Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has faulted calls for federal intervention over the rising insecurity in Oyo State, insisting that Governor Seyi Makinde must first exhaust the powers available to him before seeking help from President Bola Tinubu.

Fayose made the remarks while reacting to growing concerns over recent cases of kidnapping in parts of Oyo State, including the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Ogbomosho and Oriire Local Government Areas.

Speaking during an interview on EkTV, the former governor said tackling insecurity begins at the local and state levels, stressing that the President cannot be expected to directly handle every security challenge occurring across the country.

According to him, governors are elected to provide leadership and respond to security threats within their states before escalating matters to the Federal Government when necessary.

“I stand by what I said about Governor Makinde. Before you get to Abuja you will get to the local and state governments,” Fayose said.

He argued that Oyo State receives federal allocations and that the governor has access to security votes which should be deployed effectively to confront criminal activities.

“The Governor of Oyo can’t say he is not collecting allocation and there is no governor while on the seat that never had issues of kidnapping or security challenges,” he stated.

Fayose maintained that the first responsibility lies with local authorities and state governments, adding that the President cannot leave Abuja whenever insecurity occurs in any part of the country.

“The first step is for the local governments to escalate to the governor. No President will fly from Abuja to your state, it’s the governor that would take the first step and when it’s beyond you, then you call for an intervention of the Federal Government,” he said.

The former governor also questioned whether Makinde had formally sought support from the Presidency regarding the security situation in the state.

“The first question I feel we should ask is that as a governor, did Makinde contact or escalate this problem to the President at all? Yes it’s in the public domain but if you need help you have to call in the available,” Fayose added.

Speaking further, he noted that kidnapping has remained a long-standing national challenge and did not begin under the current administration.

“On the issue of kidnapping, no President will wish his citizens to be kidnapped and it’s not today that abduction started in Nigeria. It’s from kidnapping that they killed Igboho’s mother,” he said.

Drawing from his experience as a former governor, Fayose said state executives have a crucial role in maintaining security and ensuring that available resources are properly utilized.

“I was a governor too and I handled security issues very well. I used my security votes very well,” he stated.