The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has called for an investigation into the shooting that occurred during a rally at its secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, even as it says the hands of the government of Ayodele Fayose are not clean in the incident.
A former member of the House of Representatives, Opeyemi Bamidele, and another member of the APC were hit Friday by bullets shot from the gun of a mobile police personnel at the rally.
The flag-off rally was supposed to signal the beginning of the campaign of the APC governorship candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, ahead of the July 14 election, before it turned sour.
The police had disclosed that the personnel who fired the shot was on an illegal duty and had already been apprehended and detained.
The APC Chairman in the state, Mr Jide Awe, however, insisted that there was more to the shooting than the opinion of accidental discharge held in some quarters.
He questioned why the supposed accidental shooting had to take place close to their governorship candidate and hit Mr Bamidele whom he said was walking with Fayemi.
Mr Awe challenged the police to unravel the circumstances around the alarming development and investigate the alleged possible involvement of the state government.
“The policeman is not known to us or invited by us and we believe he had a mission. With the shooting taking place close to where our candidate Dr Fayemi was standing, we do not need a soothsayer to tell us what this could be,” he stated.
The APC chairman also alleged, “The state government had been making a lot of uncomplimentary remarks against our party candidate and the planned welcome rally, and they were too quick to react when the shooting occurred, thus, raising suspicion.”
He, however, revealed that Bamidele and the other person that was shot in the incident were responding to treatment at the hospital.
Awe said the party has decided to suspend its campaign for necessary evaluations and review of security architecture for its political activities in the state.
In a swift response to the allegations, the state government dismissed insinuations that it has a hand in the crisis, as claimed by the APC.
Mr. Lere Olayinka, who is the media aide to Governor Ayodele Fayose, told Channels Television on Saturday that the party was being consumed by its own violence and desperation.
Olayinka said, “We are not involved in violence and thank God the police have come out to say that the officer who shot at the venue was brought from Lagos.
“He was among the armed policemen who came with a member of their party. What is their interest in the election in Ekiti?” the governor’s spokesman queried.
In the meantime, the statement by the Fayose government has been described as “clever way of covering one’s misdeeds”.
Speaking to The DEFENDER, a correspondent who spoke under condition of anonymity said, “If the APC is the one that is being consumed by its own violence which is unknown to any APC person or the Fayose government and his ‘notorious’ People’s Democratic Party (PDP) known to be in term with violence due to their desperate effort to cover up their misdeeds, time will tell.”
