Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has denied his alleged involvement in the disruption of a meeting organised by the senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, Gbenga Obadara, at Wasimi in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.
Amosun, according to a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Olusola Balogun, condemned all acts of violence against any citizen of Ogun.
He, however, regretted the attempt to link him or any member of his government to such acts in order to score political points.
“The news of the alleged attack was shocking to me. All the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as chairmen of our local councils were in Lagos to celebrate Baba Bisi Akande. It is even more curious that some chieftains of our party would choose a time to honour our revered leader for another meeting. The motive is certainly questionable,” the governor said.
Amosun added that the party leader in the state, Mr Olusegun Osoba, was at the event with him and wondered what the intention of the National Assembly members that conveyed the said political meeting was.
“The alleged thuggery has all the trappings of a stage-managed event, with the aim of attempting to take over the machinery of our great party through subterfuge. But we will not be taken in by such blackmail,” Amosun declared.
Amosun maintained that the unity of Ogun APC remained inviolable and everything within the ambit of the law would be done to consolidate the gains of the past and take Ogun State to enviable heights.
He commiserated with the innocent victims of the violence, including the journalists and called on the police to bring the perpetrators to book and sustain the atmosphere of peace in the state.
Six people, including an orderly to a serving senator, Gbenga Obadara, representing Ogun Central Senatorial District were shot and wounded during a meeting held by a faction of the party in the state in Wasimi Market Square, Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area.
The crisis was said to have erupted when members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NUTRW) allegedly came on a shooting spree apparently to disrupt the meeting.
Those affected are currently receiving treatment at a private hospital for injuries sustained from the gun shots in the state capital
Narrating their ordeal, Senator Obadara and a House of Representatives member, Rep. Adekunle Adeyemi said they were at a senatorial district meeting to sensitize members on the forth coming registration exercise of the party before the hoodlums allegedly disrupted the meeting,
Rep. Adeyemi also accused the police of complicity in the incident but in a swift reaction, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Muyiwa Adejobi debunked the claim, noting that some police officers were also shot at.
He however promised to investigate the incident.
