ONDO: Armed thugs in PDP campaign vehicle busted; party denies tie

After policemen disarmed and arrested political thugs on the campaign trail of the Ondo PDP guber candidate Eyitayo Jegede, the campaign organization has denied relationship with the criminals.

Jegede had a stop-over at Ifon, Ose LGA, when police men busted the thugs packed inside a Toyota Sienna bus branded with Eyitayo’s logo.

But the chairman of the Jegede campaign organization said it was the APC that staged the incident to implicate the PDP candidate.

According to  Gbenga Akinmoyo, the APC has plans to adorn political thugs in PDP branded materials to unleash mayhem on gatherings of other parties with the view of putting the blame on the PDP.

“The information of the arrest of some hoodlums in branded vehicles wearing PDP logo at Ifon in Ose LG, whilst our campaign train is due to make a stop in the town is nothing but an attempt by the APC to make good its evil plans,’ he said in statement.

“While appreciating the security agencies for their vigilance in averting a needless mayhem, we urge the general public to remain focused and not fall for the antics of the ruling APC who are determined to draw us into unproductive arguments that can distract us from those issues that border on the welfare of our people and failure of the APC government in addressing them.”

On the APC side, the spokesman for  its candidate and Gov Rotimi Akeredolu expressed shock at what he called the show of shame by the major opposition party in the state caught napping in a web of violence and thuggery.

Olatunde said it was a relief for the police to seize the sophisticated guns, live cartridges and machetes which could have been used to cut innocent people of the state short on the altar of politics.

“We wonder if the PDP sees the election as a war or an electoral contest for the seat of the State Governor.

“We insist that this does not only constitute danger to our democracy and credible electoral process, but the lives of people, that the party claims it is out to serve.”