The candidates of the Labour Party vying for the chairmanship and councillorship positions in the Ogun State local council election, yesterday, said they have suffered a series of brutal attacks from people suspected to be political thugs allegedly hired by the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

The Publicity Secretary of the party, Tokunbo Peters, who spoke against the backdrop of series of attacks on the opposition party in the state capital, said that the first of such attacks occurred on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at Ewekoro Local Council where suspected thugs, brandishing cudgels with other dangerous weapons brutally attacked the LP chairmanship candidate of Ewekoro Local Council, Alani Elijah Juwon, and his wife in front of his wife’s shop at Ewekoro, but were rescued by the timely intervention of neighbours and passersby.

He said that another incident occurred when the LP chairmanship candidate for Abeokuta South Local Council, Kenny Owolabi, was attacked around First Bank, Sapon area of Abeokuta, and was shot on the leg and still receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that Owolabi had earlier been threatened to withdraw from the electoral contest. Peters, who said that at Obafemi Owode Local Council, suspected thugs invaded the residence of the LP chairmanship candidate, Olufemi Thomas, yesterday, noted that the LP’s candidates in Ogun East have also suffered similar harassment and intimidation.

He said that the LP views this wave of attacks on its candidates as an attempt to silence the party, which is the main opposition in the state, into submission and possibly withdrawal from the election.

“Election is not a do-or-die affair. If a party or candidate is unpopular, it will be rejected by the electorate at the poll,” he said.The leadership of the party in the state, therefore, urged the police, DSS and all other security agencies in the state to provide water-tight security at the polling units and collation centres for the election.

According to the party, they should protect all candidates, polling unit agents, collation agents and the electorate from harassment and intimidation before, during and after the election.

It also called on state electoral umpire, Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) and all concerned authorities to be aware of the development.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government has declared Friday, November 15, 2024, a work-free day for all civil servants in the state. This announcement was made known in a circular, yesterday, and signed by the Head of Service, Kehinde Onasanya.

According to the circular, Governor Dapo Abiodun approved the public day to enable civil servants to participate fully in the forthcoming council elections, scheduled to be held across the state’s 20 local councils and 237 wards.