As the preparations for August 15 governorship poll in Osun gather momentum, the campaign councils of Governor Ademola Adeleke and its major contender in the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Friday disagreed over the alleged destruction of billboards belonging to Adeleke in some parts of the state.

While the spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council (TICC), Pelumi Olajengbesi accused APC members of perpetrating coordinated destruction of Adeleke’s billboards, the head, media, publicity committee of APC governorship campaign council, Remi Omowaiye dismissed the allegation as self vandalism and diversionary politics.

A statement by Olajengbesi alerted the the Inspector General of Police, security agencies, civil society organizations, election observers, and the international community to what he termed growing pattern of politically motivated violence and coordinated vandalism being unleashed across Osun State by desperate elements linked to the Osun APC.

According to the statement, “in the early hours of Friday, billboards belonging to the Imole Campaign and the ACCORD were vandalized and destroyed across several parts of Osun State, including Irewole, Ayedaade, Ife, Irepodun, Oriade and Osogbo Local Governments.”

Olajengbesi further disclosed that the vandalisation of the billboards was allegedly coordinated by a notorious thug aided by some compromised security operatives who supervised or looked away while these criminal acts were carried out.

He stated, “The people of Osun State must begin to pay close attention to the desperation currently consuming the Osun APC. Having failed to inspire the people with any meaningful agenda or alternative vision for governance, and being overwhelmed by the massive acceptance Governor Ademola Adeleke continues to enjoy across the state, the APC and its operatives now appear determined to embrace intimidation, violence, destruction of opposition materials, and fear tactics as a political strategy.

“This is not ordinary politics. This is a direct threat to democratic engagement, political freedom, and peaceful participation in the electoral process.
We therefore call on the Inspector General of Police to immediately order a full investigation into these coordinated attacks and ensure that all persons involved, including their sponsors and collaborators, are identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law, “Olajengbesi asserted.

However, while dismissing Olajengbesi’s accusation as an act of self vandalism, Omowaiye contended the development was aimed at diverting the attention of the public over the alleged investigation of Adeleke’s Chief of Staff, Kazeem Akinleye and Osun State Accountant-General, Mr Rasheed Olawale Alabi, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a statement forwarded to journalists, Omowaiye described the allegation as false, baseless, and a desperate attempt to “hang a dog in order to give it a bad name.”

He stated that “it is the campaign billboards and promotional materials of our governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), that have suffered relentless destruction at the hands of political thugs visibly linked to the Osun State Government and its sanguinary Accord Party.

“This latest falsehood, self-vandalizing billboard and turning around to blame our party, is another diversionary tactic from the coven of economic buccaneers feeding fat on the resources of Osun State, whose sole objective is to distract public attention from the monumental failures and corruption allegations trailing the Adeleke administration,” Omowaiye remarked.