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Tag: ACN

  • Erijiyan-Ekiti killing: Police invite ACN chair

    •Party insists PDP is responsible

    The police have invited the Ekiti State Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Jide Awe, over the killing of a man.

    Mr. Ayodele Jeje was killed last Saturday in Erijiyan-Ekiti, Ekiti West Local Government Area.

    Police spokesman Victor Olu-Babayemi said Awe was summoned “only to explain his reported involvement in the alleged murder”.

    He said: “Mr. Jide Awe was invited to find out his role in the killing in Erinjiyan-Ekiti at the weekend.”

    But ACN has denied any involvement in Jeje’s murder.

    Speaking with reporters over the phone, Awe said: “Jeje was killed when two factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashed in the town. The police will have to find out why PDP chose to kill one of its members.”

    He said the arrowhead of the incident is a Lagos State resident who came to the town on Friday.

    Awe said: “On good Friday, two brothers started distributing handbills in respect of 1,000 ACN members which they said would be defecting to the PDP.

    “Around 8pm, some people started shooting until the following morning, which was a Saturday. Around 6am, I phoned the officer in charge of the police station in Erijiyan, who responded almost immediately.

    “I asked him whether he had been in town since Friday night when the shooting started. He affirmed and said he thought it was a display of fireworks and that he had prepared his brief to his boss at Aramoko (the DPO).

    “On Saturday, around 11:30 pm, sporadic shooting started again. I phoned the inspector again as I was in town for the Easter celebration and the inspector confirmed that they were gunshots, adding that he narrowly escaped being shot.

    “Unfortunately, that man (Jeje) stays in front of his house. The ACN has no hand in the incident and would not be part of such. Unfortunately, the man was part of those expected to defect to PDP on Sunday.”

     

  • 2015: ACN control of Southwest is setback for PDP, says secret memo

    2015: ACN control of Southwest is setback for PDP, says secret memo

    •Party leaders demand heavy patronage from Fed Govt to dislodge ACN

     

    Barely two years after the loss of the Southwest, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)is still in dilemma on how to wrest power from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    Some PDP leaders have told Governor Ibrahim Shema’s peace panel that the control of the Southwest by the ACN has dampened the morale of members of the party.

    They said to regain any state in 2014 or 2015, PDP members in the zone need heavy patronage from the Federal Government.

    But, in one of the secret memos to the peace panel, the party chiefs claimed that there appears to be no hope for PDP because of the crisis in Ogun State which led to the removal of three members of the National Working Committee.

    The sacked members are ex-National Secretary Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; ex-National Vice-Chairman (Southwest),Segun Oni and a former National Auditor, Chief Bode Mustapha.

    The panel had been looking into the problems facing PDP in the Southwest and how to dislodge the ACN.

    But some of the memos said regaining the Southwest is herculean.

    The memo reads in part:” Today, the threats of the opposition in making dangerous incursions into the PDP in the zone are real, as a result of several factors, including the subject under reference which has brought about great disenchantment among PDP members in the zone.

    “Quite naturally, the loss of PDP governments in the last elections to the Action Congress of Nigeria in five out of the six states in the Southwest zone dampened the morale of members of our party in the zone.

    “I must also state that the losses suffered by our party could be ascribed largely to internal struggles for political offices and positions, particularly the feverish struggle by the governorship aspirants which split PDP down the line.

    “Whoever has bothered to study the pattern of reaction of the electorate in the South-west would agree that the zone is inhabited by independent-minded people, whose reactions to political issues are determined by several factors, including the high level of education and political sophistry, as well as their reactions to matters pertaining to their political leaders and environment.”

    They claimed that the recent removal of three NWC members is a setback for the anti-ACN project.

    The memo added: “ It is to be noted that the leadership of the PDP in the Southwest came on the scene with a very strong determination to evolve a drastic change, inspiring new political aims and aspirations, and a change that would earn our Party the control of the Governments of the Southwest states from 2014, when governorship elections are scheduled to hold in Osun and Ekiti states.

    “I am convinced that Southwest PDP, within the relatively short period of His Excellency, Segun Oni’s leadership, did everything possible to provide a responsible leadership that guaranteed an enlightened followership and which did everything possible to bring about the unity of members of the PDP in the zone.

