- Safiu Kehinde
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed its dismay over the attack on the party’s secretariat and alleged abduction of its members by suspected political thugs.
Aregbesola made this known while addressing members of the party and newsmen at the secretariat of the party in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Tuesday.
Speaking hours after the attack, Aregbesola warned that the parties involved in the attacks are threading a similar path as he recalled how they were also attacked in 2009 but ended up wining the election.
“It is a thing of shame and sadness as Yorubas that we are not giving peace chance to reign in this democratic government.
“In 2009 when we were planning progressives for the state, this was how we were opposed. They blocked all the roads that lead to Ado. Did we take over or not?
“They have also started the same thing now. They’ve embarked on a journey of shame and self-destruct and they will reap the reward of what they are doing.
“If a fish wants to get spoilt, it will start from the head. We know where this attack comes from.
“We are not in a dictatorial regime where they decide on who to lead us. This is a democratic government and we decide who we want as our leader.
“The same way they defied the constitution in 2009 is what they’ve done again now.” He said.
The former Osun state governor disclosed that the assailants had earlier attempted to set the secretariat ablaze before their return to attack members of the party waiting for his arrival.
“This is our premises. They burnt down this place the first time and we reported to the police. Now they came back ten hours later to carry out this attack.
“Now that they have started, we will let them know that this is Ekiti and I’m Ijesha. We were the ones who fought a 16-year battle with those who waged war against us.” He warned.
Prior to his address, one of the ADC Ekiti leaders recounted how the armed hoodlums who he claimed to be over 200 had stormed the secretariat, overpowering the security operatives attached to the complex.
They allegedly fired gunshots at the party supporters and whisked some of them away in a vehicle.
“We were waiting for our leaders from Abuja when we started hearing gunshots.
“The hoodlums who were over 200 were armed with cutlasses and guns.
“They assaulted our members and fired shots at them. Our security team were outnumbered by the assailants who proceeded to destroying all our materials here.
“They damaged our vehicles and motorcycles. They also didn’t stop there.
“Some of our members were also abducted. They were whisked away in a vehicle with their whereabouts currently unknown.” He said.
Former Deputy Governor in the State and ADC chieftain, Prof Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, also condemned the incident, describing it as an act of political terrorism.
He said, “What has happened today (Tuesday) in Ekiti State is what we call political terrorism, and it is quite unfortunate that this is happening in our state. This is against the principle of democracy that we are all preaching.
“We have made reports to the police through the state party chairman and let me say that we are let down by the security agencies because more than two hours after we made reports on the midnight attack on our secretariat, we observed that they were not there to protect the property and the people.”
The ADC is the party where major opposition leaders have moved into with a vow to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 and send the All Progressive Congress out of power.
Weeks ago, leaders of the party were attacked and prevented from holding a rally in Alimosho area of Lagos State.
The party held a successful inauguration of leaders in Kwara state last weekend.
Similar attacks had been reported against the party in Kaduna, Kebbi.