Kwara State chapter  of the Action Congress of Nigeria has continued  to trade words with the state government over the recent crisis that hit Offa and Erin-Ile communities in Offa and Oyun Local Government areas.

The state ACN Chairman, Mr. Kayode Olawepo, told our correspondent on Monday that the suspended   Chairman of Offa LGA, Mr. Saheed Popoola, informed Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, when the communal crisis was building-up.

Olawepo claimed that a series of letters were written to the state government on the crisis and  that Popoola and his Oyun LGA counterpart, Ibrahim Omoniyi, tried their best to nip the crisis in the bud.

Olawepo said, "A letter was written to the state governor on January 5, 2013, which Popoola personally signed telling the governor what was happening and the looming crisis if it was not handled immediately.

"In that letter, he suggested that an Armoured Personnel Car be stationed near the boundary so that when the crisis erupts, there would have been police security but this was not done.

"On January 31, the LGA chairmen wrote Ahmed through the Commissioner for Local Government on the dangerous dimension the crisis had taken and the need for a proactive and pragmatic approach to avoid any calamity.

"Around November 2012, at an emergency security meeting with the governor and the two chairmen, Popoola reminded Ahmed of the need to permanently station an APC around the boundary area, which should be funded from the LGA joint account but all these to no avail."

But Ahmed and his Senior Special Assistant, Media and Communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, said the governor was not carried along before the crisis erupted.

He said, "They did not even carry us along to let us know how bad the thing was."

Akorede said the chairmen, as chief security officers in their councils, had the responsibility to ensure the security of lives and property in their areas.

He added that if they felt overwhelmed, they should have sought the assistance of security operatives or report to the governor of their inability to handle the crisis.

Akorede said, "They did not inform the state government that the matter could escalate."