Ondo LG Election: Residents Alleges Intimidation, Violence In Akoko North-West

The local government election held in Ondo State on Saturday was overshadowed by violence in Ajowa-Akoko, located within the Akoko North-West Local Government Area.

Reports revealed that there was unrest in the Ajowa community reportedly triggered by an attempt to coerce voters, predominantly affiliated with the All Progressives Congress (APC), into supporting an opposition candidate.

According to Daily Post, a source, who identified himself as Sesan, alleged that a minister from the state was orchestrating this anti-party initiative. He claimed that the minister utilized his position to enlist security personnel who reportedly interfered with the electoral process.

Sesan noted that the turmoil erupted specifically in Ward 5 when an APC leader, acting under the minister’s directive, instructed voters to refrain from supporting the councillorship candidate, named Toye, and instead to back an opposition contender.

During the upheaval, irate residents, including youths and women, blocked access to the town with various objects and set bonfires.

As numerous individuals sustained injuries, security forces responded by deploying teargas against the residents who were protesting the situation, yet the community remained resolute in their determination to protect their electoral rights.

“Akoko North-West belongs to all of us, and we must resist any attempt to turn it into a theatre of personal vendettas and political hegemony. The use of state machinery to disrupt elections and intimidate party members is a gross abuse of power that must not go unchallenged.

“We are calling on the appropriate authorities to immediately investigate the minister’s anti-party activities and his role in the violence and disruptions in Ajowa Ward 5. Evidence of his involvement is available and will be presented to support this call for justice,” another source said.

Also, the former special adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on special duties, Gani Muhammed Ajowa, stated: “The minister was blamed for working against the political party that made him. He provided money and deployed operatives of a department of the ministry he superintended as a minister.”