The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) has condemned the alleged attack on Alhaja Tawakalitu Alli, wife of the Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, during a medical outreach in Ibadan.
Alhaja Alli was reportedly attacked on Wednesday while organising the medical outreach at Ibikunle House, Ayeye, Ibadan.
The campaign organisation also alleged that the campaign teams of the APC candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District, Hon. Aderemi Oseni, and the party’s candidate for Ibadan North-West/Ibadan South-West Federal Constituency, Hon. Folake Olunloyo-Oshinowo, were attacked during separate campaign activities at Agbaje Market, Orita-Merin, and Idi-Arere, respectively.
In a statement issued by its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, the SSACO described the incidents as unwarranted and condemned what it characterised as attempts to disrupt the party’s campaign activities.
The organisation alleged that the attacks were carried out by hoodlums linked to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and called on the state government and security agencies to intervene.
“The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) is at the least miffed by the unwarranted and barbaric attacks by Allied People’s Movement (APM) hoodlums on Alhaja Tawakalitu Alli during a medical outreach she organised at Ibikunle House, Ayeye, Ibadan, on Wednesday,” the statement said.
The organisation further alleged that the APC candidates, Oseni and Olunloyo-Oshinowo, were also targeted during their separate campaign engagements in the state.
The SSACO called on Governor Seyi Makinde and the APM governorship candidate, Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, to ensure that political activities in the state were conducted peacefully.
It maintained that APC candidates and supporters would continue to exercise their constitutional rights to associate, gather and campaign within the law.
The organisation also called on security agencies to investigate the incidents, identify those responsible and prosecute them where appropriate.
According to the statement, “The SSACO calls on security agencies to fish out these perpetrators of violence and bring them to book in order to serve justice to the victims and also serve as a deterrence to violence in our dear state.”
The campaign organisation further alleged that the incidents were politically motivated, linking them to the 2027 governorship election. It urged all political actors to focus on issue-based campaigns and the presentation of policies and programmes to the electorate.
“The good people of Oyo State deserve issue-based campaigns, not violence,” the organisation said.
It also appealed to Governor Makinde and Adekanmbi to call their supporters to order, insisting that the alleged attacks would not stop APC candidates from campaigning across the state.
