Oyo APC, APM trade words over planned attacks

The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, on Sunday, raised the alarm over alleged plans by hoodlums suspected to be members of the Allied People’s Movement to launch a fresh attack on supporters of its governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Alli, and vandalise his billboards.

While the Director of Media and Publicity of SSACO, Bisi Oladele, made the allegation in a statement issued in Ibadan, the state capital, on Sunday, the APM noted that the latest allegation by the APC was another attempt at distracting the people of the state from the real issue of governance, which they had been challenged to prove they were ready to address.

APM, in a statement issued by the Director of Communication/Spokesperson, Governorship Campaign Council, Yinka Oladoyinbo, said Governor Seyi Makinde and the party’s governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, had always demonstrated their commitment to peace and tranquillity in the state.

SSACO, however, alleged that Alli’s billboards were being vandalised and destroyed in some places by agents of the state government.

The statement read, “Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation is alerting the public about plans that have been perfected by hoodlums used by APM governorship candidate Bimbo Adekanmbi and his master, Governor Seyi Makinde, to attack members of the Park Management System and others supporting the APC in Oyo.

“The planned attack is part of coordinated efforts to repress the opposition and instil fear in APC supporters across the state. It follows a series of attacks which led to the death of an APC member in Ibadan in October, and dozens of others who have been injured in similar attacks in the last two months.

“This came as Senator Sharafadeen Alli’s campaign billboards are being vandalised and destroyed in some places by agents of the state government. The evil acts have been going on unchecked as Adekanmbi and Makinde continue to use the instrumentality of government to terrorise opposition members and candidates since election campaigns started.”

SSACO called on the Commissioner of Police and other security chiefs to nip the alleged plan in the bud, saying Oyo did not deserve violence from a government that took over in a peaceful atmosphere in 2019.

The statement further read, “Based on credible intelligence, the SSACO hereby alerts the public to planned attacks by PMS hoodlums on NURTW members supporting the APC. The attack team is particularly targeting a popular member nicknamed Oyere and his followers.

“The PMS hoodlums reportedly spied on the APC members at Senator Alli’s manifesto unveiling event held at Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall last Tuesday, where the names of NURTW members, especially those who just joined the APC, were listed and discussed.

“The development was further inflamed by the large attendance at the weekly NURTW meeting chaired by Oyere at his office, which had over a hundred NURTW members in attendance.”

It asked the people of the state to hold Makinde and Adekanmbi responsible for any political violence, saying the actions of their supporters now constituted a threat to the safety of lives and property in the state.

“At a meeting directed to be convened by a key member of Governor Makinde’s kitchen cabinet, which held around 10 pm on Friday, credible intelligence indicated that it was agreed that coordinated attacks be unleashed on NURTW members supporting the APC, with a particular agreement to disrupt their weekly meetings to whittle down the APC support base ahead of the general elections.

“The state government is also cracking down on billboard proprietors who rent out their billboards to Senator Alli, thereby sending them out of business. Rather than make Oyo State business-friendly, Governor Makinde and his minions are destroying businesses just to prevent the APC from campaigning freely.

“The destruction of the billboards of Senator Alli, who is the governorship candidate of the APC in the state, by these miscreants is a setback for our progress as a people and a disincentive to democratic development.

“We understand that the fear of rejection at the ballot is haunting Adekanmbi and his godfather, Governor Makinde. But no amount of intimidation will prevent the good people of Oyo from voting for Senator Alli and other APC candidates in the 2027 election.

“Oyo State deserves a breath of fresh air after seven years of local government paralysis and flip-flopping policies affecting education, health and overall public service delivery,” the statement stressed.

APM, in its reaction through a statement issued by Oladoyinbo, said the allegation showed that the APC and its candidate did not have what it took to lead Oyo.

The statement read, “The APM in Oyo State wishes to note that the latest allegation by the APC and its campaign council is another attempt at distracting the people of the state from the real issue of governance that they have been challenged to prove they are ready for.

“It further shows that the party and its candidate do not have what it takes to lead a pace-setting state like Oyo, hence the resolve to be raising spurious allegations each time they are confronted with what they have in stock for the people.

“The APM, Governor Makinde and our governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, have always demonstrated their commitment to peace and tranquillity in our dear state.

“This has been evident in the co-existence of people of various backgrounds since the inception of the present administration over seven years ago, and we will not allow power mongers who have nothing tangible to enhance the development of the state to erode the gains we have recorded.

“It was evident that the APC has always been the aggressor in the state, and a pointer to that fact was the destruction of our billboards in Ibadan North Local Government by supporters of the APC in broad daylight,” the statement read.

The APM said the APC had nothing to fear or be jittery about, as the people of Oyo were solidly behind Makinde and Adekanmbi.

“The people are ready to speak with their votes at the next general elections,” it added.