The Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams, said on Monday that the agreement reached between the Federal Government and governors of the South-West on the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun, was a welcome development.

Adams said, “It is necessary for our governors to (let us) have our own security network, Amotekun. Life is precious. You don’t politicise the issue of security.”

The generallismo, who spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, when he led members of the pan-Yoruba development interest group, the Oodua Progressive Union Worldwide, on a visit to the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, described those opposing Operation Amotekun as agents of criminals.

Adams called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to allow Operation Amotekun for the safety of Nigeria, saying, “If the South-West is safe, the entire Nigeria is safe.

“We don’t need to continue throwing missiles at ourselves in the media. Anybody who stands as an antagonist to Amotekun, I will perceive that person in two forms. One, he has some agenda to destroy our zone; or two, he is an agent of criminals.

“Definitely, the agreement between the Federal Government and the South-West governors is a welcome development. It is for the progress of the country.”

While addressing the OPU, Fayemi, who was represented by the deputy governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, gave the assurance that Operation Amotekun was not a secession agenda.

He said, “Amotekun is not political, it is established for the protection of our people and to stem the tide of armed robbery, kidnapping, illegal destruction of lives and property.”

Fayemi, who said his administration fully supported the sustenance of culture and using it to drive social integration, create jobs and boost tourism, praised the OPU for promoting the culture of the Yoruba all over the world.

Adams, who was in Ado Ekiti for the OPU Annual World Conference, was accompanied to the Governor’s Office by the OPU President, Mr Olawale Ayinla; culture icon, Chief Jimoh Aliu; and the Director General, Ekiti State Bureau of Arts and Culture, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre.

Amotekun has no religious agenda

Meanwhile, the Osun State Government has said the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun, has no religious agenda.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Osun State Governor, Ismail Omipidan, on Monday said making the religious allegation were peddling misinformation and they did not understand what Operation Amotekun stood for.

The governor’s spokesman said there was no time the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria was part of the meeting when most of the decisions regarding Operation Amotekun were taken.

“And if CAN has never been part of the decision, how will you ascribe it to a particular religion? I think it is important to make that clarification that there is no recruitment based on church birth certificate.

“I appeal to our colleagues to help us correct this deliberate misinformation. There is no recruitment based on religious bias.”

Also, Ondo Club 75 has thrown its weight behind Operation Amotekun.

The President of the club, Mr Bimbola Oladapo, in a statement on Monday said the initiative was in the right direction and would also go a long way towards reducing the menace posed by kidnappers and armed robbers.