Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has directed security agencies to track down and prosecute those responsible for the violence that disrupted the All Progressives Congress ward congresses across the state.
The congress, held on Wednesday across 203 wards, reportedly turned violent in parts of Idanre Local Government Area, where suspected political thugs allegedly linked to the National Union of Road Transport Workers interfered with the exercise. Clashes were also reported at Iju/Ita-Ogbolu in Akure North LGA, with hours of disruption recorded.
The police confirmed two deaths and three injuries during the s, including Mr Raphael Adetimehin, younger brother of Ondo APC chairman Engr Ade Adetimehin, who is currently in a coma at an Akure hospital.
Governor Aiyedatiwa condemned the violence, distancing his administration from the unrest, and emphasized his commitment to party unity. According to a statement by his spokesman, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, the governor has ordered security agencies to restore peace, investigate the Idanre crisis, and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“The pockets of issues in the ward congress of the party have nothing to do with the governor,” Adeniyan said. “The Governor urges all aspirants contesting for party positions to call their followers to order as the government will not tolerate any breakdown of law and order in any part of the state.”
The development comes amid calls from party elders under the PBAT Mandate Elders Forum for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to launch an immediate investigation into the violence that marred the stakeholders’ meeting in Ondo State.
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