The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has berated Governor Seyi Makinde and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleging their responsibility for the fresh wave of political violence in the state, saying residents across all nooks and crannies deserved peace even as they look forward to a post-PDP era from May 29, 2027.
Reports indicated that parts of the state were enveloped by tension on Saturday when factions of the ruling party engaged in violence over the purported conduct of another PDP Local Government Area Congress, underscoring the escalation of an intractable crisis the party has been battling in recent times.
In a statement issued on Sunday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC regretted that Gov. Makinde chose to add more to the worries of the people by allegedly encouraging threats and violent attacks among his party members, even as he has not addressed pressing challenges such as banditry and kidnappings.
“The minds of many citizens were cast back to the days of political violence and unrest on Saturday when they witnessed how sponsored thugs and other criminal elements unleashed terror on PDP members opposed to the reported high-handedness and egocentric leadership style of Gov. Makinde. They demonstrated this by organizing a separate Ward Congress, which was disrupted by hoodlums in Ibarapa North, Iseyin, Ibadan North East, Ibadan North, and many other local government area chapters of the party.
“We recall that the same set of hoodlums, and their now out-of-favour leader currently behind bars on the order of his estranged godfather, were responsible for a series of attacks on APC leaders and members during the last general elections. This time, it was brothers against brothers, as one faction sought to overrun the other to control party structures.
“While some sponsored thugs roamed the venues of the supposed Local Government Area Congress to disrupt the exercise, an army of vicious hoodlums was mobilized to the Ibadan home of a party chieftain, where they destroyed many cars and properties valued at several billion naira and inflicted varying degrees of injuries on men and women believed to be loyal to the Nyesom Wike faction.
“While this development remains condemned, we urge Gov. Makinde to rethink and learn to employ dialogue as a potent tool in resolving disputes, rather than violence or confrontation. We also call on security agencies to investigate the incident to unmask the attackers and their sponsors, as we cannot afford a return to full-scale political violence by PDP elements in the state,” Sadare added.
