A storm is brewing within the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as tensions reach a boiling point over demands for the removal of the party chairman, Ade Adetimehin.
The call for his ouster took a dramatic turn when aggrieved youths staged a provocative protest at the party’s secretariat.
The scene was nothing short of theatrical: a coffin bearing the inscription “Adetimehin Must Go” and a dead dog were dumped at the secretariat, alongside palm fronds wrapped around the gate a stark symbol of the protesters’ fury.
The youths accused Adetimehin of allegedly calling for a military takeover in the country, a claim that has fueled their resolve to see him removed from office.
A visit to the party’s secretariat, located along the Road Block and FUTA axis, revealed heavy security presence, with operatives stationed around the premises to forestall further chaos.
Among those leading the charge against Adetimehin is the pioneer State Youth Leader of the APC, Babalayo Olutayo, who outlined the grievances.
According to him, “some aggrieved youths across the state went to the new secretariat to seal off the place with a lot of fetish objects. The place was barricaded, locked with a chain, and I went there to confirm the incident, and I found out that what people said to us was actually the fact. What led to the incident was due to some allegations levelled against the incumbent chairman, Ade Adetimehin, that he was calling for a military takeover, and we are yet to know the reasons why he was calling for this.”
Olutayo further alleged that Adetimehin had “doctored the list of the just-concluded governorship election and the incoming local government election,” and lamented that the chairman was running the party as a one-man show.
“He is the only one running the affairs of the party: no youth leader, no women leader, no party secretary, no state legal adviser,” he added, urging Adetimehin to step down before his tenure expires.
Reacting to the crisis, the APC State Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, called for calm while affirming that security operatives had secured the premises.
“Security agencies have taken control of the secretariat, and we will continue appealing to those that came to shut down the place to be calm.
Governance is continuous; everybody will be taken care of. They should be wary of the law; what they are doing is very illegal. Bombarding the party secretariat is not the best. We will continue to appeal to them not to take laws into their own hands. Members who are not happy for now should please calm down and connect, and we are making a consultation on the situation,” Otaloro stated.
As the crisis unfolds, it remains to be seen how the APC leadership in Ondo State will navigate the storm and restore unity within the party.