Kwara: Governorship hopefuls attacked as another APC meeting degenerates into chaos
Two All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants were reportedly attacked by thugs during the party’s stakeholders meeting at Lafiagi in Edu local government area of Kwara.
Tajudeen Abdulkadir Audu and Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi were, according to reports, the governorship hopefuls attacked during the Monday meeting.
The thugs descended on the APC chieftains and physically assaulted them following the directive of an aide to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, a source told Sahara Reporters.
The source said the meeting was progressing well until the thugs invaded the compound, chanting cult slogans.
He added that the armed men destroyed a vehicle belonging to a chieftain of the party.
“Two governorship aspirants from Kwara North, Tajudeen Abdulkadir Audu and S. Y. Abdullahi, together with APC stakeholders, M .T. Mamman and Umaru Shaaba have been attacked by thugs led by TESCOM (Teaching Service Commission) chairman during a stakeholder meeting at Lafiagi,” the source claimed.
The incident, according to sources, was a fallout of a rift between Governor AbdulRazaq and a group of party leaders led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
The two camps have been at each other throats for some months now over the control of the party in the state.
The national secretariat of the party recently issued a letter of appointment to the state deputy chairman of the party, Samari Abdullahi, to be the acting chairman of the party in the state.
The development led to a crisis as incumbent chairman Bashr Omolaja Bolarinwa resisted the move, as he said there was no issuance of query that could have warranted his removal from office.
Abdullahi is a favourite of the state governor, while Bolarinwa is a choice of Mohammed. This scenario has caused the factionalisation of the party in the state.
This is not the first time violence would visit an APC meeting in Kwara.
No fewer than 10 members of the party sustained serious injuries last Wednesday after a meeting convened by the party membership registration and revalidation committee sent from the national headquarters turned violent.
During the melee, iron chairs and other valuable materials in the hall were freely used by the aggrieved members of the opposing camps in the free-for-all.
The crowded banquet hall soon became virtually empty as members vacated the venue and ran away for safety.
