Osun ACN meeting ends in free-for-all

[Punch]

A parley called by the leadership of Action Congress of Nigeria in Ifon community of Osun State ended in a free-for-all following a disagreement over the sharing of elective posts among members of the locality.

Findings by our correspondent in Osogbo, on Wednesday, showed that a heated argument ensued during the meeting held at the residence of a party's leader in the community, Mr. Kelani Orisawale.

It was gathered that the representative of the Irepodun-Orolu State Constituency in Osun House of Assembly, Mr. Kamil Oyedele, and other leaders of the party in the community were present at the meeting.

A source told our correspondent that the free-for-all was a fallout of the intense tussle for the party's  House of Assembly ticket by ACN members in the state constituency.

The Chairman, Osun Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Gani Olaoluwa, condemned the free-for-all that greeted the ACN meeting, saying "it is capable of causing tension in the polity."

But the state Chairman of the ruling party, Mr. Biyi Adelowo, in a statement, on Wednesday, described the incident as "a heated argument where nobody died like the PDP meeting in Edunabon last Sunday."

Olaoluwa said, "The fracas that broke out during the ACN meeting in Ifon shows that there is a stockpile of arms and ammunition, with which the ruling party wants to disrupt the 2014 governorship election.

"Several members of the ACN sustained machete cuts while some barely escaped death."

But the statement by ACN's Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, quoted Adelowo as saying, "Yes, there was a heated argument over representation at the next House of Assembly election but we are proud that, unlike the PDP meeting in Edunabon last Sunday, nobody ended in the mortuary."



The Punch