Ekiti: Gunmen shoot APC primary contender’s aide, steal delegates money

Barely 24 hours to the primary of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Ado Ekiti, armed men have attacked some aides of one of the governorship aspirants, Dr Oluomo Oluwole Oluleye. One aide was shot, and money reportedly meant for delegates stolen during the attack.

Oluleye was the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Price Regulatory Agency (PPRA), and a former Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).

The incident occurred a few hours ago at a bank in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, Saturday Sun learnt.

The casualties of the attack are currently admitted at the state hospital in the capital city.

An aide of the aspirant, Olalekan Taiwo, who was shot on his leg and spoke Saturday Sun on his hospital bed on Friday night, narrated the incident:

“It happened late in the afternoon. We were coming from Sterling Bank where we had collected a huge amount of money. We were returning home, but while were going to the Bawa area of Ado Ekiti, strange men accosted us and asked us to lie down. We were three.

“I didn’t even realize that they were armed robbers. While all the drama was going one of them shot at me shouting that why was I looking at him. They made away with a lot of money that we collected but I don’t know the amount of the money.”

The campaign Director of the Oluomo Oluleye Organisation says that the attack and carting away of what he described as very huge amount of money is an attempt by political opponents and detractors of his candidate, who had raised the bar and changed the tide of things with his entry into the governorship race.

“They only tried to stop us, but God will not, knowing fully well that I am the campaign manager and Lekan who was shot is working with me. It was as if those armed men were following us. They attacked us and took all the money we had withdrawn,” said the campaign manager.

He further noted that: “Actually we have been the determinant factor of the race. For example, whenever aspirants met with delegates, they had been giving them N2,500 or N3000; but once Oluomo got into the race, he began to give the delegates N10,000 each and that made many of the aspirants to also raise the amount they gave… That way he had become a threat to other aspirants.