23rd January, 2015
Chaos is looming in Ekiti State, western Nigeria, as the Governor of the state, Ayodele Fayose, has been accused of planning to hold a rally of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to coincide with that of the All Progressives Party, APC, on Saturday, 24 January.
The APC had scheduled its presidential campaign rally for Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, but expressed shock that Governor Fayose decided to hold a parallel rally on the same day.
The governor’s aide, Lere Olayinka, however, debunked the allegation, saying PDP wasn’t planning any parallel rally on Saturday.
He told P.M.NEWS on Friday that APC’s allegation was a ready alibi to explain why nobody in Ekiti would come out to participate in its presidential rally on Saturday.
He said PDP was not running the state the way APC did under Governor Kayode Fayemi, adding that the PDP government of Fayose has allowed Buhari’s commercials to run on the state radio.
APC on Friday warned Governor Fayose against disrupting or interfering in any way with its presidential campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, saying the governor’s plan to hold a parallel rally on the same day is a recipe for chaos.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party wondered why Governor Fayose will schedule a rally also for Saturday at Fajuyi Park, which is a major route to the venue of the APC presidential campaign rally, the State Pavillion along NTA Road in Ado-Ekiti.
“This is nothing but a deliberate act of provocation, and it is a dangerous game by a Governor who has now become notorious for making incendiary statements and taking irrational actions. Gov. Fayose should be told in clear terms that being the Governor of a state demands huge responsibility, not brazen rascality,’’ it said.
APC wondered what point the Governor was trying to prove by seeking to set the supporters of his party, the PDP, against those of our party, which is basically what he is planning to do by organizing a parallel rally along a major route to ours at Ado-Ekiti on Saturday.
The party said its members and supporters, in line with their peaceful nature and the ethos of APC, neither disrupted nor interfered with the PDP presidential campaign rally at Ado, and finds it difficult to understand why the Governor will be plotting to trigger chaos and disrupt the APC presidential campaign rally.
“There must be a limit to mischief and waggishness, especially from a Governor that almost set Nigeria on fire with an irresponsible, incendiary and repugnant advertisement wishing our presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, dead.
“Since everything points to the fact that Gov. Fayose lacks the capacity to understand the implication of his actions, it is high time his masters called him to order before he sets the country on fire. A good starting point is to warn him against holding a parallel tally at Ado on Saturday.
“The security agencies should also advise the Governor against actions that are capable of triggering violence and disrupting public peace. If the Governor fails to heed the voice of reason, then he should be solely held responsible if there is any breach of peace or a disruption of the APC presidential campaign rally at Ado-Ekiti on Saturday,’’ it said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has raised the alarm over the violence the PDP has launched as a campaign strategy in Lagos.
The party said that the increasing spate of violence the PDP has launched in Lagos will breach the peace and security of Lagos, if law enforcement agencies continue to turn a blind eye to the excesses of the party.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe, the party said it had been inundated by reports of various acts of violence the PDP has visited on its party members all over Lagos as well as the removal of APC campaign posters in various parts of Lagos.
It warned that its tolerance and commitment to play by the rules should not be misconstrued as weakness as the party members may be forced to react if the security agencies continue to look the other way as PDP launders violence in a bid to violently capture Lagos.
“Our party is alarmed that what the PDP wants to plunge a peaceful and very secured state like Lagos to mindless violence in a bid to capture the state in view of the negative reception it receives among Lagosians. Yesterday, there were several reports of PDP instigated violence in many parts of Lagos and we wonder if this is what the PDP wants to use to capture the enlightened state of Lagos. Yesterday, in Orile Agege, an APC member, Mr. Peter Eyitayo was shot dead by thugs of a PDP candidate and another member is presently undergoing surgery as a result of gunshot by the same hoodlums in Agege. This case is well known to the Divisional Police Officer at Elere Police Station, Agege, the State Commissioner and the Lagos State Police Command. There were also reports of attacks launched by PDP thugs in Lagos Island and some other parts of Lagos.
“Also, we want to let the general public know that the PDP has embarked on a campaign of vandalizing APC posters and billboards all over Lagos and we urge Lagosians to be fully vigilant and report and apprehend these vandals where ever they see them and also report to the nearest police station or our party offices and officials.”