..Soldiers Prevent 19 Lawmakers from Entering Ekiti
By: DELE OMOJOLA
In response to the cry of Ekiti residents and travellers, Ekiti State Police led by DPO Fatola Ola, yesterday made frantic efforts to dismantle blockages mounted at entry points into Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital. In an interview with Motoring World at Ado-Ekiti, the State’s Police Public Relations officer, Alberto Adeyemi, told our correspondent that police early in the morning suddenly found out that all entries to Ado-Ekiti had been blocked.
“And immediately, we went into action, making efforts to remove the blockages so that motorists could move in and out freely”, he explained. “By now, most of the vehicles used to block the roads we have removed.”
Though Motoring World found two of the removed buses parked by the fence of the Ekiti State police headquarter, where the PRO was interviewed, Ado-Ekiti-Ijan Road still remained blocked, as at 3.00pm.
While the two buses were found at the police headquarters are without registration numbers, both are government students’ buses. Inscribed on one of them is FREE SCHOOL Bus 006 ROUTE Ikere. Second one is Falcon brand of bus, also a FREE SCHOOL BUS 005 ROUTE Ijigbo-Ilawe Rd, NTA Road, Secretariat Fajuyi.
As at 2.pm, yesterday, Motoring World visited all the earlier blocked entry points to Ado-Ekiti and found out that while the buses used to block Iyin, Ilawe and Ikere entry points had been removed, a bus belonging to EKITI STATE
GOVERNMENT was found at the Iworoko Road entry point, which has been pushed into a dish between the express road, still making it impossible for a large vehicle to enter Ekiti. But exit end was free.
At the entry point towards Ijan-Ijesha-Isu route was still blocked with a school bus as at 3.48pm, when Motoring World Correspondent was there. But stationed at the entry point were police officers led by DPO Fatola Ola, who spoke to Motoring World.
“I have been out since 4am today”, he claimed, “Making efforts to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order. Lots of people in this area are lawless, and we have to make sure that citizens are safe. As you can see, I’m not a DPO, who merely sit behind the desk. When there is a problem to be solved, I have to be part of a solution in the interest of Nigerians.”
On the blockage that was yet to be removed, he said it was due to lack of adequate equipment to do their job.
“We have only one towing vehicle”, he explained. “And Ekiti State government has one. While the state would not release theirs to sort out this problem, that of the police had no diesel. It has not been long since we were able to put diesel in the truck and started dismantling the blockages. It’s only this one that is left, and any moment from now, it shall be removed.”
Meanwhile, to get the traffic moving in and out of Ado-Ekiti, the police made a wooding culvert over which vehicles pass off the road and manoeuvre to other side of the road.
However, dismantling governor Fayose’s blockages from Ado-Ekiti entry points did not help the APC lawmakers, who were allegedly accosted by armed soldiers on their way to the state. According to reports, the lawmakers were delayed by the armed soldiers until thugs suspected to have been sponsored by governor Fayose arrived, harassed the law makers, forcing them to make a u-turn back to Oshogbo.
