With two arrests made so far, Chairman of the Ekiti State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Jide Awe has maintained that the Friday shooting at the party office in Ado-Ekiti was a clear case of assassination attempt.
This is as the party has said that there is no plan to fly abroad Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, its chieftain, who was injured during the shooting injured, for treatment.
Awe, who stated this while reviewing the events that led to the incident where five APC members were hit by bullets, said there were evidences to show that the incident was masterminded by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, Awe argued that the speed at which the government agents reacted to the incident left much to be desired, even as he queried the rationale behind granting permit to the PDP after granting same to APC.
Awe recalled how Governor Ayo Fayose, through the state-owned media platforms, urged the people to shun the grand rally planned for Dr Kayode Fayemi, the APC governorship candidate.
“It is a common knowledge that Governor Fayose tried all he could to frustrate our programme. He went as far as instructing people not to come out to welcome our candidate.
“He stylishly ordered Okada riders out of the roads under the guise of holding meeting with them,” Awe said, alleging that before the incident, Fayose had told Okada riders and the people of Ikere Ekiti not to welcome Fayemi to Ekiti.
He stressed: “When the incident occurred, the state government was the first to issue press statement reading meanings to the shooting. What was their concern about shooting in APC’s rally?
“All these issues prompted us to say that the PDP government was involved. Let me also clarify that we are not working at cross-purposes with the police, but our approaches may be different.
“Our claim was that the man who fired the shot was fake policeman and a paid agent with a mission to kill our governorship candidate and the police said he was from MOPOL 20, but on illegal duty in Ekiti.
“So, what the police need now is to convince us about the veracity of their claim,” he said.
