Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State

A semblance of hell broke loose Tuesday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital as members of rival political parties violently attacked each other, destroying campaign bill boards and inflicted heavy bodily harm on rival party members on a day President Goodluck Jonathan storm the capital for his presidential campaign.

Narrating the ordeal of members of the ACPN in the hands of the attacking members of the ruling party, PDP, in Ilorin Tuesday, the Organising Secretary of ACPN in Kwara State, Suleimon Jabata said the fate of the attacked members of the party who are on danger list still hang in the balance with the arm of one them chopped off, adding that the other members who sustained injuries are still being checked for the degree of their injuries to be ascertained.

Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in the state condemned the pulling down of the bill boards of the governorship candidate of the party for April general election, Hon. Gbenga Olawepo by  people believed to be suspected thugs  in the state.

In a statement issued in Ilorin and signed by the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Abidoun Usman, the party said such attitude portends a serious danger to the enthronement of democracy in the country.

According to him, “ It is disheartening that inspite of President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to healthy democracy in Nigeria, some people have continued to constitute a cog in the wheel of progress of the nation by embarking on action that may likely cause political unrest in the country.”
Usman stated that, the people irrespective of their political parties should be able to pursue their political campaigns without recourse to the damaging of ones posters or pulling down the bill boards of the opponents as this would go a long way to usher-in good governance and allow credible leaders to emerge without rancour.

He said “ Thugs numbering about 15 drove into our party secretariat at 25, Irepodun street, Adewole Estate, Ilorin at about 8.00 a.m in a blue Lite-Ace bus and chased away the security guards after which they destroyed and carted away our bill boards especially that of our governorship candidate for this April elections in the state”

Usman added ” not satisfied with this, they moved round the Ilorin metropolis  and pulled down all the bill boards belonging to DPP and this is uncalled for in view of the recent security meeting held with the state police command on how to ensure peaceful conduct of campaigns in the state for this elections”.

He stressed that, this latest action has been brought to the notice of the affected  security agencies in the state in order to curtail the activities of the suspected thugs before it turns into another thing in the state.

While appealing to the members of the party in the state to remain calm ,  Usman said that, the appropriate authorities concern have been informed about the action .

He therefore called on the state police command and other affected security agencies in the state to address the issue without further delay in order to ensure the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming general elections in the state.

Reacting, the state government through the chief press secretary to the governor said “The alleged attack by some political parties and pulling down of their bill boards was an outright falsehood. The state today hosted Mr President on his campaign rally and to our dismay, many of the party supporters wearing aso ebi were attacked while buses carrying the party supporters who have PDP posters on their vehicles were also attacked. Those alleging these were the same people attacking our innocent supporters when returning from the rally.

“The bill board of three of our aspirants including the candidate, Abdulfatah Ahmad, Rasaki Anumwa and Issa Bio Ibrahim were not only torn off, but pulled down at Adeta round about and Wahab Folawiyo road, Pakata area among others. Equally, we have appealed to security operatives in the state to bring to book the perpertrator of this dastardly act.

As a goverment we have laboured so much to bring development to our state in the last eight years, we would not tolerate any disgruntuled elements to take the state back to the dark era which we have wished away all in the name of playing politics,” he concluded.

-Punch

Posted by admin on Feb 22 2011. Filed under Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), Kwara, Presidency, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry