The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed worry over an alleged attempt to arrest its national secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
The party said it had received “credible reports” of intentions to arrest the former Osun State governor in the days coming up to the election.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Wednesday, the ADC expressed worry that the claimed arrest was intended to disrupt the party’s election activities.
“Given the pattern of intimidation, harassment, and misuse of state institutions that has increasingly characterized the conduct of this government towards the opposition, we cannot afford to dismiss these reports,” Abdullahi said.
Aregbesola, who served as governor of Osun State from 2010 to 2018 before becoming minister of the interior, is now the ADC’s national secretary.
The party stated that established procedures should be followed if a security service had legitimate cause to question its national secretary.
“Ogbeni Aregbesola is a former governor of Osun State, a former minister of the Federal Republic, and the national secretary of the opposition political party. If any security agency has a lawful reason to invite him, there are established procedures for doing so,” it said.
The ADC contended that detaining Aregbesola on the eve of an election in which the party is running would raise doubts about the motivation for such an action.
“An arrest on the eve of an election in which his party is participating would invite only one reasonable conclusion: that the purpose is to prevent him from leading and coordinating the party’s election activities,” the statement said.
The party consequently put the federal government and security agencies on notice, urging them to avoid actions that could undermine the credibility of the election.
“The eyes of Nigerians are on Osun,” Abdullahi said.
“Whatever happens before, during, and after Saturday’s election will be judged not by the explanations offered afterward, but by the actions taken now.”
The ADC issued a warning to the federal government against taking any action that could trigger political tension in the state.
“The APC Federal Government must be wary of doing anything that could plunge Osun State into needless crisis,” the party said.
The party called on the government to respect democratic principles and ensure that political parties are allowed to participate freely in the election.
“Nigeria is still a democracy, and the government would do well to remember that before Saturday,” Abdullahi said.
