believe some funny moves are going on there,' the party said.

'There are three other ACN governors in the South West that are Muslims. They have largely shown some decorum in matters of religion. We fear that with the way the man in Osun is carrying on, Nigeria and particularly Yorubaland could be endangered,' the PDP said.