Former governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and candidate of the Action Democratic Party, ADP, in the 2019 governorship election has accused his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Oloye Adebayo Adelabu, of engaging members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, to destroy his posters.
The Akala-Olaiya Campaign Organization, which is billed to unveil his candidate and running mate, Prof Abideen Olaiya today, alleged that thugs moved around with 5 branded campaign vehicles of Adelabu.
Reacting through his special assistant on new media, Shakirulah Olaniyi, Alao-Akala said he was saddened the destruction of his posters, adding that “in the wee hours of today, thugs heavily attacked Alao-Akala’s supporters who were tasked to paste posters across the city of Ibadan with guns, cutlasses, axes, broken bottles and other dangerous weapons. Our supporters escaped their sporadic gunshots by whiskers, though sustained varying degree of injuries.
“All Alao-Akala’s posters pasted at Beere, Mapo, Aleshinloye, Ringroad, Challenge, Oke-Ado, Dugbe, Mokola and other places in Ibadan have been torn before daybreak by these agents of darkness ahead of today’s official presentation of ADP candidates holding at the Jogor Center -Ibadan. The ruling APC engage in this coward and destructive acts in order to undermine Alao-Akala’s chances of electoral victory in 2019.
“These actions can be best described as marks of rascality, immaturity, extreme desperation to grab power and undemocratic. The growing onslaught on opposition materials and attacks on their members is highly condemnable.”
The Ogbomoso-born politician however urged “all ADP members and Alao-Akala’s supporters in Ibadan, Ibarapa, Ogbomoso, Oyo and Oke-Ogun not to engage in any form of reprisal and plead for issue-based and violence-free campaign.
“Also, we call the attentions of the constituted security agencies, the electoral umpire and the stakeholders to call the ruling APC and it’s candidates especially Mr. Bayo Adelabu to order before it is too late. The Oyo State Police Command must check this ugly trend and protect the opposition parties in the state.
Efforts to reach Adelabu and the APC spokesperson for reactions, as at press time, proved abortive.
OYO INSIGHT will reflect it immediately they get in touch.
