Aregbesola, Fadahunsi disagree over violence in Osun

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola

The Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun East Senatorial District, Mr. Francis Fadahunsi, have accused each other of being responsible for the political violence which broke out in Ilase and Ibokun in Obokun Local Government Area of the state on Friday.

The governor, in a statement in Osogbo on Sunday by his media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said that hoodlums suspected to be working for Fadahunsi unleashed terror on members of the All Progressives Congress in Ilase when he (Aregbesola) went to pay homage to the Ilase monarch. Fadahunsi, who is an indigene of the town, is contesting against the candidate of the APC in the senatorial district, Mr. Jide Omoworare.

Aregbesola condemned the alleged attack on the APC members and said a female member of the ruling party in the state survived the attack but had one of her ears slashed with a machete.

Aregbesola’s statement read, “The governor had gone to Obokun Local Government to campaign for his party and its contestants for various positions when the PDP members attacked the APC members.

“We, as a party, are responsible and peace-loving. We are loved by the people. It is those who do not have electoral value that will attack the same people they ought to patronise for votes.

“We are popular and we are on ground. This people resort to violence, because they know that they don’t have the support of the people.

“We, however, remain undaunted. We will not be cowed by anybody in the state. In the last four years, my government has restored peace to the state. We call on security agencies to be proactive and deal with anyone, whose sole agenda is to cause violence in the state.”

However, Fadahunsi, who spoke to our correspondent through the spokesperson for his campaign organisation, Mr. Sola Olowoye, debunked the governor’s allegation and accused the APC thugs of using the covering of the governor to unleash violence on the PDP members.

Olowoye said, “It is a lie that Fadahunsi sponsored attack against the APC members. Fadahunsi is very popular in the town and this is because he has impacted the lives of the people positively. The APC was seeking to cause trouble in the town because they are aware that their party is not popular there.”