ACN leaders allege intimidation by LP, police

Leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State yesterday accused Governor Olusegun Mimiko of intolerance. They alleged that the ruling Labour Party (LP) and the police have struck a deal to molest opposition figures ahead of the October 20 governorship poll.
The party chieftains, who spoke with reporters in Akure, including former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Wumi Adegbomire, former Commerce and Industry Commissioner, Prince Olu Adegboro, former House of Representatives member, Dr. Jayeola Ajatta and Prof. Agboola Ogunlowo alleged that suspected LP thugs were harassing ACN members and disrupting their meetings.
Adegbomire, an associate of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the Asiwaju of Akureland, attributed the onslaught to the growing popularity of the ACN and its standard bearer, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu. He added that the defection to the opposition party has made the governor jittery.
Adegbomire hailed the people for shunning what he described as “the evil of the Labour Party”, which he said had enslaved the land and misused its resources for political trivialities.
The defunct Action Group (AG), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) chieftain said many people have been cajoled by Mimiko with sweet words, thereby deluding themselves into thinking that the various awards given him were due to good performance.
He added: “If you have performed as you have claimed, why are you afraid of the opposition? The governor is afraid of the opposition because his achievements are fake and unsubstantiated. Where are the roads he has built? Where are the health centres? Where are jobs for the youth? Where are the schools he has built, apart from the over-exaggerated mega schools? Can he tell us how much he has received and how much he has wasted on awards? He will know on October 20 that he is not popular and we cannot be deceived in Ondo State.”
Ajatta condemned the invasion of his street in Ikaramu-Akoko by policemen who scared the people, making the elderly and children to panic.
He said: “Eight police vehicles came to my home and policemen drove recklessly, harassing me, my household and neighbours who identify with the ACN. This is why I will report the incident to the Commissioner of Police. It is terrible. I am a responsible citizen. Before I came into politics, I had made my name. I am an elder in my community. I am a leader in my party. Why should anybody send police to harass me in my home? It is absurd.”
Ajatta said the election would be decided by competence, past performance and record, adding that power shift is the goal of the people.
He added: “Harassment, molestation, repression and intimidation of the opposition cannot work in Ondo. Nobody will run away from anybody. The state belongs to all of us. Instead of providing jobs for our youths, they are turning them into thugs. This will soon stop.”
Prof. Ogunlowo decried the defacement and tearing of ACN posters across the 18 local governments by hired thugs, saying it is the height of intolerance.
He flayed the governor and LP chieftains for being desperate to hold on to power despite the handwriting on the wall that their days are numbered.
The academic said ACN leaders and supporters would not yield to the intimidation of any power monger in the state.
He said: “This is a civilised state. What is required is political tolerance, which is critical to peace and tranquility. The harassment of ACN leaders shows that the ruling party is gripped by the fear that it will lose this election, and indeed, Labour Party will lose the election.”
Former AD Women’s Leader, now an ACN leader, Princess Grace Animola, said the people of the state have realised the error of making an impostor a governor in 2007. She said Mimiko has disappointed the masses.
According to her, the governor has been flaunting markets and bus stops, which are under local governments, as the achievements of his administration.
Animola said: “Who can scare people like us with thugs in this state at this stage of our lives? This strategy of intimidation, attack and psychological assault will not work in a politically-conscious and sophisticated state like Ondo. It is counter-productive. It will not work. It’s a waste of time.”
A party elder, Chief Bankole Ajayi, the Patron of the Egbe Omo Yoruba in the United States, said politics is still backward in Africa and Nigeria because retrogressive elements are in power.

He added: “I have relocated home from the U.S. because of this election. I went round my state and saw the emptiness. Achievements are advertised in the media without concrete proof. I went to the Specialist Hospital in Akure, which was established in 1947 and the x-ray machine was faulty. The hospital was like a market as people were not attended to. The emergency ward was an eyesore. I can’t see the evidence of good governance. This is why this election is crucial.”