Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Oyo State, Adegboyega Taofeek Adegoke, has admonished politicians and their supporters not to scare away the electorate through thuggery and violence ahead of the 2027 general election.
He stated this while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, and calling on the political parties and their candidates to talk to their supporters and followers to allow peace to reign, saying thuggery and violence will scare away voters.
He warned that no member of any political party can singlehandedly bring the candidates to government, adding that they will need the people, the electorate to win elections.
On Wednesday, members of Accord Party in the state had clashed with some hoodlums at Molete area leading to the death of one person, while many sustained various degree of injuries, a situation which also caused panic among the residents of the area in Ibadan, the state capital.
Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) alleged that their convoy was attacked by thugs in Ibadan a few weeks ago.
The Oyo ADC governorship candidate said part of the problem is the high rate of youth unemployment, noting that majority of the state population is made up of youths that are not gainfully employed, promising that if elected governor, he will provide jobs for the youth in the state.
He called on all candidates in the 2027 elections in Oyo State to ensure that they maintain and allow peace to reign.
He also called on political leaders to measure what they say at the campaigns, saying they should avoid hate speeches but tell people what they want to do and how they want to achieve them.
He said: “Anytime I go out for campaign, I don’t go out with thugs. I don’t like violence, I don’t support violence. I preach peace always.
“We should talk to our supporters, our followers to allow peace to reign. We should not scare away the electorate because without them we cannot win elections. We cannot win election with our party members alone, we need the people.
“If our youth are fully engaged, they will not be available for thuggery and violence. I want to appeal to my colleagues, that we should not allow people to turn Oyo State to an avenue for attacks, an avenue for thuggery, where hoodlums will reign supreme. We don’t want that in Oyo State.
“Our campaign should be issue based. We should not incite the people. We should measure what we say. Don’t attack one another. Tell the electorate what you want to do and let them judge you.
“That is why I said my agenda is summarised in Nine Points – ‘SOLUTIONS’. So tell people what you want to do and avoid hate speech.”