ACN PLANS OPERATION ''MAXIMUM VIOLENCE, MINIMUM VOTES''
Gentlemen of the Press,
You will recall that in my earlier chat with you, gentlemen of the press, I informed you about the killings and destruction of properties of our members, their (ACN) plans to disrupt the then forthcoming elections, knowing fully well that the PDP was more on the ground than the ACN. I now wish to inform you that the ACN had concluded plans to employ operation Maximum violence, minimum vote (MVMV) to prosecute the election. I am here again not only to affirm the allegations but also to reveal how the ACN thugs executed (test run) the plan during the botched National Assembly (NASS) elections last Saturday and how the party has planned more violence in the subsequent elections.
The ACN operation was test-run last Saturday by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Yemi Adaramodu at Ilawe Ekiti, where he led armed thugs to snatch ballot boxes at FIVE Polling Units in Ilawe-Ekiti. This was aptly carried out at Araromi area of the town.
Part of the workings of the operation was that they would allow accreditation of voters to take place while waiting till 1pm before coming out to chase voters away from polling units and embark on massive thumb-printing of ballot papers after determining the exact number of accreditation through their agents or by force through the INEC Presiding Officer.
Among the targeted areas where the ACN intends to destabilise election in Ekiti State are, Ayetoro, Otun, Oye ,Isinbode, Iro Egbe , Imesi, Ikoro, Okemesi, Eporo, Orin farm settlement, Isan, Ijelu, Ire, Aiyegbaju, Efon, Ifaki and Ado farm settlements. The ACN thugs backed with government house policemen are to move around in brand new Toyota Hilux vehicles with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s Election duty label pasted on them to deceive people. 50 newly purchased Hilux vehicles are to be used for this assignment.
As I speak to you, armed thugs are being camped in the government house and other strategic locations to carry out the ACN's sinister plans of attacking notable members of our party between today and Friday.
You must be aware that our party was already coasting home to victory before the NASS elections was cancelled last Saturday.
Reports of how the ACN performed in areas where voting had reached advanced stage before the cancellation have been made available to the party leaders, including Governor Kayode Fayemi, and it was in their desperate bid to prevent this impending political calamity that operation “Maximum violence, minimum votes” was adopted.
In one of their meetings, it was agreed that; “Any PDP leader identify as capable of causing problems must be taken out of circulation before Friday.” In furtherance to this, policemen from the government house visited Ise, Efon, Oye, Ikole and Emure yesterday to harass our supporters and threatened them with arrest.
Also, thugs are being familiarised with some Mobile Policemen that are to be used on Saturday so that the thugs would be allowed to operate unhindered.
You will all recall that we raised alarm on the importation of arms and thugs into the State before last Saturday botched elections. You will also be aware that FOUR ACN thugs were arrested with THREE Automatic Pump Action guns and 32 cartridges along Ado-Iworoko road on Friday. The thugs belong to the ACN senatorial candidate, Mr. Babafemi Ojudu and we are aware that Ojudu was invited by the police but he declined to honour the invitation (He may possibly be arraigned today).
The four thugs namely; Thomas Ojelade (39), Ayodele Foluso (24), Clement Adelodun (52) and Imole Adenijo (30) were charged to court on Monday and were remanded in prison custody while the Nissan Bus with registration number EG 22 FST with which they were conveyed was impounded.
Also, the three ACN thugs arrested at Orin-Ekiti were charged to court on Monday. They were; Olaleye Taiwo (24), Ayodeji Samuel (29) and Asaolu Babatunde (24). They were charged with illegal possession of axe and THREE T-shirts with inscription OLUOMO.
Furthermore, ACN House of Assembly candidate for Ekiti East, Mr.
Rotimi Ajidara was arrested with locally made guns on Saturday by the SSS.
You are also not unaware of the killing of five of our members between Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 24, 2011. In less than 48 hours, Ayo Kehinde Faluyi, Micheal Ipindola, Toyin Akinlade, Lawrence Adebayo and Ojo Folagbade were murdered in cold blood!
During the botched last Saturday elections, ACN thugs were on the prowl in Moba Local Government, inflicting matchet cuts on Adebisi Ibidunmoye and the party's women leader, Adebola Adewumi at AUD Primary School's polling Unit, Otun Ekiti. The thugs were personally supervised by the ACN State House of Assembly member representing Moba Constituency I, Hon. Niyi Olajide.
In Ire-Ekiti, Sunday Anibaba sustained gun shots while Babatola Ebenezer was also shot at Aishegba Ekiti by the ACN thugs.
In the same vein, at Efon, an ACN leader, Hon Dapo Karonwi led thugs to destroy the house of a PDP member, Mr. Kehinde Oni and that of Pastor R.O Ajayi.
Apparently because the gruesome murder of our members and the violence unleashed on our supporters last Saturday did not achieve the desired objective of scaring us away from the State, the ACN hawks have started another sinister plot. Our leader, Chief Dapo Alibaloye was also not spared of the onslaught.
The ACN leaderships and the Governor have started threatening civil servants and teachers with sack if they vote for the PDP. Even our revered Traditional Rulers are being threatened with dethronement for perceived support for the PDP in the botched election. The Governor is also meeting ethnic groups in order to weep up religious sentiment, thereby causing security breach in the State.
Also, in line with the agenda of operation maximum violence, minimum vote, the soldiers that were deployed to the state have been hijacked by the ACN Government under the cover of providing accommodation for them. They have even assigned some of the state officials to direct their movements as follows: (1) Secretary to the State Government, Alh. Ganiyu Owolabi (Ekiti North); (2) Chief of Staff, Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South); and (3) Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka (Ekiti Central). The arrangement is aimed at assisting the ACN thugs to snatch ballot boxes after voting for stuffing or destruction.
We feel very sad that people who claim they are democrats, human right activists and apostles of ONE MAN, ONE VOTE are the ones planning to secure electoral victories through violence and bloodshed. However, we are not surprised because we know the antecedent of their leader who has for a long time successfully used blatant lies, deceit, blackmail, betrayals and violence to achieve political success.
As a party that is passionate about the progress and development of our dear State and the survival of democracy in Nigeria, we shall continue to pursue these noble ideals; and we hope that security agents will be alive to their responsibilities before, during and after the elections so as not to allow our will to be tested by any one.
It is also imperative that we appeal to Fayemi to desist from killing and destroying properties of Ekiti people. The number of lives that have been lost in Ekiti within the last six months that Fayemi became governor far outweighed incidences of political killings witnessed in the State since it was created about 15 years ago. This should be a source of worry to sane minds.
Finally, we urge the federal government to provide adequate security personnel, including soldiers before, during the Saturday elections and subsequent ones. This in no small measure would curtail the activities of the armed thugs already imported into the State by the ACN government, thereby allowing the votes of our people to count!
Thank you.
Chief Bola Olu-Ojo
Ekiti State Chairman, PDP