Ogun APC Primary: Tension As Osoba Residence Defaced
Palpable tension has gripped Ogun State following the breach of security following controversies over the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in the state just as the wall of the Abeokuta home of a former governor of the state, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, was decorated with graffiti by some unknown persons.
The graffiti which was said to have been discovered on Tuesday morning read, “Politically RIP, Osoba”.
It would be recalled that last week, Osoba reported that two persons who surveyed his home with a drone were arrested by security operatives.
According to a release issued by one of his aides, graffiti had recently been written on the walls of the former governor’s home among a series of other security breaches.
An aide of the former governor had last week warned of recent breaches of the security of the former governor.
In another development, the constituency office of the Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Prince Olakunle Oluomo in Ifo was attacked by dozens of hoodlums on Tuesday morning.
Efforts by the hoodlums to lay hold of Oluomo proved abortive as he hid himself from the political thugs who demanded to see him.
The suspected thugs who were furious after they failed to lay hands on him thoroughly ransacked the constituency office located near Ifo market along Lagos – Abeokuta road and vandalised the furniture and fitting in the office and also four buses that convey school children to and from schools within Ifo Local Local Government.
Policemen and soldiers were sighted at strategic positions in the town to forestall a major breakdown of law and order.
When contacted on phone, Oluomo who represents Ifo constituency 1 at OGHA, confirmed the attack.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said he was not aware of the incident, promising to call back upon inquiry but never did as at 4:54pm despite reminder calls placed to his mobile line.
These series of events which heightened security fears in Abeokuta came barely twenty four hours after the invasion by gun-wielding thugs of a meeting of APC governorship aspirants with the election panel.
Governorship aspirants who were present at the Monday meeting held at the MITROS hall included former deputy governor, Senator Adegbenga Kaka; Prince Dapo Abiodun; former commissioner for commerce and industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru; Hon. Abayomi Hunye; Otunba Jimi Lawal and Amosun’s successor-designate, Hon. Adekunle Akinlade.
Journalists present at the meeting which ended abruptly scampered while members of the Muhammad Indabawa-election committee and the six governorship aspirants present hurriedly left the venue.
The election committee was reported to have summoned the meeting to discuss modalities with aspirants ahead of the planned direct primaries of the party rescheduled to hold Tuesday, October 2nd. During a brief meeting of the committee members with reporters, Indabawa said necessary materials for the conduct of the exercise have been handed over to the panel.
The chairman also assured that a level playing field would be provided to all aspirants during the primaries.
It would be recalled that the primaries which was initially scheduled for September 29th by the party National Working Congress (NWC) was rescheduled to Sunday and later Tuesday by the NWC.
The primaries however did not take place as planned on Tuesday.
The committee later went into a closed-door session with the governorship aspirants and state executives of the party. But while the meeting was ongoing within the hall, some suspected rival thugs who allegedly came with two of the governorship aspirants engaged in a clash outside.
Policemen whisked away one of the troublemakers few minutes later restoring peace to the venue temporarily.
However, the venue turned to a theatre of war at about 11:30pm when another set of suspected thugs stormed the venue and shot into the crowd outside.
Several gunshots which lasted for more than 15 minutes forced the meeting to end abruptly while some journalists including a Lagos-based TV reporter sustained injuries in their bid to escape from the scene.
The eight-man electoral committee members hurriedly called off the meeting, when the venue was turning into a war zone.
Meanwhile, schools in the state were shut down Tuesday morning to allow for the conduct of the primaries.
The order was reported to have come from the state government.
This may not be unconnected to the shootings of Monday night.
This decision however angered some of the parents. One of the parents who does not want his name on print said, “for me this is undemocratic, if all the 91 political parties in the state fix their primaries on weekdays when our wards are supposed to go to school, indirectly that means they won’t go to school throughout a whole term.”
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