The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has raised the alarm over what it describes as a perfected plan by hoodlums linked to APM governorship candidate Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi and Governor Seyi Makinde to attack members of the Park Management System (PMS) and other supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State.
Oyo Election Violence: A Pattern of Intimidation Against the Opposition
According to SSACO in a statement by Bisi Oladele, Director of Media & Publicity, the planned attack is part of coordinated efforts to repress the opposition and instil fear in APC supporters across the state. It alleges that this follows a series of attacks that led to the death of an APC member in Ibadan in October, with dozens of others injured in similar incidents in the last two months.
The campaign also claims that agents of the state government are vandalising and destroying billboards of Senator Alli in several locations. It says these acts have gone unchecked since the campaign season began, as Adekanmbi and Makinde continue to use the instrumentality of government to terrorise opposition members and candidates.
Alleged Plot Targets NURTW Members Backing the Alli Campaign
Based on what it called credible intelligence, SSACO alleged that PMS hoodlums are planning attacks on NURTW members supporting the APC, particularly a popular member nicknamed Oyere and his followers.
The organisation claims the group spied on APC members at Senator Alli’s manifesto unveiling at Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall last Tuesday, where the names of NURTW members, especially recent defectors to the APC, were allegedly listed and discussed. It adds that tension was further heightened by the large turnout at the weekly NURTW meeting chaired by Oyere at his office, which drew hundreds of members.
SSACO further alleges that at a meeting convened at the direction of a key member of Governor Makinde’s kitchen cabinet, held around 10pm on Friday, it was agreed that coordinated attacks be unleashed on NURTW members backing the APC. It says the agreement included disrupting their weekly meetings to whittle down the APC support base ahead of the general elections.
Billboard Crackdown: Is Oyo Still Business-Friendly?
The campaign says the state government is also cracking down on billboard owners who rent space to Senator Alli, effectively sending them out of business. Rather than make Oyo State business-friendly, it argues, Governor Makinde and his minions are destroying livelihoods just to stop the APC from campaigning freely.
The destruction of billboards belonging to Senator Alli, the APC governorship candidate, is a setback for our progress as a people and a disincentive to democratic development.
Ahead of 2027: Oyo Election Violence Will Not Stop Voters
SSACO says the fear of rejection at the ballot is haunting Hon. Adekanmbi and his godfather, Governor Makinde. But no amount of intimidation, it insists, will stop the good people of Oyo State from voting for Senator Alli and other APC candidates in the 2027 election. In its view, Oyo deserves a breath of fresh air after seven years of local government paralysis and flip-flopping policies affecting education, health and public service delivery.
Call on Police to Prevent Oyo Election Violence
SSACO has called on the Commissioner of Police and other security chiefs to nip the alleged plan in the bud, noting that Oyo State does not deserve violence from a government that took over in a peaceful atmosphere in 2019.
It also urged the people of Oyo State to hold Governor Makinde and Hon. Adekanmbi responsible for any political violence, saying the actions of their supporters now threaten lives and property in the state.