    “I would say, with every sincerity that the Southwest PDP was, until Oni’s removal, led with every sincerity and purposefulness that allowed us to plan and strategise effectively to neutralise the opposition and their antics.”

    The leaders asked for huge political patronage to be able to check ACN.

    The memo said: “ From available indications, one issue that has been of great concern to the supporters of our great Party has been that of political patronage.

    “Several times, they have canvassed the feeling that the zone is not adequately catered for in the distribution of political offices at the national level.

    “I must state that the absence of PDP governments in the Southwest states must have naturally narrowed down the level of patronage which could have been supplemented by political appointments in the states and local governments. The situation could be said to have increased dependence on the Federal Government and by implication, its responsibilities and prerogatives.

    “Those of us in leadership positions made sure to impress it on our political followers that PDP at the national level would do everything possible, within reasonable limits, to satisfy the aspirations and support of the PDP in the Southwest zone for the national leadership of our great Party.

    “We could still do this by catering for diverse interests by tilting appointments at the federal level generally, in favour of the Southwest zone, which is generally believed to be disadvantaged at the moment.

    “The incidents treated in this compilation are very strong factors that cannot in any way be divorced from heightened fears of irrelevance and negative feelings nursed by a considerable number of members of the PDP in the zone.”

     

  • Public debate: ACN welcomes Amaechi’s challenge

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rivers State chapter, has described as a welcome development, the public debate challenge by Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    The ACN in Rivers, through its Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam, yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, stated that the debate should be anchored by either the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) or the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

    Rivers, main opposition party said: “We feel delighted that the Rivers State governor has at last accepted to be joined in a public debate, a forum we have over the years advocated.

    “We commend the governor for taking, even though that long, the bold step in offering himself for the public debate, but we wonder why officials of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shy away from engaging in such forum, giving the impression that there are skeletons in their cupboards.

    “The beauty of democracy is about the availability of the leaders to the people and the people always having access to their leaders and resources in terms of knowledge and making decision on the utilisation of the resources.

    “The leaders function as custodians and managers of the peoples’ resources and are bound to at all times report and give explanations of their activities to the people.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • ACN flags off LG campaign, as Oba of Benin prays for peace

    ACN flags off LG campaign, as Oba of Benin prays for peace

    Ahead of the April 20, 2013 Local Government Election in Edo State, the Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa, has urged chairmanship and councillorship candidates to go about their campaigns peacefully in order to sustain the prevailing peace in the state.

    The Oba’s advise came as the senator representing Edo South Senatorial District of the state, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, urged members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to vote massively for the party in the forthcoming election, so as to replicate the developmental success of Governor Adams Oshiomhole at the grassroots.

    Also the state deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, has charged the people of Orede to repeat the feat extended to comrade Adams Oshiomhole in the July 14, 2012 Governorship Election to Hon. Osaro Obazee come April 20, 2013.

    A chieftain of the ACN in Edo South, Elder Sunny Uyigue, has cautioned members of the party to be vigilant, alleging plans by some aggrieved members of the party to vote against the party, particularly in Ovia North East.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ACN attacks PDP, INEC over APC

    ACN attacks PDP, INEC over APC

    •‘Electoral agency insincere’
    •‘INEC has only intent letter’

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday took on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) amid the battle to register the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The AC N accused INEC of “engaging in bare-faced lies and manipulation of fact by claiming that the platform African Peoples Congress has applied to the commission for registration”.

    The electoral agency confirmed the existence of a proposal for registration from the African Peoples Congress (APC).

    The ACN said yesterday in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that it had it “on good authority that a top official of INEC has boasted that the emergence of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) will be frustrated at all costs”.

    “Also, while the PDP has been quick to say it is not bothered by the coming together of the progressive forces, it has been having sleepless nights and working round the clock to devise measures to sabotage the merger.

    “The plan to set up the phantom African Peoples Congress to create an acronym war is just a tip of the iceberg. In the days ahead, Nigerians should watch out for more devilish plans by the PDP. But we are comforted by the fact that the forces of darkness have never prevailed over the forces of light”.

    An official of the Political Party Monitoring and Lianson Office, who is believed to be eyeing INEC secretary, is said to be working for the PDP in a “desperate bid” to scuttle APC’s registration.

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, also yesterday, urged INEC to register APC or have its image rubbished.

