The All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate primary election for the Ondo Central Senatorial District turned violent on Monday as some armed youth fired gunshots into the air, creating panic among party members, journalists, and school pupils.
The incident occurred at Ebenezer African Church Primary School, one of the venues for the party’s candidate election for the district.
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Incidentally, the venue is the polling unit of the incumbent senator, Adeniyi Adegbomire.
The exercise was in progress when the armed thugs invaded the primary school and shot into the air repeatedly, forcing party delegates, journalists, teachers and pupils of the school, who were holding classes to scamper for safety.
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The pupils were hurriedly evacuated from the scene as parents returned to pick up their children, fearing they might be hurt in the melee. Some people were seen scaling fences to escape as the situation grew messier.
A former Secretary to the Ondo State Government, Taiwo Fasoranti, a retired military officer and legal practitioner, Olumuyiwa Adu and Mr Adegbomire are vying for the party’s ticket.
Mr Adegbomire told journalists that the exercise was “a complete charade” deliberately orchestrated to prevent his supporters from voting at the unit.
According to him, the troublemakers knew he was leading at the polls and sought to disrupt the process.
“The attackers shot at my vehicle, leaving visible marks,” he said.
Mr Adegbomire recounted that similar incidents were recorded in other voting units across the senatorial district, with political thugs openly intimidating voters at the units and preventing them from voting during the exercise.
“The same thing happened last week, where voters were intimidated during the House of Representatives primaries. Now we are witnessing this again in the Senate. So clearly, it is a pattern, and something has to be done about it,” he said.
Mr Adu, on his part, also dismissed the exercise as a sham, lamenting that armed youth were openly threatening delegates during the exercise.
He said he restrained his supporters from retaliating to avoid violence.
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Mr Adu further stated that no political ambition was worth bloodshed, warning that recurring violence during APC primaries in the state could deepen internal divisions in the party and negatively affect its future electoral fortunes if not checked.
Although officials deny any crisis during the exercise, they reportedly admitted there was a violent disruption during the House of Representatives primaries in Akure when questioned by the media.
There are indications that the senatorial primaries results will be collated and announced in Abuja, as directed by the party’s leadership.
A formal response from the APC leadership to the allegations was still being awaited at the time of filing this report.
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