The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has accused supporters of the Allied Peoples Movement governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, of vandalising APC campaign billboards in parts of Ibadan.
The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO) called on the police and other security agencies to investigate the alleged vandalism and arrest those responsible.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the organisation’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, said billboards bearing the images of Alli and his running mate, Hon. Soji Adedeji, were vandalised in Mokola, Sango, Monatan-Olodo Road, Odo-Ona and the Toll Gate-Iwo Road section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, among other locations.
The organisation linked the alleged vandalism to an earlier incident in which it said Alli’s wife and two other APC candidates were attacked in Ibadan last week.
Describing the incidents as disturbing, SSACO accused supporters of Adekanmbi, who is contesting on the platform of the APM, of attempting to intimidate APC candidates ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The statement read, “The Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation is raising the alarm over vandalisation of our candidates’ billboards in many parts of Ibadan by supporters of Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, the APM governorship candidate in Oyo State.
“This came after Senator Alli’s wife and two other APC candidates were attacked in Ibadan, last week.”
The organisation further alleged that the development reflected political tension surrounding the forthcoming election, accusing Governor Seyi Makinde and Adekanmbi of failing to discourage conduct capable of threatening peaceful political engagement.
It said there was no justification for the alleged destruction of campaign materials, insisting that all candidates had the right to campaign without intimidation.
“We warn APM hoodlums to desist from this reprehensible act, and refrain from stoking tension in the polity. Oyo State is a peaceful state. Governor Seyi Makinde and Hon. Adekanmbi should immediately call their goons to order. Oyo State does not deserve violence from them,” the statement added.
SSACO urged the Oyo State Commissioner of Police and heads of other security agencies to identify those responsible for the alleged vandalism and ensure that they were prosecuted.
The organisation said the alleged incidents reinforced its earlier concerns about the conduct of the APM, adding that security agencies should act promptly to prevent further attacks on candidates and destruction of campaign materials.
It also appealed to APC members and supporters across the state to remain calm and avoid retaliation.
“The SSACO urges all APC members and supporters in Oyo State to be calm and avoid taking laws into their hands. They should resist provocation by Adekanmbi’s hoodlums,” the statement said.
The organisation added that Alli, if elected, would implement his Oyo AHEAD governance blueprint, which it said was designed to restore the state’s fortunes and accelerate development.
