Yemisi Izuora
Embarrassed and irked by cow invasion of Akure airport runway, members of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Ondo State have expressed their readiness to protect passengers using the airport.
This followed last weekend’s invasion of the airport by cows suspected to belong to Fulani herdsmen.
Its State Coordinator Pius Ogunsanya, who addressed reporters in Akure noted that if cows continued to graze on the tarmac, many passengers would abandon the airport for alternative routes to their destinations.
This, he noted, would diminish the economy of the state.
Ogunsanya urged the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to provide tight security at the airport for passengers and airline operators.
The OPC chief said the organisation would forestall a recurrence of such incident.
He warned the resident against a suspected impostor for allegedly parading himself as coordinator of OPC in the state.
He said: “There was a report in some national dailies where someone else claimed to be speaking as Ondo State Coordinator of OPC over a sensitive security issue of herdsmen and farmers’ clashes.
“I wish to put the record straight: OPC in Ondo State has Comrade Pius Ogunsanya as the authentic coordinator under the leadership of Aare Ona Kakanfo Gani Adams.
“We, therefore, use this medium to appeal the media to always crosscheck their facts and figures before going to press to avoid misinforming the public and avoid unnecessary security threat and breakdown of law and order…”