UPDATED: Opeyemi Bamidele, one other shot at Ado-Ekiti APC secretariat

Posted by admin Ekiti, Headlines, State News Saturday, June 2nd, 2018

Kamarudeen Ogundele, Ado Ekiti

A member of the seventh House of Representatives and erstwhile governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Opeyemi Bamidele, and one other person have been shot.

The shooting took place at the All Progressives Congress secretariat in Ajilosun, Ado-Ekiti, during a reception organised for the governorship candidate of the party, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

It was learnt that the bullet came from the rifle of a mobile policeman who was among those deployed to ensure security.

Bamidele has been rushed to an unknown hospital for treatment, while the yet-to-be-identified second victim is feared dead.

The reason behind the rage of the policeman has yet to be ascertained.But an eyewitness said that the policeman was provoked by some thugs who waylaid dignitaries at the secretariat.

The rally, which attracted a huge crowd of party supporters and admirers across the state, began on a good note from Akure airport, Ondo State, before things went awry.

Bamidele was standing with Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Fayemi and former Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, when the policeman pulled the trigger.

Bamidele started muttering, “I have been hit by a bullet, I have been hit by a bullet,” repeatedly before he was rushed into a waiting car.

The cameraman of Core TV in Ekiti, Sunkanmi Ogunmuko, also sustained injuries in the ensuing melee. Otherreporters at the scene scaled the fence to safety to avoid being hit by bullets.

Angry mob descended on the mobile policeman and hit his head with sticks and other items before he was rescued by his colleagues.

Earlier, Fayemi and his entourage, including his running mate, Bisi Egbeyemi, were received in Ikere-Ekiti by a large crowd of party supporters, which caused serious traffic congestion along Ado-Akure road.

Before the crisis, Akeredolu, while addressing party members, said that Fayemi had come home to rescue Ekiti from the pangs of poverty and wanton neglect caused by the Peoples Democratic Party’s administration.

He applauded the APC members for putting behind them the pre-primary crisis to mobilise for Fayemi.

“Fayemi has returned with full force to reclaim the land. He needs your support and this task shall be achieved in the mighty name of God,” he prayed.

Responding, Fayemi said that he returned home to work for Ekiti with party leaders because “it is a collective responsibility.”

“We are going to work with everybody, including those who just defected to our party, because we are one big family in APC.

“We shall win by the grace of God. Our case was like the case of a ram who moved backward to garner more strength. We are here to rescue Ekiti and it is a task we must achieve.”

In his contribution, Adeyeye, who returned to the party on Tuesday after 12 years in the PDP, said: “I have returned home and my mission is to ensure that we kill Fayose politically by burying him.

“We shall mobilise well to achieve this task and by the grace of God, this is a must-win and must-accomplish task for all of us,” he added.

-Punchwp_posts