Ogun LG polls: Labour Party alleges attacks on candidates by APC thugs

As the November 16 local government elections draw closer, the Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has decried incessant attacks on its candidates by suspected political thugs.

The party’s publicity secretary, Tokunbo Peters, disclosed these attacks in a statement obtained by Newspot on Thursday.

Peters stated that the attacks on its candidates vying for chairmanship and councillorship positions across the state’s local governments began on Tuesday, November 12.

According to him, the first attack occurred at Ewekoro Local Government Area, where suspected thugs brutally attacked the chairmanship candidate for the area, Alani Elijah Juwon, and his wife in front of her shop at Ewekoro.

He reported that neighbors and passersby rescued them from the assailants, after which a formal complaint was filed at Itori Police Station.

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Peters lamented that other candidates in Abeokuta South, Obafemi-Owode, and Ogun East were also attacked, injured, and threatened.

He alleged that the attackers were suspected “APC thugs,” noting that Governor Abiodun had previously declared that the opposition was not “on the ground” and boasted that APC would sweep all the polls in Ogun State.

Part of the statement reads: “The first of such attacks occurred on Tuesday, November 12, at Ewekoro Local Government Area, where suspected APC thugs, brandishing cudgels, brutally attacked the Labour Party Chairmanship candidate of Ewekoro Local Government, Honourable Alani Elijah Juwon, and his wife in front of his wife’s shop at Ewekoro.

Honourable Juwon and his wife were rescued from the assailants by the timely intervention of neighbors and passersby, after which he lodged a formal complaint on the incident at Itori Police Station.

“On Wednesday, November 13, the Labour Party Chairman for Abeokuta South Local Government, Honourable Kenny Owolabi, was attacked around the First Bank, Sapon area of Abeokuta. He is currently receiving medical treatment for gunshot wounds suffered in the attack. Before the attack, Honourable Owolabi had earlier been threatened to withdraw from the electoral contest.

“At Obafemi Owode Local Government, suspected APC assailants invaded the residence of Labour Party Chairmanship candidate, Honourable Olufemi Thomas, in the early hours of Thursday, November 14.

“They attempted to break into his apartment, believing he was at home. However, the Labour Party candidate, who has been receiving threats since the start of his campaign, had relocated himself and his family to a secret location. When the assailants discovered the apartment was empty, they left with a warning that he should withdraw from the race.

“Labour Party chairmanship and councillorship candidates in Ogun East have also suffered similar harassment and intimidation. In Ijebu Ode, Odogbolu, and Sagamu Local Government Areas, banners and posters of Labour Party candidates are being torn by suspected APC thugs, while the candidates are being threatened to withdraw from the contest.

“The chairmanship and councillorship candidates in Ijebu Ode and Sagamu Local Government Areas have had to cancel their campaign rallies three times due to security concerns.

“The leadership of the Labour Party in Ogun State recalls that Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun previously declared that the opposition was not on the ground in Ogun State and boasted that APC would sweep all the polls.

“The Labour Party, therefore, views this wave of attacks on its candidates as an attempt by the ruling APC government to silence the Labour Party, which is the main opposition in the state, into submission and possibly withdrawal from the election. However, the Labour Party will not be cowed or deterred by these despicable attacks and anti-democratic tendencies of the ruling party.”

The leadership of the party called on all security agencies in the state to provide watertight security at polling units and collation centers for Saturday’s election.

When contacted for a reaction, APC’s publicity secretary, Tunde Oladunjoy, said they were too busy to respond to a “barely existing” party.

He said, “Which party? Please, I have better things to do than respond to a barely existing Labour Party.”