FAYOSE, ARISE CAUTION OVER FIREARMS, VIOLENCE

Ahead of the polls, Senator Ayo Arise and former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose have called for caution over arm stockpile, movement of arms and ammunition in the state by desperate politicians.

Addressing newsman at different fora in the state, the duo alleged that some politicians had been moving firearms round different locations ahead of the Saturday election purportedly to be used by thugs already recruited for the purpose.

Speaking in Ilupeju-Ekiti during a rally, Arise, who currently represents Ekiti North Senatorial District, advised parents and guardians to prevent their wards from being used as thugs by desperate politicians to unleash violence in the state during the polls.

He alleged that the 20,000 youths being recruited by the state government under the guise of employment were going to be used as thugs during the elections in all the 16 local governments, adding that some Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) equipped with sirens and other communication gadgets had been purchased by the state government for that purpose.

The Senator, who is seeking a second term, alleged that the vehicles would be deployed in areas where the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was not strong and popular to intimidate the people and cause violence with a view to giving reasons for cancellation of the election results in the areas.

Fayose, in his address at Afao-Ekiti, alleged that some of the people recruited by some desperate politicians in moving firearms from the depot to different locations where they would be used to perpetrate electoral violence on Saturday had been arrested by the police. He alleged a plot to kill and dump corpse in his GRA residence in Ado-Ekiti by some people desperate to have him out of the contest, disclosing that he had reported the matter to the police.