    Oshiomhole, who was elected on the platform of the AC N, one of the three major parties that merged to form the APC – the others being the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – told reporters at the State House in Abuja that it is the right of political parties to merge.

    He said: “We have merged to form the All Progressives Congress; so, if people chose to trivialise it, it is up to them.

    “I know that INEC will register the APC because if they don’t, they will leave themselves open to accusation. Everybody knows this has been on the national discourse war at a period; it is not a new issue.

    “If people want to play these cheap games, first it shows that they are panicky and I don’t see any reason why people should be panic.

    “In a genuine democracy, it is in our interest, those in power and those out of power, to create viable alternative platform for people to make an informed choice. No party is too good to rule forever, nor is any party too bad to be out of power forever.

    “We have seen what is happening around the African continent. Nigeria must live by example in many respects. And if for some people, these are things to trivialise, it is not about me; it is not about you. A political party is not indigeneship; it is a platform of ideas. It is about Nigeria”, He said.

    The ACN said the INEC claim, as articulated by Mr. Kayode Idowu, the spokesman for INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, is not supported by the relevant sections of the Electoral Act regulating the registration of a political party.

    It said no party today with the acronym APC has applied to INEC to be registered, adding that even “the phantom African Peoples Congress – which is being sponsored by the PDP to lay claim to the acronym – has only written a letter of intent, which has not even been discussed by INEC, let alone the commission taking any decision on it.

    ‘’The statement credited to Mr. Idowu is therefore reckless and provocative and clearly betrays INEC as truly having merged with the PDP to frustrate the merger of the progressives under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC). One wonders who the spokesman is speaking for and what interest he represents. He should therefore be called to order before he sets the country ablaze,’’ the ACN said.

    The party said in order to debunk INEC’s claim that the phantom African Peoples Congress has applied for registration, it is calling the attention of all the good people of Nigeria to the sections of the Electoral Act that are relevant to party registration:

    – Part V Political Parties of the Electoral Act, Section 78 (1) says: “A political association that complies with the provision of the Constitution and this Act for the purposes of registration shall be registered as a political party, provided that such application shall be duly submitted to the Commission not later than 6 months before a general election.”

    – Section 78 (2) which says: “The Commission shall on receipt of the documents in fulfilment of the conditions stipulated by the Constitution immediately issue the applicant with a letter of acknowledgement stating that all necessary documents have been submitted to the Commission”

    The ACN said: ‘’In this case, the applicants on behalf of the phantom African Peoples Congress, the clients of Legal World Chambers, have not submitted any of the documents stipulated by the Constitution to the Commission. They have only written a letter of intent and therefore INEC could not have issued them any letter of acknowledgment, let alone starting the process of verifying the documents

    ‘’At this point, they cannot even be regarded as applicants. Why then did INEC through its spokesperson gleefully go to the media to proclaim that another political association has applied to be registered as African Peoples Congress using the same acronym APC?.

    “Clearly INEC is on a mission of mischief and its paymaster is PDP which has been having sleepless nights since the merger arrangement was announced.’’

    The party also called attention to Section 78 (6) of the Electoral Act, which says: “An application for registration as a political party shall not be processed unless there is evidence of payment of administrative fee as may be fixed from time to time by the Commission”

    The ACN said it is aware that the applicants in question have not even paid any administrative fees and therefore INEC could not have commenced processing their application, because there is no application before INEC as they have only written a letter of intent.”

    To the ACN, the INEC spokesperson who announced that another political association has applied to be registered as APC is misleading Nigerians.

    “He should immediately be called to order before he sets the country ablaze,’’ the party said.

    It said what has emerged over the registration issue is that INEC is in cahoots with the PDP to stampede the merging parties to commit errors and also intimidate them to drop the acronym APC, adding however: ‘’This has failed because as of today in accordance with the provisions of S. 78 (2) and S. 78 (6) of the Electoral Act as explained above, there is no applicant on record for the acronym APC, contrary to the deceit being spread by the INEC spokesman.

    The ACN also alerted Nigerians to the fact that INEC has had a constructive knowledge of the merger plan and the existence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for a long time, going by statements credited to the INEC spokesman.

    On February 17th 2013, Mr. Idowu was quoted to have said, in a news story in The Punch of that date, that the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) remained a political association, even though it is yet to be recognised by the commission.

    “By law, we do not expect APC to come to INEC. The political parties that are fusing into another party will individually and respectively come back to INEC, notifying us that they are fusing into a party with a new identity,’’ the ACN quoted Mr. Idowu to have said told the newspaper.

    ‘’The same Idowu also told TVC news on February 8 that INEC was expecting the leadership of the All Progressives’ Congress to apply for formal documentation. With these statements, it is clear that INEC has always had a constructive knowledge of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) since the merger plan started, and that the emerging party did not have to do anything until all the component parties have held their conventions and ratified the constitution, manifesto and logo of the APC.

    ‘’We are therefore using this medium to assure the millions of our supporters within and outside Nigeria that there is no cause for alarm. The merger process is on course. The All Progressives’ Congress that is the legitimate people’s APC will berth safely and deliver Nigerians from the oppressive yoke of the PDP.

    ‘’We also wish to seize this opportunity to thank the thousands of concerned Nigerians who through text messages and emails have overwhelmed us with their advice and words of encouragement in the last two days.

    Your support have been invaluable to us and we shall not let you down,’’ the party said.

    The Lagos chapter of the ACN said Jega should quit having displayed partisanship.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary Joe Igbokwe, it said: “Lagos ACN therefore calls on Jega and his INEC leadership to resign or get sacked for falling so short of the impartial expectation of an INEC leadership. We urge Nigerians to step up the pressure to free INEC rotten leadership of Jega and the present INEC leadership. We must step up our demand that an independent and competent, non-partisan INEC leadership be empaneled by the NJC for the purpose of organising elections in Nigeria.

    “We must express our disapproval of an INEC leadership made up of card-carrying members of PDP, who are sworn to the protection and promotion of the PDP interests as the Jega leadership is presently committed to. We charge the members, supporters and sympathisers of Nigeria to be on their guards as the PDP/INEC plots fully unfold and be prepared to engage in mass actions necessary to secure an INEC that is not beholden to the guiles and antics of the PDP in its quest for limitless but irresponsible power.”

    The statement added: “We are shocked that the Jega-led INEC should indulge in such brazen, dirty and inordinate tricks as stealing in a fraudulent registration for a shadowy political party for the purpose of denying the APC its just registration.

    “We are peeved that such callous act is being perpetrated by the INEC leadership in contrivance with the PDP for the sole purpose of furthering the selfish, narrow and pristine interests of the PDP. This has sent an early warning signals that the Jega INEC is bent on once again, manipulating the coming election in favour of the PDP without regard to the feelings of the generality of long-suffering Nigerians.”

     

  • ACN decries mass sack in Ondo councils

    ACN decries mass sack in Ondo councils

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State yesterday decried the sack of over 6,000 local government workers.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Agbede, ACN said: “This latest act is in furtherance of the onslaught on the workforce by the Governor Olusegun Mimiko administration, which started after the October 20, last year, governorship election.

    “It is unfortunate that the Labour Party (LP) administration, which owes much of its purported victory at the poll to workers, could unleash a reign of terror on them barely three months after the election.

    “The LP administration has once again manifested its insensitivity to the plight of the people. It is ironic that a government that refused to employ people is sacking workers without considering the effect on their families.”

    The party’s state executive is on a tour of councils in the South Senatorial District.

    The tour is aimed at repositioning the party for future challenges.

  • ACN to Jonathan: Borno,Yobe visit a failure

    ACN to Jonathan: Borno,Yobe visit a failure

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday picked holes in President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to the amnesty request for members of the Boko Haram sect during his last week’s visit to Borno and Yobe states.

    The opposition party said the tactless handling of the crisis has aggravated the insurgency that has claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent Nigerians and foreign nationals.

    In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said while the decision to grant amnesty to any person or group is the prerogative of the government, the argument advanced by the President for denying amnesty to Boko Haram members is as illogical as it is puerile.

    It said for a President who has unwisely stayed away from the beleaguered part of the country for too long, last week’s visit only succeeded in inflicting additional pain and insults on the victims of the insurgency, who could have used a little dose of succour and empathy from their leader.

    The party said: ‘’There is no doubt that there has been an upsurge in attacks and killings since the President’s visit, with the clashes between the JTF and the insurgents leaving many dead, drive-by shooting in Kano claiming the lives of innocent people and the unfortunate killing of foreign hostages who were abducted last month in Bauchi.

