Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has denied involvement in the attack that disrupted the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting in Akure on Tuesday.
During the incident, the state party chairman Ade Adetimehin and other party leaders were reportedly beaten and injured after a group of hoodlums, alleged to be members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), stormed the state secretariat.
The injured leaders are currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
The attackers forced their way into the venue, causing panic and ending the meeting abruptly.
Mr. Adetimehin claimed he was personally assaulted and that his mobile phone was seized during the chaos.
He described the attack as deliberate and politically motivated.
Adetimehin also said the incident involved armed men who bypassed existing security measures before gaining access to the secretariat.
He accused the state governor of sponsoring the hoodlums to disrupt the meeting.
In response, Governor Aiyedatiwa said the violence was caused by miscreants who had no business at the secretariat.
“Normally, we have stakeholders’ meetings, and as the governor, I am always in attendance, alongside the Speaker and the Deputy Governor. All of us are always present at every stakeholder meeting. In the first quarter of this year, we had one in January before the anniversary of the state. We had 60 people per local government. But this one was an impromptu stakeholders’ meeting because of the congresses at the ward and local government levels,” he said.
He added, “Later on, I got a call from one of them saying there were some problems around, or some miscreants around the party secretariat. I asked him to call the Commissioner of Police, and I also called the Commissioner of Police myself to ensure the place was protected because I was going to attend the meeting. I asked that security operatives be deployed to protect the place.”
Aiyedatiwa also attributed the violence to factional disputes over candidacy, stressing that the gathering involved rival supporters rather than an official party meeting.
He denied any animosity toward the congresses or interference in the process.
The governor’s chief press secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said, “That’s ludicrous. The Governor has nothing to do with whatever happened at the party secretariat and when he heard of the disturbance there, he called on security agencies to go there and restore order. He’s now at the Secretariat with other party leaders for a stakeholders meeting with the Congress committees sent from the national secretariat of the party.”
Aiyedatiwa also rejected claims that the party congresses in Ondo State were being hijacked, saying all leaders in the state were carried along in the process leading to the exercise.
The dispute comes after reports that parallel congresses would be held in Ondo State following complaints from some party leaders over alleged interference by the governor and his commissioners.
Aiyedatiwa maintained that all leaders were involved in the process.
