2019 ELECTION : APC PDP TRADE WORDS...
LESS than 24 hours to the 2019 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State, has decried the plans by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to cause electoral violence across the whole eighteen (18) local government areas of the state.
The state PDP Chairman, Engr. Clement Faboyede and other PDP leaders in the state, raised the alarm in Akure Ondo state capital at the party Secretariat, accusing the Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi and others in the All Progressive Congress , APC of plots to disrupt the elections.
Other PDP chieftains included: Senator Boluwaji Kunlere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, the South West Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ayo Fadaka; Dr. Benson Enikuomeh, who recently ditched APC and Akeredolu's cabinet.
Meanwhile, there had been an outcry against the ruling party that the state Deputy Governor had recruited the ex-Niger Delta militants in his district to foment crisis during the election and promote massive rigging during the forthcoming elections.
Faboyede revealed that the Deputy Governor, who hails from the South Senatorial District, had been using thugs, fake security agencies to harass and detain PDP leaders in the district in the recent times.
In his words " the information at our disposal has fingered some leaders of APC in Ondo State to cause electoral violence; and first on the list is the Deputy Governor, His Excellency Agboola Ajayi, he is exploiting all opportunities and avenues, including the use of thugs to cause violence in this election. It is an open secret that he has mobilized thugs and some unofficial security agencies to harass and detain our party leaders and supporters in the Southern Senatorial District"
"We are appealing to the whole world to please talk to the Deputy Governor to allow free and fair election. It is worthy to note that he has sworn an oath to protect lives and properties; he is the Deputy Governor of the state and not that of APC. It will be negative of his office to unleash harassment, terror and to detain the opposition party leaders in his district or anywhere in the state".
He added that the Secretary to the State Government, Ifedayo Abegunde, Senator representing Ondo Central District, Tayo Alasoadura and the Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Jacob Adebo, are also unleashing terror on the opposition parties at thier various domains.
"We also have on record of militancy and thuggery in past elections, and information at our disposal reveals that they are stocking arms at the new stadium under construction in Akure to be used to disrupt the election and cart away ballot boxes in the Central Senatorial District.
"Tayo Alasoadura should know that he is holding a distinguished position and know that he should be law-abiding. He has to be electoral act-compliant, nurturing thugs is undemocratic, it is against the electoral act.
"We are begging him also to please check his friends of using thugs to cart away ballot boxes or shooting sporadically in the air to scare away voters."
The party chairman, who appealed to the traditional rulers to intervene, decried the meddling of NURTW members in partisan politics, lamenting that they were being used as political thugs to repress the opposition parties.
"The APC party party parades hooligans and thugs under the disguise of NURTW headed by Idajo. It is becoming too much of him, this state belongs to all of us. We on our side, we are law abiding and won't go against the law.
We love peace, we know we are winning this election and want every vote to count in Ondo State. We are appealing to Idajo to be law abiding and to sheathe all his hooliganism, he should allow peace to reign."
Senator Kunlere, Enikuomehin and Ebiseni noted that the APC leaders accused of thuggery were once beneficiaries of PDP largesse in the past, revealing that they had been tolerating the political enmity against the party by APC.
"You can't fight the people, they are your people. We appeal to the governor to particularly call Agboola Ajayi to order that there should be no mayhem in Ilaje and Ese-Odo in particular, South District generally and the whole state by extension.
The party leaders, however, noted that elections in the riverine area had once been declared inconclusive due to electoral violence, pleading for the presence of more security agencies especially the Nigeria Navy.
They urged the Federal Government and state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to impress on his Deputy and other party loyalists to refrain from any action that could plunge the state into any electoral violence.
"So far so good, Akeredolu has exhibited that he is the governor of the state and not of APC, but we want to beg him to call to order Ajayi, Alasoadura, Abegunde and Idajo.
"We are begging the governor to use his good office to appeal to all his lieutenants to complete themselves and allow a peaceful, free, fair and rancour-free election."
"We don't want the repetition of the 1983 saga in Ondo State when houses were burnt and several lives were lost as a result of election rigging. We are begging for peace and will remain peaceful."
The PDP leaders also appealed to the new Commissioner of Police, Mr. Undie Adie and other security agencies to be proactive and ensure that some unscrupulous politicians do not use government machinery to oppress the people.
But the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Ajayi, Mr. Olorunleke Akeredolu, refuted the allegations against his boss and the state government, saying the major opposition party, PDP, was only raising false alarm and foul cry.
Akeredolu, who also described the allegation as "both distasteful and regretful," however, explained the terms of engagement with the ex-Niger Delta militants.
According to him, "It is also a shame that a national party like the PDP would throw caution to the wind and deliberately embark on peddling complete falsehood in a desperate attempt to discredit an election that is yet to hold.
"This action of the PDP in Ondo State is symptomatic of a political party that is being stared in the face by sure defeat at the polls. It is no longer news that the PDP and all its candidates have been rejected by the people after a 16-period that is characterized with looting and destruction of the unity of the country."
The Deputy Governor's aide noted that his boss is the Chairman of the Amnesty Programme in the state and met with the ex-militants to resolve a misconception over their incorporation into the Federal Government Amnesty programme.
"Ajayi only appealed to these ex-militants, who had been threatening to disrupt the elections in the riverine areas of the state to sheathe their swords and be patient with the Federal Government.
"He also told the aggrieved ex-militants that the Federal Government would soon begin training for them at the newly commissioned Oil and Gas Vocational Training Centre in Agadagba-Obon in Ese-Odo Area of Ondo State.
"Kindly note that Ajayi has been playing intermediary roles between the federal government and the ex-militants . He also palyed a very important role in the discussions that led to the laying down of weapons by the ex-militants."
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