The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has accused a traditional ruler in the state, Alapomu of Apomu, Oba Kayode Adenekan Afolabi, of inciting electoral violence that led to the subsequent rigging of the House of Representatives’ election in the Aiyedaade/Isokan/Ikire Federal Constituency for the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Oladebo Lanre Olomololaye, during the 2023 elections.
The party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, in a statement on Tuesday, alleged that a trending audio/video recording captured the monarch while recounting his complicity in the incitement of electoral violence against the APC supporters in the election.
“The traditional ruler was heard in the recorded video where he stated that he felt slighted when ‘Akogun’ came to inform him a day to the election that a powerful royal force championed by the traditional ruler of Gbongan, the Olufi, was the one championing the defeat of the PDP candidate in the election.
“The violence-preaching Alapomu explained further that it would be an insult to him for the Olufi to take such a stand as history has conferred the role of a father to him(the Alapomu) based on the historical record that Gbongan was founded in 1793 and that he would prove to the Oba of Gbongan that the Alapomu was his father.
“The Alapomu in the trending video voluntarily stated further that based on the circumstances surrounding the election, it would assume the likeness of being between him and the Olufi of Gbongan with an instruction to the PDP to deploy everything possible to win the election, including ‘taata taata’ (sound of gunshots) with an assurance that no one could challenge an Oba but God.
“In the Alapomu’s words: “I told MAO who is sitting at my back on this occasion that if it could become a war, it should be and if it was a mere fight, let it be. No one can arrest an Oba but God. For whatever it might entail, go and do all necessary things to ensure that Lanre wins the election. That was how the atmosphere became Ta! Ta!! Ta!!!”, Olabisi explained.
Describing the development as disheartening, the party spokesman wondered why a traditional ruler could descend so low to use his exalted office to incite the electorate to violence in his domain where ideally he is supposed to be a father to all regardless of party difference.
“With this unveiled unsavoury development, the Alapomu has proved to the world that he is not a worthy ambassador of the highly revered Obas whose conduct, actions and inactions have secured a place of pride for the state in Nigeria and beyond.
“We would like to state unequivocally that it is the inalienable right of Oba Kayode Adenekan Afolabi to be a card-carrying member of any political party but such would be dignified if he can choose between the crown and partisan politics as there is no way that he can dutifully command the respect of his subjects by identifying openly with a political party as the Alapomu.
“The proof of the allegation levelled against the Alapomu as evident in the audio/visual recording is iron-cast as he could not deny the fact that he is not the one in the video spewing unroyal political gibberish which ideally should be the preserve of the flotsam and jetsam members of the society.
“There is nothing to show that Oba Afolabi is a man of peace as he was not on record to have condemned the violence that characterised the 2022 Governorship and 2023 General Elections respectively,” he added.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to investigate the content of the video with a view to making the laws of the land to perform its role if only to serve as a deterrent to others.
