Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in Ekiti state, Segun Oni has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Usman Alkali Baba to urgently wade in to halt the reprehensible activities of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi which he said are capable of causing crisis of an unimaginable magnitude.
The call came yesterday following a pandemonium that erupted in Ado-Ekiti as one of the campaign buses belonging to Otunba Ladi Owolabi, the deputy governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was allegedly snatched at gun point by suspected thugs hired by the state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
The bus was said to have been driven straight to the government house, on the orders of the governor.
The leader of the gang, one Apase, was said to have coordinated the dastardly act.
Meanwhile, the SDP has reported the matter to the state Police Command.
This was contained in a statement issued by the campaign office of the SDP Governorship candidate, Chief Segun Oni in Ado-Ekiti and made available to journalists.
The Secretary General of the SDP campaign office, Dr. Dare Ojo, confirmed that an official report had been made to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adesina Moronkeji.
Speaking with journalists yesterday, Owolabi vowed never to succumb to the unwarranted intimidation by the ruling APC which he said has lost touch with the people of the state and afraid of facing the electorate, come June 18.
Owolabi is believed to enjoy massive support of the people of Ado-Ekiti, his hometown, which has the largest number of voters in the state.
According to Owolabi, this is the reason the governor and his ruling party are insistent on preventing SDP from campaigning in the state capital.
“Fayemi doesn’t want me to campaign at all. But the fact is that he cannot stop me. None of them can stop me. If they like, let them keep the bus, many more will hit the roads” Owolabi said.
Recall that there have been reported cases of violent attacks on the campaign train of Oni, some of which have been bloody.
Oni, in a telephone interview with journalists yesterday lamented the “ uncanny aggression and unhidden frustrations of the APC” which he said is now growing wings every hour of every day.
“In politics, what matters most is the people. The moment you lose the people, you have lost relevance and you have lost their votes “ Oni said.
What is happening now, the former governor said, is an embarrassment to all Ekiti people, home and abroad as well as democracy lovers across the country.
Oni has, however, charged the federal government, all the security agencies as well as the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to pay serious attention to the ongoing deplorable actions of both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state in their bid to thwart the wishes of Ekiti people in the impending governorship election.
President Buhari, according to Oni, ought to be interested in leaving at least one legacy which is respect for the rule of law and enthroning a culture of violent free, fair and transparent democratic election in the country, using the forthcoming election in Ekiti as a template.
The former governor also appealed to the Independent Electoral Commission headed by Professor Mahmood Yakubu to rise to its calling in order to ensure that the interest of Ekiti people is guarded jealously to forestall a breakdown of peace in the state and the rest of the country.
