Some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ondo State chapter, at the weekend, raised the alarm over an alleged plot by some persons to cause chaos within the party ahead of the primaries on April 20.
The party leaders led by Adewale Ibraheem, who accused supporters of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of being behind the plot, disclosed that the aim was to disrupt the primaries to prevent a shadow election from taking place.
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Speaking to journalists in Akure, the state capital, the leaders alleged that plans had been perfected to recruit thugs through the “Red-Beret” supporters in each of the council areas of the state to achieve the purpose.
He said: “It has come to our notice through a credible source in the camp of Aiyedatiwa supporters that plans have been perfected by Aiyedatiwa’s political foot soldiers to scuttle the APC primary, baring any last-minute counter moves.
“A meeting was held in Akure, and it was coordinated by a senior cabinet member in Akure. At the meeting, it was approved that anywhere in all 18 local government areas of the state where the incumbent is unpopular and may lose the election, the election in such a place must be disrupted, and the election must never be allowed to stand.
“Funds shall be provided to recruit 50 thugs in each of the 18 local governments to cause trouble on April 20, 2024, and discredit the APC primary. It is evident that Aiyedatiwa is losing out, and he wants to drag everybody down, including the APC in Ondo State.”
“His support base is weak, and the strategists for his aspiration are of the opinion that the power of incumbency should be used to waste the fortunes of the APC in Ondo State,Adewale Ibraheem stated.
Reacting to the allegation, the State Director of Information for the Lucky Ayedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers (LACO-FS), Kayode Fasua, described the report as false.
He said: “Yes, Aiyedatiwa is contesting the party’s next governorship ticket, but the enormous task before him does not give room for the conjecture of raising thugs or anything of the stuff. He is a busy man, one who closes work at 1:00 a.m. and resumes at 8: 00 a.m.
“The meeting under reference was an Akure meeting held by APC members in the locality to appraise the performance of the campaign efforts within the local government thus far. Nothing more.
“Therefore, desperadoes within the APC should readdress themselves and give vent to party rules and regulations by stopping mudslinging Mr. Governor in the belief that he is a simple man and can’t do anything.”
No fewer than 16 aspirants in the party, including Governor Aiyedatiwa, Wale Akinterinwa, Jimoh Ibrahim, Gbenga Oedema, Olusola Oke, Prof. Dayo Faduyile, and Isaac Kekemeike, have obtained the expression of interest and nomination forms, and they are to be screened anytime from now.
Sources within the party revealed that the incumbent governor, who had wanted the procedural right of first refusal to be applied in his favour, had not been able to achieve what his supporters believed was the easiest road to extending his tenure as governor.
