Congress Turns Bloody in Ondo

The All Progressives Congress (APC) local government congress at Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State turned bloody at the weekend leading to injuries on several persons.

The injured included the former lawmaker, representing the area at the House of Assembly, Hon. Afolabi Iwalewa, and the current Caretaker Chairman of the local government area, Prince Gbadebo Odimayo.

Iwalewa in a telephone interview told journalists that trouble started when the leader of the party allegedly  led some hoodlums to the venue of the congress.

According to him, members of the party in the local government had assembled at the party secretariat for the exercise, waiting for the officials and party leaders but most of the members were disappointed when they learnt that the congress would not hold.

Iwalewa said some leaders of the party in the local government area, insisted that the current executives of the party at the local government level should continue in that capacity while we wanted a congress to usher in new leaders.

“They invaded the party secretariat with hoodlums numbering 30 and started shooting sporadically into the air to scare away people while some people were matchetted and beaten to coma.

The former lawmaker said he ran into the chairman office’s and they came out together after the caretaker chairman had called the security agents, but said the presence of the security operatives could not save him as the hoodlums descended on him and inflicted injuries on him.

He, however, said he was rescued by the policeman and taken away from the scene of the incident with the police Hilux van.

The Caretaker Chairman,  Odimayo, corroborated Iwalewa’s,  pointing towards Igbasan as the mastermind of the violence during the congress in the local government area, saying Igbasan and his team were indisposed to conducting a congress.

Odimayo said he was not in support of the leader and his group to allow the current executives to continue since there was no directive to the effect.

He, however, said he left the place unhurt  because “most of the thugs knew him and could not beat him but warned him to leave the venue immediately but said “my special Assistant was critically lying in the hospital, while a supervisor in the local government was also beaten to coma.”

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