Both Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and a former Commissioner for Finance, Mr Wale Akinterinwa, and the other 14 aspirants will be contesting for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress in the primary coming up next week.
The APC has fixed April 20 for the primary while the party has set up a nine-man committee, headed by Mr Emma Eneukwu, to conduct the primary.
Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation on Monday alleged that some political thugs suspected to be Aiyedatiwa’s supporters destroyed the billboards of their principal at Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.
The statement issued by the spokesperson for ACO, Mr Segun Ajiboye, decried the alleged action of the political thugs, describing it as a bad image for the ruling party.
The statement read, “The thugs of O’datiwa, the armed wing of the Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation, were again unleashed on the hapless citizens in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of the state. During the attack, the thugs destroyed a large billboard of Wale Akinterinwa
“The latest attack is coming on the heels of the recent destruction of billboards and property belonging to other aspirants in Akure, the state capital, and other areas across the state.
“The actions of the governor and his thugs have continued to drag the name of our great party in the mud in the state, while other political parties in the state stand and mock the follies going on in the Ondo APC.”
The campaign group called on the APC in the state and at the national level to call the governor to stop his supporters from the attacks of their billboards.
“It is regrettable that despite our calls to the police and the DSS to ensure the safety of supporters of other aspirants and their properties across the state, the one-sided attacks and destructions have continued.
“We are, therefore, using this latest opportunity to call on the commissioner of police and the director of the state security service in Ondo State to be proactive and put measures in place to forestall any further attack on the people by thugs working for Governor Aiyedatiwa,” the statement added.
In a reaction, the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign denied the allegation, saying it was an attempt to rubbish the popularity of Aiyedatiwa ahead of the party’s primary.
The group’s Director of Media, Mr Kayode Fasua, asked the ACO to provide evidence to show that the governor’s supporters were behind the attacks on their billboards to bring the perpetrators to book.
“There are at least six governorship aspirants from the Southern Senatorial District, apart from Wale Akinterinwa. How come Akinterinwa’s lackeys, either as directed or deliberately, see Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as a muted punching bag?
“For the umpteenth time in their clueless attempts to disparage the irresistible popularity of the governor, they have been cooking up steaming-hot allegations that they are unable to substantiate.
“The fact of the matter remains that we require evidence to prove that they fathomed thugs. They are as unserious as their allegation. Any thug spotted destroying their billboard should be reported to the police rather than distract a hardworking governor,” Fasua said.
