The Oyo State gubernatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Olooye Adegboyega Adegoke, has admonished politicians and their supporters against scaring off the electorate through thuggery and violence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Olooye Adegoke said this while fielding questions from journalists at Dominion Radio and Television, Ibadan, where he called on political parties and their candidates to talk to their supporters and followers to allow peace to reign, warning that thuggery and violence can scare away voters.
He warned that no member of any political party can single-handedly bring candidates to government without the people and the electorate to win elections.
He gave the warning against Wednesday’s violent incident where members of the Accord party in the state clashed with some hoodlums at Molete area of Ibadan, the state capital, leading to the death of one person while many sustained various degrees of injuries. The incident caused serious panic among the residents of the area.
Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in the state had alleged that their convoy was attacked by some political thugs in Ibadan a few weeks ago, fingering the ruling APM supporters as the brain behind it.
The Oyo ADC governorship candidate said part of the problem is the high rate of youth unemployment, noting that the majority of the state population is made up of youths who are not gainfully employed.
He promised that when he gets to power, he will provide sustainable 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 speech but rather tell people what they want to do and how they want to achieve it.
Speaking, Olooye Adegoke recalled that, “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 an 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 into an avenue for attacks; an avenue for thuggery, where hoodlums will always have a field day. 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”, Adegoke pleaded.
