By Ayodele Oni
Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ondo State Election Campaign Committee and Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, has blamed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the incessant violence in the state, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
Makinde, who was at the Ondo state police command headquarters in Akure Sunday evening, met with the Commissioner of Police, Bolaji Salami to lodge complaints on “the uncivilised and violent attacks by the APC thugs on PDP members in Akure metropolis.
The clash between supporters of APC and PDP, which started Saturday evening continued on Sunday with sporadic gun shots forcing residents to remain indoors.
A statement by Head of Media of Jegede Campaign Organization, Mr Samuel Fasua, stated that during a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Salami, Makinde said, “We have always made our campaigns issue-based, but the APC government in this state prefers violent attack as a form of response.
“Ondo people are tired and our numerous supporters have continuously been subjected to unfair treatment by those who hold the reins of power in the state.
“But if they think what they did in Kogi is applicable here, they are making a mistake; because people are fully prepared for them.”
Makinde, therefore, called on relevant security agencies not to shirk their responsibility of ensuring a peaceful, free and fair election, on Saturday.
“More still need to be done in the area of security, because APC is trying to create vorters’ aparthy so as to scare people away from performing their civic responsibility on the election day, which will be resisted by the masses.
“We have come here to intimate the Commissioner of Police with this ugly situation, and to extract assurance from him that the APC armed thugs would be silenced and that nobody will be intimidated on election day,” he stressed.
The Election is slated for October 10. Unlike the Edo case, all the APC Governors are billed for Ondo on Wednesday for a final mega rally. In Edo, the planned mega rally was cancelled, allegedly, because a number of Governors and stakeholders were not interested in the fall of their former colleague, Governor Godwin Obaseki.