    ‘’If this upsurge can be used as a barometer to measure the success or otherwise of the President’s visit, then one can only reach one conclusion: The visit is a total failure!’’ ACN said.

    The party also expressed shock at the way the President, openly displaying anger when what was needed was temperance, talked down on the people, who have suffered so much in the hands of Boko Haram, at his town hall meetings.

    It said the misplaced anger of the nation’s number one citizen, who virtually tongue-lashed the prominent citizens who spoke on behalf of their people at the town hall meeting, can only attract sympathy for the insurgents among the beleaguered population, thereby worsening the crisis.

    It went on: ‘’The President wanted to appear tough in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgents. There is no problem with that, except that he directed his anger at the wrong people, the same people who have been victimized by Boko Haram. This is called double whammy,’’ On the President’s argument that amnesty cannot be granted to ‘’ghosts’’, CAN said he simply missed the mark.

    ‘’If the President claims that Boko Haram members are ghosts, who then are the members of Boko Haram that the JTF regularly claims to have arrested or killed? Does it mean the 52 Boko Haram members that the JTF claimed to have killed, in its latest statement dated March 9, are actually ghosts?

    ‘’What about the Boko Haram members that are being tried in court? Could the government have been trying ghosts?

    And what about those Boko Haram members who were declared wanted last year? Are they also ghosts? Also, the government’s spokesmen have said publicly that the government is talking with Boko Haram through back-channels.

    So, the Jonathan Administration has indeed been talking to ghosts?

    ‘’Mr. President, there is nowhere in the world where insurgents have erected a headquarters building and put up a sign to say ‘we are insurgents, come and get us.’ By their nature, insurgents don’t engage in a march past, displaying their weapons. That is why intermediaries are used to reach out to them,’’ the party said.

    ACN said while it strongly condemns the Boko Haram insurgents, their senseless killing of innocent people and attacks on the security agents, it believes that the use of force is not the only option open to the government to end the crisis.

  • Offa rerun: ACN candidate accuses PDP of foul tactics

    Ousted Offa Local Government Chairman, Prince Saheed Popoola, has denied what he called ‘the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-sponsored rumour’ that he is not taking part in the forthcoming rerun.

    The appeal tribunal has ordered a rerun in the ACN-controlled council following a petition by the PDP that it was not duly notified of the by-election that produced Popoola as the executive chairman.

    Popoola said in a statement he issued in Offa yesterday that the PDP had been enmeshed in plots since the court ruling to gain unfair advantage in the election, including spreading rumour of his withdrawal from the race.

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to some dirty tactics our opponents are devising to, by all foul means, gain control of the Offa Local Government as the rerun draws near.

    “One of the tactics is the rumour being spread that I have withdrawn from the forthcoming rerun. We wish to inform our supporters and Offa people that this is not true and should be ignored. It is the cowardly handiwork of the PDP. I remain a candidate of the ACN. Members and leaders of the party stood by me throughout the legal struggle.

    “We are also aware of their other evil plans to ensure I do not participate in the election, especially after overtures to make me dump my party for the PDP have failed. This evil plan will also crumble, God willing, because democracy is about free choice and does not thrive in an atmosphere of intimidation or blackmail.

    “We urge our supporters and lovers of democracy to be vigilant as the rerun draws near. Our opponents are desperate politicians, who would resort to any tactics, however foul, immoral or illegal, to deny Offa people their right to a free choice.”

     

  • ACN, ANPP condemn insecurity

    ACN, ANPP condemn insecurity

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) yesterday expressed shock at the killing of Kwara State Commissioner of Police Chinwike Asadu.

    In seperate reactions by their spokesmen, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Emma Eneukwu respectively, the parties accused the Federal Government of not doing enough to protect lives and properties.

    The ACN described the death of the police chief as a reinforcement of its belief that ‘Nigeria is fast becoming a failed state.’

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said if such a high ranking security officer can be so cheaply gunned down, no one is safe.

    It called on the police high command to ensure that the killers are apprehended and brought to justice to prevent a recurrence.

    Stating why it is imperative to arrest the perpetrators and bring the full weight of the law to bear on them, the ACN said nothing portrays a nation as a failed state more than when security agents, on whose shoulders lie the responsibility of protecting lives and property, themselves become easy targets for criminals.

