Ondo APC Threatens Factional Group as Leader Dares Arrest

James Sowole in Akure

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State yesterday cautioned a factional group of the party to desist from alleged activities capable of causing crises in the state or be ready to face wrath of the law.

The APC gave the warning in a statement signed by the party’s Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro.

Otaloro said the party noted with concern the actions of the leaders of a political group who have constituted themselves as threat to public order and democracy.

He alleged that one Idowu Otetubi is going around disrupting peace and laying claim to the chairmanship of the party.

“Let it be noted that one Idowu Otetubi is the leader of a group going round disrupting the public peace and laying claim to the chairmanship position of our great party, the APC, in the state.

“For the record, this Otetubi is an interloper as he is not known to our party. His name is not in any of our party register, not even in Ward 7 in the Akure South Local Government Area, where he claimed to belong” he said.

Otaloro said Otetubi was notoriously known to be crisscrossing from one political party to another yet still a registered member of the PDP.

“ It is on record that when our party had its state congress, it was reported that the Otetubi’s group was also conducting a parallel congress in a hidden location in the state capital, which later erupted into a serous fracas, with the innocent journalists invited to cover the event serious wounded.

“This same scenario is repeating itself as our party is preparing for the local council election and the general elections. This group which has been taciturn and inactive since our party’s congress had suddenly woken up from its slumber and parading fictitious names of APC members for the forthcoming local government election in Ondo State.

“This time around, we will not allow such things to happen again. We are going to do everything humanly possible to protect our good name, unlike when we were held responsible for their violent actions that disrupted public peace, whereas, we knew nothing about it.

“We are going to do everything possible to defend our party’s name in the face of abuse and threat to any of our members or in case of breach of public peace.

“We are calling on the Police, the DSS and other security agencies to ensure that this violent prone political group’s activities is checked once and for all, especially, as the December 1, 2018, election is fast approaching”, Otaloro said.

Reacting swiftly, Otetubi said he remained the authentic chairman of the APC in Ondo State.

The factional chairman said more than 70 per cent of the party memberships were on his side expressing the hope that his group will win at the end of the day.

Otetubi dared the planned arrest vowing that if that is done, the entire 70 per cent of party members in his group would come out.

He said the Ade Adetimehin’s faction should wait for the verdict of the court adding that his (Otetubi) group would be recognised