2023 Political parties, candidates trade words over destruction of campaign billboards in Oyo [PHOTOS]

2023 Political parties, candidates trade words over destruction of campaign billboards in Oyo [PHOTOS]. In Oyo State, political parties and their candidates are now combating ongoing billboard damage.

This is allegedly the work of political thugs.

Despite the fact that no one has been detained in connection with the billboard damage across the state, our correspondent learned that the practice has persisted in stirring up discontent among political parties and their candidates throughout the state.

According to DAILY POST, there are now 33 local government entities that are recognized by the constitution, distributed across five geopolitical zones.

The zones are made up of Ibadan, which has eleven local government areas, Oke-Ogun, which has ten, Ogbomoso, which has five, Oyo, which has four, and Ibarapa, which has three local government areas.

At the state and federal levels, there are 18 political parties running for various offices.

According to a DAILY POST investigation, the majority of these political parties and their candidates have had their fair share of billboard damage incidents, either personally experiencing or documenting them.

Ten instances of billboard damage were documented in the previous two months.

The final two contained notable examples.

The start of the presidential and national assembly campaigns, which began two weeks ago, may not be unrelated to the rise in the rate.

The main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the New Nigeria Peoples Party are a few of the political parties and candidates whose billboards have been damaged or vandalized by the alleged political thugs (NNPP).

The damage of these political parties’ billboards has prompted them to issue a warning.

The political parties voiced conflicting emotions about individuals who caused the devastation.

While the PDP has persisted in blaming the main opposition party, APC, for the destruction of its billboards, the opposition parties, including APC, SDP, and NNPP, have persisted in blaming PDP party members.

Oyo is now again in a violent and brigandish era, according to APC

In their response, the APC highlighted that several of its members’ billboards had been demolished.

The gathering remarked that current events indicate that the state has returned to its violent and brigandish past.

Olawale Sadare, the APC’s publicity secretary, charged governor Seyi Makinde of fostering an environment that allowed criminals and thugs to roam free in the state in a statement made accessible to media.

In Ibadan, the state capital, he said that several of the party’s billboards placed in prominent locations such Iwo Road, Agodi-Gate, Ojoo, Challenge, Ife Road, Mokola-UI Road, and Monatan-Olodo had been demolished.

He said that “for some time now, certain unhappy members in the society have made it a mission to seize on any outdoor advertising material spotted around with the inscription of any other political party other from the PDP and destroy them under 24 hours in most cases.

In particular on the streets of Ibadan, the state capital, “the same PDP thugs accost and harass every innocent individual who is seen to be donning a vest, t-shirt, hat, or hand band with the inscription or insignia of the APC or any other opposition party.

It is true that when the present PDP administration replaced the hard-nosed late Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, the period of brigandage and violence returned to Oyo state in May 2019.

SDP candidate urges security personnel to “do the right thing” and “arrest offenders” after hoodlums damaged his billboard.

Hon. Deji Aboderin, a Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for the House of Representatives in the Ibadan North East/Ibadan South East federal constituency, has ordered security personnel to detain political hoodlums who have been damaging billboards around the state.

In response to the recent demolition of his billboard in Ibadan by some suspected political thugs, Aboderin made this admission.

Our reporter discovered that the Challenge Roundabout billboard had just been dismantled.

A few days after the presidential and national assembly campaigns began, the billboard was put up.

When Aboderin spoke with DAILY POST, he alerted the security services to the situation.

“My billboard was smashed near the Challenge Roundabout in the wee hours of this morning,” he said.

“The government’s job is to safeguard the citizens’ lives and property, but at the present, this is not happening.

“Some individuals went ahead and demolished my billboard. That is unfair.

“I am alerting the security agencies to this occurrence, so please pay notice. We don’t want this to keep happening.

APC tearing down our billboards due to Makinde’s accomplishments – PDP

Our informant also learned that the PDP has experienced some unpleasant things.

Engineer Akeem Olatunji, the PDP’s publicity secretary, reacted by claiming that some billboards belonging to the ruling party had been damaged.

He said that the APC was behind the party’s constructed billboards being destroyed.

Olatunji contended that the success of the state governor, Seyi Makinde, is the reason the APC is removing PDP billboards.

He said that APC members demolished a recent billboard put up by the party in Oluyole, Ibadan, in the Muslim neighborhood adjacent Muslim Grammar School.

Olatunji argued that other locals saw the opposition party members but were unable to intervene because they feared being assaulted by the APC members.

Olatunji requested the Department of State Security Services and the state’s Adebowale Williams, the commissioner of police, to take action.

“Our party’s billboards have been vandalized several times at various locations and times, but we opted to address problems internally and more quietly. However, it appears that they are misunderstanding our polite and peaceful temperament for cowardice, he stated.

“We are aware of the APC as a group of desperate politicians that spread falsehoods with the express purpose of deceiving the people and causing trouble by pushing incorrect information down their throats.

It is clear that Seyi Makinde’s unparalleled success and accomplishments in less than four years across all sectors have turned into a nightmare for these political desperate individuals in their attempt to obtain entry to the Agodi Government House.

We caution Folarin’s supporters as well as untrained political novices in the state chapter of the APC to cease immediately from any act of violence and condemn in the harshest terms the vandalism of our party’s billboard at Muslim Grammar School among other places.