Immediate past Ondo Commissioner for Finance Wale Akinterinwa has decried what he called the return of thuggery to the political space in the state.
Akinterinwa, who is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), alleged the thugs also attacked citizens who came out to welcome President Bola Tinubu to the state.
Akinterinwa who spoke in a statement by the spokesman for his Campaign structure, Segun Ajiboye, alleged the thugs were sponsored by Governor Lucky Ayedatiwa.
According to him, “The thugs, fully loaded in unmarked vehicles, did not in any way hide their devilish intentions, as they went around the 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 from 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 most undemocratic, disrespectful, unreasonable and disdainful attempt by any Chief executive in the anals 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.”
But Chief Press Secretary to Governor Aiyedatiwa, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said nobody associated with the Governor would destroy bill boards or attack innocent citizens.
“That is not true. I do not know where they got the information from,” he said.
