Lucky Aiyedatiwa has denied allegations that he ordered thugs to attack the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akure, Ondo State.
The Ondo governor dismissed claims linking him to Tuesday’s violence at the party’s state headquarters, insisting he was attending a birthday ceremony when the attack occurred.
Suspected hoodlums stormed the APC secretariat in Akure during a stakeholders’ meeting convened ahead of the ward congresses.
Ade Adetimehin, the caretaker chairman of the party in Ondo, was reportedly beaten and had his phone seized during the incident. The disruption forced stakeholders to abandon the meeting.
Witnesses said the attackers wielded sticks, machetes and other weapons, throwing the secretariat into chaos as party members fled for safety.
Following the attack, Adetimehin accused members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), allegedly led by Ademola Odudu, of carrying out the assault on the governor’s instructions.
The accusation heightened tensions within the ruling party ahead of the congresses.
‘I Was at a Birthday Ceremony’ — Aiyedatiwa
Addressing party leaders later on Tuesday, Aiyedatiwa rejected the claims and distanced himself from the violence.
According to him, he received a call from the party chairman around 11am informing him about the stakeholders’ meeting. He said he approved the meeting but requested that it be moved to 2pm because he was attending the 50th birthday of a cabinet member.
“At about 11am, I got a call from the party chairman that there was going to be a stakeholders’ meeting, which I approved,” he said.
“But I told them it should be fixed for 2pm because I was attending the 50th birthday of one of our stakeholders who is a cabinet member.”
The governor added that the meeting was impromptu due to preparations for ward and local government congresses and insisted that most stakeholders, including himself, were at the birthday event when the attack happened.
Aiyedatiwa suggested that the disturbance stemmed from rivalry between supporters of different aspirants ahead of the party congresses.
The incident has exposed internal divisions within the APC in Ondo, raising concerns about party cohesion as grassroots political processes approach.
