The local government election that took place in Ondo State on Saturday was marred by violence in Ajowa-Akoko, in Akoko North-West Local Government Area of the state.
According to sources in the Ajowa community, the crisis began following a ploy to force the electorate, most of whom are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to vote for an opposition candidate.
While alleging that a minister from the state and the axis was behind the anti-party move, one of the sources, who gave his name as Sesan, disclosed that the minister used his office to mobilize security operatives who allegedly disrupted the voting process.
Sesan emphasized that trouble began precisely in Ward 5 when a leader of the APC in the ward, on the instruction of the minister, told them not to vote for the councillorship candidate, identified as Toye, but to work for the emergence of an opposition candidate.
During the crisis, the road leading to the town was barricaded with various objects and bonfires by angry residents, comprising youths and women.
With many injured, security operatives fired teargas canisters at residents who protested against the development but resolved not to allow their mandate to be taken away.
One of the sources said: “Akoko North-West belongs to all of us, and we must resist any attempt to turn it into a theatre of personal vendettas and political hegemony. The use of state machinery to disrupt elections and intimidate party members is a gross abuse of power that must not go unchallenged.
“We are calling on the appropriate authorities to immediately investigate the minister’s anti-party activities and his role in the violence and disruptions in Ajowa Ward 5. Evidence of his involvement is available and will be presented to support this call for justice.”
Also, the former special adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on special duties, Gani Muhammed Ajowa, stated: “The minister was blamed for working against the political party that made him. He provided money and deployed operatives of a department of the ministry he superintended as a minister.”