President Tinubu Summons Aiyedatiwa Over Ondo APC Violent-Congress
•By Admin
AKURE — PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly intervened in the ongoing deadly crisis within All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State which has resulted in four people feared killed.
The urgent journey of the governor to Abuja on Thursday was linked to the summon by the President who was said to have been furious about the killing of four persons in Idanre on Wednesday during the Ward Congress of the party in Idanre.
Mr. President was said to have relied on the security reports received from the state on the violent attacks that erupted in the state on Tuesday when the state Chairman of the party, Engr. Ade Adetimehin was beaten and dragged on the ground besides several members of the party who were attacked with dangerous weapons and later hospitalized.
The Wednesday attacks in Idanre, during which the younger brother of the state chairman of the party, Raphael Adetimehin, was hacked with machetes, axes and stabbed many times till passed out, were fierce.
His brother, Adetimehin, had disclosed that his younger brother was attacked by people who were looking for him because they mistook his brother for him.
His car was also razed and four persons also feared dead in the attacks in the home town of the state chairman of the party.
Adetimehin said: “My brother was attacked; those who attacked him thought I was the one because we resemble each other very well.
“After shooting and stabbing him, they left him when they thought he was dead. I don’t know why we are taking politics to this extent.”
Although the governor had called on the police to investigate the incident, a source close to the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa-led administration disclosed that despite the activities line up to celebrate the governor’s first year in office jetted to Abuja on Thursday evening to meet the President on Friday
But the source could not ascertain if the governor was able to meet the President before returning to the state on Friday.
The source said: “We were already mobilizing for our Isaiah line up activities on Wednesday evening when we suddenly got the information that Mr Governor will not be available the following day which was Thursday.
“We learnt Mr President is very angry over the killings and wanted to know from the governor what went wrong despite the fact that the state has no clear opposition against the APC.
“We knew it would get to this because the attack on the stakeholders in the first place was uncalled for; and some of us can only advise we cannot enforce our opinions so we keep our calm. We knew this will come and we don’t need such drag back at all in the state.“
It would be recalled that the APC ward congress in Ondo State turned bloody on Wednesday, and the younger brother of the state chairman of the party is still in coma.
The state Secretariat of the party in Akure, was stormed by thugs believed to be members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Tuesday to disrupt the party’s stakeholders’ meeting.
Some chieftains of the party including
Success Torukerijoh, a former member of the state House of Assembly, Dayo Akinsuroju, the immediate past chairman of Ile-oluji/Okeigbo/Odigbo local government, among others, are currently in critical conditions.
Spokesman to the state Police Command, Abayomi Jimoh, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), had confirmed two persons dead.
In a statement by Jimoh reads: “Subsequently, the Commissioner of Police, alongside the State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, CC Oluyemi Ibiloye, personally led a combined team of security operatives to the scene.
“Their timely intervention ensured the restoration of peace and order in the affected area.
“Three victims sustained varying degrees of injury and are currently receiving medical attention, while two others were confirmed dead at the hospital.”
Condemning attacks, the state APC elders under the PBAT Mandate Elders Forum in a statement signed by its chairman, Chief Erastus Akeju, described the incident as a violation of democratic principles, party discipline, and the rule of law.
The statement reads in parts: “The violent assault and public humiliation of the Ondo State APC Chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimehin, alongside respected party leaders and stakeholders, by hoodlums masquerading as political actors, which is utterly reprehensible.
“Such lawlessness is unacceptable in any democratic society, more so within a party that prides itself on progressive values, internal democracy, and respect for constituted authority.”
Chief Akeju called on President Bola Tinubu to earnestly intervene in the party’s crisis, saying “The President’s lifelong commitment to democracy, justice, and institutional order must now find expression in restoring sanity, ensuring accountability, and reaffirming that violence will never be rewarded in our party.”
The elder also charged the National Chairman of the party, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, and the National Working Committee to thoroughly investigate the incident and take appropriate sanctions.
He said: “Let me state clearly and without equivocation that intimidation, thuggery, and physical violence have no place in politics.
“The APC was not built by brigandage; it was built by ideas, dialogue, and the collective will of Nigerians who believe in democratic governance.
“When leaders are beaten, and elders are disgraced within the precincts of a party secretariat, the very foundation of political order is threatened.
“On behalf of the PBAT Mandate Elders Forum, Ondo State, I condemn this incident in the strongest terms.
“It is an assault not only on individuals, but on the integrity of the All Progressives Congress itself. Silence or indifference in the face of such brutality would embolden impunity and invite further chaos.”
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