From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of destroying the billboards of its governorship candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
A statement by the chairman of the caretaker committee, Osun PDP, Dr Akindele Adekunle, described the action as a barbaric and dangerous plot to cause political crisis.
The statement warned that the resort to violence and the desperation to prevent Osun people from making their leadership choice in the upcoming governorship election will backfire as the people are more than ready to ensure their rights to choose who administers their affairs are not tampered with.
“We must inform the whole world of a clandestine plan to unleash violence on Osun state by those who already feel rejected by an overwhelming number of voters, thinking that this will scare them away from exercising their franchise on July 16. One such plot is the willful destruction of Senator Ademola Adeleke’s billboards to reverse the increasing acceptability of the PDP Candidate in all parts of the state.
“Let us, for emphasis, warn those behind this plot that they will be matched, not necessarily by an equal measure of violence but by whatever it takes legally to resist such attempt as to intimidate the good people of Osun State or coerce them into submission.
“This will mean we will not hesitate to mobilize Osun people against the violence that is being promoted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),” it added.
When contacted, the Special Adviser to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Political Matter, Sunday Akere, said the PDP should look inward and resolve their in-fighting “to determine where their problem is coming from.”
He said, “their candidate is not a threat to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s re-election bid, so, we are not interested in what he is doing or concerned himself about.
“For us, we concentrate on ensuring the victory of our candidate at the poll and we will not lose focus by their distractions,” Akere added.