The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Eyitayo Jegede, has described the clash between members of his party and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oba Akoko, Akoko South West local government as an assassination attempt in his life.
Jegede said 15 vehicles in his convoy were destroyed while some of his supporters sustained injuries.
He said the attempt was to weaken his campaigns.
Speaking at a press conference in Akure yesterday, Jegede said the attack and previous attacks were a manifestation of an earlier threat by a chieftain of the APC.
Jegede said he called Governor Akeredolu, who he said, expressed shock at the event, and promised to investigate the incident.
The PDP candidate said he got security approval to campaign in the Akoko area and no other political party was expected to be in that area.
According to him: “15 vehicles were destroyed. I reported this formally to the Police Commissioner. This is a clear case of an attempt on my life. I have not seen this desperation.
“You can see a long convoy of the Governor openly displaying arms. If anything happens to me the public knows who to hold responsible. I am not in this game because I am desperate but to free the people from pains and poverty.
“What happened today is a collective view of the entire APC structure. We are focused on winning the elections and we will do it peacefully. We will defend ourselves in this process. Being in government is not a license to kill people.
“This will not continue. We are focused. We will win this election. They want to instill fear so that we will not come out to campaign. We will not be afraid. When bullets are fired at individuals, that is clear attempted assassination.
“The Governor and I have spoken today. I believe he was busy. He told him he did not know what happened. He said he will call his boys to order. I told him we should meet to address this. He expressed shock about what happened.
“We halt the campaign to avoid further bloodshed. Nobody will want anything to happen to his wife and children. You see armed thugs in the Governor’s convoy, displaying weapons and shootings at political opponents.
“No person’s life should be at risk in this business. No person’s life should be wasted. We will display courage, we will continue to preach and we will defend ourselves.
“My prayer is that they will not turn this state to the street of blood. We will resist this and we will win the election.”
But the spokesman for the Akeredolu/Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation, Olabode Olatunde, said the continued and unprovoked attacks on APC by the PDP were condemnable.
Olabode said it was the hoodlums of Jegede that attacked the campaign convoy of Governor Akeredolu while they were on their way to Ikare-Akoko, in continuation of the local government rally.
He said: “In their crass display of madness and thuggery, the hoodlums set ablaze the branded campaign vehicle donated to the Akeredolu/Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation by Ambassador Sola Iji.
“While we are shocked and saddened by this attack, we are not too surprised, because the PDP has shown that it is not focusing on issues in its campaign for the election. They will rather deploy violence and falsehood to score cheap political points.
“We say this is despicable and we view it as a sign of desperation by opposition parties in the state, who can’t stand the popularity of the APC, as they have seen the handwriting of their imminent defeat in the coming election on the wall.
“This unfortunate act is not only condemnable but also deserves a serious reprimand. So, we call on security agencies to investigate this latest attack by the PDP against the APC and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“This must not be swept under the carpet, as it portends grave danger for the smooth conduct of the forthcoming Governorship election in the state.”
