Former Ondo Commissioner for Finance Wale Akinterinwa has claimed that the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, dispatched goons to attack President Bola Tinubu’s supporters.

 

All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor Akinterinwa asserted that the thugs attacked supporters who had come to see Tinubu in the state.

 

Webteam@ipledge2nigera  had reported that on Wednesday, Tinubu left for an official visitation to Ondo State.

 

But Akinterinwa asserted that thugs supported by Aiyedatiwa attacked people who turned out to greet the president.

 

The former commissioner denounced what he saw as the return of thuggery to the political sphere in the State in a statement released by Segun Ajiboye, the spokesman for his campaign structure.

 

“The thugs, fully loaded in unmarked vehicles, did not in any way hide their devilish intentions, as they went round major streets of Akure, destroying the billboards of the other gubernatorial aspirants of the All Progressives Congress.

 

“The thugs fully armed with different types of guns, shot sporadically into the air to create fear in the people.

 

“Expectedly, thousands of supporters of the APC who had prepared to receive the president ran helter-skelter for dear lives.

 

“The ugly incident was coming barely 24 hours after the Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Structure raised the alarm about the dastardly activities by certain elements acting for and on behalf of Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa to prevent members of the APC and leaders who are not in his camp to receive Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR during his visit to Akure.

 

“Today’s action by the thugs acting on the directives of Mr Governor is the most undemocratic, disrespectful, unreasonable and disdainful attempt by any Chief executive in the annals of democracy in Nigeria.

 

“This is a sad reminder of the wicked old days in the politics of our dear state. It marks an avoidable return to the dark days of hooligans and political bandits in Ondo state.”

 

Ebenezer Adeniyan, the governor’s chief press secretary, countered that no one connected to the governor would harm or destroy billboards.

 

“That is not true. I do not know where they got the information from,” he said.