Ondo APC Crisis Deepens, As House Of Reps Aspirants Accuse Adetimehin Of Sponsoring Thugs To Disrupt Primary

By Niyi Olutunde, Akure

The looming crisis within the Ondo state Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the mode of primary election to pick candidates for the 2019 elections at the weekend marred with violence and irregularities as some political thugs disrupted the process in some local government areas in the state.

Addressing a press conference in Akure, four APC aspirants vying for the Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency seat led by Mr Olawole Jepson Sunday, lamented that they were shut out of the exercise. 

Sunday decried the conduct of the APC state Chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimehin during the poll and accused him of fomenting troubles by using thugs to attack them and their supporters. 

The aggrieved aspirants also revealed further that the state chairman ordered the ward chairmen in the councils to conduct the election and also served as agents for Mr. Akinwalere.

He recounted that they mobilized to their supporters to vote in the direct primaries option but waited from 7:00am till 2:00pm without seeing members of the National Working Committee (NWC) but thugs. 

According to him, the state chairman of the party had been hiding the party registers from members since they were released to him by the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

He maintained that Engr. Adetimehin campaigned openly for one Sunday Akinwalere, who is still a civil servant with a primary school in Ifedore Local Government Area of the state. 

They however urged the National leadership of the party to cancel the election after all entreaties to the state chairman and Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu did not yield any positive result. 

His words, “Thugs threatened us with cutlasses and dangerous weapons, driving the people away and just write the name of the winner, Akinwalere, whom the chairman wants to emerge. 

“As we were leaving Idanre this afternoon around 3:00pm, there was no presence of police mobilized and INEC officials. The thugs beat and molested our supporters in the two councils. 

“In Idanre and Ifedore local governments, there are no primary elections. Neither the National electoral committee members nor the state executives were in these local governments to conduct the election.”

Among the aspirants at the press conference were: the Chief Whip of the state Assembly, Tuyi Akintimehin, representing Idanre Constituency; Teniola Oladele Peter, Ayodeji Adeniyi, whose agent and supporters were driven to the bush. 

As at the time filing this report, attempts to call the state chairman, Adetimehin for his reaction over the allegations proved abortive as he didn’t pick his calls.