All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential Campaign Council in Oyo State, has vowed that no amount of sponsored protest in the state would stop the planned Tinubu/Shettima Campaign rally in Ibadan on Thursday.
The APC, PCC Director General in the state, Dr. Isiaka Kolawole made this known today while addressing journalists at a news conference held at the Tinubu Shettima Campaign Office, Mokola, Ibadan.
Dr Kolawole accused the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state of sponsoring pockets of protests across Ibadan metropolis hours before the rescheduled presidential rally in Ibadan.
He said it was not a coincidence that protests broke out on the two occasions the party planned APC Presidential Campaign in the state.
He said APC was able to establish that the PDP and the state government are behind the ongoing protest in the state, alleging that the PDP had obtained security clearance to hold local government rally same day Tinubu is campaigning in Ibadan.
Kolawole also alleged that miscreants are planning to disrupt the process to cause strife and distort the rally.
He said adequate security arrangement had been put in place to forestall any break down of law and order before, during and after the presidential rally.
The Oyo APC PCC Director-General said the party identified and sympathisesld with Nigerians over the non availability of naira notes, stressing that the idea of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to redesign some naira notes was good, but the process of implementation was faulty.
He said: The nefarious activities of some hoodlums being sponsored by the state government, Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP and their evil agents to cause strife in the state in order to forestall the actualization of the rally would not work. The Presidential candidate of our party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima will be in Mapo in the ancient city of Ibadan tomorrow to unfold their great plans and programs to the people Oyo State as it is being done in other states.”
“We have been able to establish that some criminal elements sponsored by the state government and the Peoples’ Democratic Party who perpetrated the protests of last week are behind the ongoing protests. Recall that we raised an alarm over the impending planned protests before they broke out on February 5.”
“We are hereby calling on the security agencies to stop these sponsored protests forthwith and clear all the blocked roads and streets in the interest of the masses of this state. The leaders of PDP and the state government that are orchestrating this evil protest do not mean well for the citizens. They are only taking undue advantage of the present situation in the country to cause more hardships for the people to cover their failure and the lackluster performance in the state.”
“We appeal to the good people of Oyo State to please remain calm and peaceful as joining the evil protests and blockade of roads by PDP agents would not solve any problem, it would rather exacerbate the already tensed situation and worsen the condition of the already disillusioned people of Oyo state who have been battling with under the PDP misgovernance in the state”
“We all know that the Presidential candidate of our party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a man of peace, an exemplary leader who is contesting for the presidency in order to make life much better and prosperous for all.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had already in a release last week identified with the masses of Nigerians on the unwarranted hardhips and suffering inflicted on them by poor management of the cashless policy and the biting fuel crisis.”
“Oyo State Government has also clandestinely obtained a security clearance and approval to hold a road walk rally in all the local government areas of the state on the same day with the APC Presidential rally as advertised and published in the media.”
“These PDP untoward actions are clearly targeted at disrupting the presidential rally of APC and throw the state into anarchy and chaos,” he said.
It would be recalled that the APC Presidential rally, earlier billed to hold last week, was rescheduled to hold on Thursday, January 16, at Mapo Hall in Ibadan.