    The party said: ‘’Because of their onerous tasks, the police personnel and other security agents deserve a reinforced level of security.

    “They need to be alive and well before they can protect the lives and property of others. That is why one of the indices of a failed state is anarchy, which starts when security agents become targets of attacks and criminal elements overwhelm state security apparatus

    ‘’Attacks on police and military formations; killing of security agents; out-of-control armed robbery and pervasive kidnapping just to mention a few of the security challenges facing our nation are pointers to the fact that our country is fast becoming a failed state, irrespective of what government apologists may say or the spin they may put on things.

    ‘’No one is happy to have his/her country labelled a failed state. But the truth of the matter is that Nigeria of today is exhibiting all the indices of a failed state, whether it is group grievance, economic decline or worsening public services.

    “That is why Nigeria has consistently been in the top 20, since 2009, of the failed states rankings – in the same class as Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Chad, just to name a few.

    ‘’Much as we have all concentrated on the Boko Haram insurgence, the truth is that the spike in violent crimes, the ease with which kidnappers operate at the time and place of their choosing and rising cases of unresolved assassinations are equally, if not more, terrible, and will push us up the rankings among failed states if nothing is done urgently to check the developments.’’

    The party urged the Federal Government to utilise the energy, which it has allegedly been wasting on dismissing those calling Nigeria a failed state, to improve the security and welfare of the citizenry, and address age-long injustices and absence of governance in many parts of the country.

     

  • ACN, group accuse Ladoja of playing dirty politics

    ACN, group accuse Ladoja of playing dirty politics

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State yesterday said the inaction of some former governors gave Oyo the image of the dirtiest state in Nigeria.

    It accused former Governor Rashidi Ladoja of playing “dirty politics” with the urban renewal programme of the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration.

    Ladoja had accused the government of insensitivity in the demolition of shops, adding that it should have provided alternative markets before the demolition.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kolawole, ACN condemned Ladoja’s criticism.

    It said: “The example of the Bola Ige administration given by Ladoja was self-serving and inappropriate because the late Cicero relocated an entire market to Gbagi.

    “What the Ajimobi admiinistration is combating is street trading and erection of shops by the roadside, which have had grievous effects on our people. Often times, vehicles veer off and kill them. The shops are often built on drains and canals and these lead to flood.

    “If Ladoja is comfortable with our people trading under the Molete Bridge with its attendant dangers to their lives, we are not. Ajimobi moved them to the Scout Camp where about 2,000 decent markets are available for them. Those trading by the roadside in Challenge, Oke Ado, Bode and Idi Arere also benefited from the Scout Camp market.

    “Ajimobo has provided an auto mart at NITEL in Molete for those selling cars indiscriminately at Oke Ado. For those displaced at Gate, Loyola, Sawmill, Onipepeye and Iwo Road, he provided a market on the NITEL/Old Ife road. He provided the Plank Market at Ajoda for those relocated from the Saw Mill area.

    “For those formerly at Sango/UI, Oremeji, Poly Road, the Trade Fair Complex was provided to take care of them. For those at Agbeni/Ogunpa, Labaowo and Akilapa, the government has provided the Olorunsogo (SAWIA) alternative.

    “We challenge Ladoja to name the market he built during his inglorious term. What alternative did he provide for the church and construction company he demolished on Ring Road?

    “What alternative did he provide when he demolished shops at Orita Aperin-Adesola, Orita Aperin-Elekuro, Orita Aperin-Adekile and Academy Under-Bridge?

    “Oyo State has gone beyond the dirty politics that threw up Ladoja and his cohorts. Our people remember his administration as laid-back with zero initiative.”

    Also yesterday, a group, the Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation (AGF), condemned Ladoja’s “statement” that the Ajimobi administration should not attempt to rig the forthcoming council election.

    AGF Coordinator Alhaji Bello Folawiyo said the statement should not have come from a man whose party (Accord) enjoys “largesse” from the Ajimobi administration.

    He wondered why somebody the governor holds in high esteem would utter such “a reckless statement”, which he said is capable of disturbing the peace in the state.

    Folawiyo urged Ladoja to desist from “cheap blackmail” and face the numerous challenges facing him and his party.