COALITION 2020 AND IT’S SHAMEFUL ADOPTION.
Coalition 2020 was established about a year ago to provide a viable opposition to the misrule of APC government in Ondo state.
At the conclusion of the primaries of all the parties, the leadership of the coalition decided to adopt a party to work with. Ordinarily, we were to make a choice between PDP and ZLP. Suddenly, Mr Akin Akinbobola , the chairman of the coalition , started to scheme in a bid to bring in the ruling party.
This was resisted by members. Himself and the secretary of the coalition, Mr Sikiru Adetona , Alias Conway cunningly brought in the ruling party after collecting millions of Naira as bribe.
Today, 15th September, 2020 , members were called to convene for the adoption of one of the candidates.
Members went into the election thinking things would be handled normally.
During the accreditation, names of people who were not members of the coalition were brought in. Members started grumbling because of Mr Akinbobola’s importation of non-members.
When the election was ongoing, I signified my intention to make an observation about the compromised processes of the election. This was resisted by Akinbobola ( chairman of the coalition).
He signalled to the bouncers he brought to the place. One of the bouncers gave me a terrible slap from behind. I was thoroughly beaten , my clothes were torn and the money I had on me (#18,000) was removed from my pocket.
Thank God for the intervention of one of our members who collected my phone from the bouncers . I was dragged on the floor from the hall to outside of the hall . The whole place became rowdy.
It was the police from Ijapo police station that rescued me. Shortly , two buses loaded with APC thugs arrived the venue, lead by the APC chairman , Mr Ade Adetimehin. Thank God that the police had sneaked me into their vehicle before the arrival of the thugs. They didn’t know that I was in the police van.
People who eventually did the adoption were not members of the coalition.
It was a big shame that coalition members who have been preaching good governance could jettisson the purpose for setting up the body because of ten million Naira the chairman and the secretary collected as bribe.
To me , the purported adoption was a fierce and carried out because of the #10m bribe received by the chairman and the secretary. I was manhandled because I refused to be pert of the injustice and the money making venture embarked upon by the chairman and the secretary of the coalition.
The next line of action shall be announced to the people of Ondo state in few days. However , I wish to state it categorically that the adoption was conceived and acted in a dishonest manner and therefore can not stand.
That wasn’t an adoption. Apology to the people of Ondo state and particularly the Governorship candidates of PDP and ZLP who , before now held us in high esteem.
Signed:
Hon Bamiduro Dada, pioneer chairman of coalition,2020 and a former commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs , Ondo state .