Omowumi Omotosho
At least seven individuals sustained injuries during a ward meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lafiagi, Edu local government area of Kwara State on Sunday.
The meeting, held at the residence of the Lafiagi Ward 1 Chairman, Emi Kuchita Lafiagi, was aimed at addressing party issues ahead of the council elections in September.
A local resident who witnessed the incident stated that tensions rose sharply when Yunusa’s supporters began chanting “Ole” (meaning thief) at various stakeholders, including former Transitional Implementation Committee Chairman Nma Hussain, Alhaji Mohammed Gborigi, Tauheed Bello ‘Car Wash’ (Teaching Service Commission chairman), and Alhaji Nda Tswako from Bindofu Lafiagi.
The confrontation escalated into physical altercations, causing injuries to at least seven individuals, who are now being treated at Lafiagi General Hospital.
In the aftermath, the Ward Youths and Edu LGA declared their opposition to Adam Abdullahi Abiodun and expressed their support for Yunusa Isa (Redman).
This incident occurred shortly after another event where community members expressed their discontent by booing their State House of Assembly Representative, Hon. Ahmed Saba.
An eyewitness revealed that the anger stemmed from the lawmaker’s alleged attempt to impose Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq’s preferred candidate on them, which they strongly opposed.
“The Honourable Member representing Edu/Patigi/Moro Federal constituency Hon. Ahmed Saba (Ajia Shonga) was disgraced in his ward, Edu Local Government as the APC primary was going on because they were trying to impose their candidate on the people,” the eyewitness stated.
Governor AbdulRasaq’s preferred candidate, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Ndamugoro, was rejected by the constituents, who feared he would fail them as his predecessor had.
A video of the incident circulating online shows constituents from Shonga, Hon. Ahmed Saba’s hometown, shouting ‘Ole’ (thief) and forcibly removing him from the area, clearly voicing their displeasure with his representation.
