There is an ongoing blame game between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in Kwara State, in connection with the destruction of political billboards in the state, writesSUCCESS NWOGU

The contest for the governance of Kwara State in 2015 has assumed a new dimension as the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress in the state have launched verbal attacks against each other over alleged vandalised billboards.

The state APC Chairman, Mr. Ishola Balogun-Fulani fired the opening salvo during a media briefing last Monday when he accused the PDP of unleashing mayhem and trying to make the state ungovernable. He claimed that as a result of the rising acceptability of the APC-led government in Kwara, some PDP officials are allegedly inciting Kwarans against the government.

He said, “Billboards with the APC logo and imprint of APC manifestos sponsored by APC members and erected at the frontage of their houses and junctions of their streets in Ilorin metropolis have been massively destroyed by PDP thugs in a clear attempt to provoke retaliation from APC members. This, will set the ground for its plot to burn Kwara State. While the APC has no issue of violence, the PDP has fertile record of violence. The PDP has been indicted in the fracas that has occurred in our dear state.”

Balogun-Fulani also stated that before the state became a beehive of political activities in preparation for 2015 elections, there had been relative peace in the state.

He alleged that PDP had declared war on the people of the state, warning that if such was not curtailed, it could turn the state to a war zone. The APC chief further stated members of the APC in the state had raised the alarm several times that the PDP was desperate to make the state ungovernable.

While warning that apprehension constituted a danger to democracy and the future of the state, he noted, “Today, we state that the PDP with the full support of Abuja politicians, have perfected evil plans to burn Kwara State.”

He also urged members of his party to be peaceful regardless of the alleged provocations by suspected PDP thugs. He stated that his party was hopeful that security agencies would arrest the alleged attacks on his party members, apprehend and prosecute the culprits. He also appealled to all friends of Kwara State to advise the PDP and its leaders in the state to immediately halt what he called ‘further attacks on APC members.’

Balogun-Fulani introduced another twist to the development when he alleged that there had been a failed attempt to instigate impeachment proceedings against the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed. “After the failed attempt to instigate the impeachment of Governor Ahmed as the PDP did in Adamawa State, events in Kwara State in the past few days point to a desperate attempt by the PDP and its sponsored political thugs to make Kwara State ungovernable through PDP-instigated political unrest and crises,” he said.

But in its reaction to the impeachment claim, the state House of Assembly denied knowledge of such development. The Majority Leader of the House, Chief Abdulganiyu Abdulkareem, said the House is united. He noted that most members of the House are from the ruling party in the state controlled by a former governor of the state, Senator Bukola Saraki. He stated that it was puzzling why any member of the House would initiate moves to impeach the governor, who is believed to enjoy a cordial relationship with Saraki.

Besides, the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Rex Olawoye, absolved his party from the billboard vandalism. He said the state PDP was not involved and would not be involved any violence in the state.

According to him, the allegation was not only reckless and hasty, but clearly made in bad faith.

Describing his party as a peaceful and law-abiding one that would not do anything to soil its good reputation, Olawoye added that the APC allegation might be a prelude to the rain of violence it was allegedly planning to visit on PDP members across the state in the name of ‘revenge.’

He stated that rather than for the APC officials to wait for the police to commence investigation into the alleged destruction of their billboards, they went ahead to allegedly vandalise PDP billboards in Ilorin.

Olawoye said, “Is it not obvious now that the APC masterminded the earlier destruction of its own property to create a perfect alibi to destroy PDP’s, which are more prominent and more expensive? The fact that the pattern of vandalism in the case of the APC’s billboards is the same with that of the billboards belonging to PDP chieftains might be a direct confirmation that they are behind both’’

He claimed that instead of making hype out of the alleged destruction of its billboard, his party decided to approach the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ambrose Aisabor, to look into the matter.

“A case in point was the brazen vandalism of the posters and billboards of Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN), Alhaji Jani Ibrahim and Hajia Bilkisu Gambari, three prominent chieftains of the PDP who deployed the billboards and handbills to felicitate with Kwarans on the celebration of the Eid. While some were outrightly shred to pieces by suspected APC thugs, others had the presidential campaign posters of Senator Bukola Saraki super-imposed over them. Similar tactics were used by suspected APC hoodlums on the eve of the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to Kwara for the Unity Rally, which led to the arrest of confessed APC thugs,” Olawoye said, claiming that instead of resorting to violence, PDP sought protection under the law.

He further said a look at the situation pointed to a deeper reflection of the internal crisis which he claimed was rocking the Kwara APC.

Olawoye stated, “It might be an open expression of frustration by APC members to the repression that they suffer in the hand of a single overlord, who is remote-controlling all of them in the party. If the APC structure in Kwara is not in tatters as being claimed, why then are some APC legislators in the Kwara State House of Assembly reportedly rooting for the impeachment of the governor? Could this latest violence therefore be a spontaneous reaction of supporters of Ahmed to the widely reported bid of his godfather, Senator Bukola Saraki, to impeach the sitting governor? Why are elders of the APC openly rejecting the presidential bid of Saraki?”

He added that his submissions were some of the reasons why his party was asking the APC to honestly do a soul searching and look within its folds to be able to identify the culprits.

On his part, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, warned culprits to desist from any act of destruction. He stated that the state command would not hesitate to arrest and prosecute anyone found disturbing the peace in the state.