The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has accused supporters of Bimbo Adekanmbi, governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), of vandalising billboards belonging to the Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, in several parts of Ibadan, the state capital.
A statement by SSACO’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, on Tuesday, said billboards featuring Senator Alli and his running mate, Hon. Soji Adedeji, had been vandalised by Adekanmbi’s supporters in Mokola, Sango, Monatan-Olodo Road, Odo-Ona and the Toll Gate-Iwo Road section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, among other locations.
The statement read: “The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation is raising the alarm over the vandalisation of our candidates’ billboards in many parts of Ibadan by supporters of Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, the APM governorship candidate in Oyo State. This came after Senator Alli’s wife and two other APC candidates were attacked in Ibadan last week.
“This sad development once again confirms the fear within the circle of Governor Seyi Makinde and his stooge, Adekanmbi, over the impending loss they will face in the forthcoming election.
“Despite the reality of their potential rejection by the good people of Oyo State in the 2027 elections, there is absolutely no justification for Adekanmbi’s supporters to attack our candidates or vandalise APC candidates’ billboards. It is barbaric and completely unacceptable. Nigerian democracy has gone beyond this barbaric act, and our people are wiser now.
“We warn APM hoodlums to desist from this reprehensible act and refrain from stoking tension in the polity. Oyo State is a peaceful state. Governor Seyi Makinde and Hon. Adekanmbi should immediately call their goons to order. Oyo State does not deserve violence from them.
“We also call on the Commissioner of Police and heads of other security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of this act and ensure they face the wrath of the law. Democracy guarantees every candidate the freedom to campaign in an election, and APC candidates will not surrender this democratic right.
“This latest development also sadly brings to the fore our earlier warning about the APM’s destructive venture in a statement we issued last week.
“Now that they, the APM, have shown that they are a bunch of reckless and lawless individuals with no regard whatsoever for the law, we call on security agencies to immediately swing into action to prevent a recurrence of these acts of vandalism, which are a sad reminder of the dark days of brigandage.”
The SSACO urged all APC members and supporters in Oyo State to remain calm and avoid taking the law into their own hands.
“They should resist provocation by Adekanmbi’s hoodlums, as he who is down fears no fall.
“When elected, Senator Sharafadeen Alli’s governance blueprint, christened Oyo AHEAD, will restore the glory of Oyo State and put our dear state on a faster development path for the benefit of all.”
