Angry youth and PDP leaders on Monday locked the Irepo Local Government Secretariat and chased away staff and security guards on duty over anti-party activities of Hon. Santana led council in the February 25 national election and the Saturday governorship election.
The protesters also demanded the resignation of the Local Government Chairman and the 10 council members as well local government appointees with immediate effect for working against the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party in both elections.
Recall that All Progressives Congress (APC) won the House of Representatives and Senate elections by wide margins while Governor Seyi Makinde lost the Saturday election in Irepo Local government with just 229 votes.
The irate youth stormed the premises of the secretariat, wielding placards with inscriptions such as “Santana Must Go,” “The Council Must Be Dissolved Immediately,” “You Have All Betrayed Our Trust,” “You Voted For APC,” “You Are Disrespecting The Deputy Governor,” and “We No Longer Have Confidence In Santana-Led Council,” among others.
The protesters barricaded the Street leading to the secretariat and took over the control of the gate, after they overwhelmed the security operatives manning the gate.
The mob did not spare the billboard in front of the building, which bore the photographs of the LG Chairman, as they ripped it to shreds.
According to one of the protesters, both the youth and PDP leaders were out to protest injustice and anti-party actions of the Santana-led council against the party and the Governor who had magnanimously put him and the Councillors as the chairman of the local government and exco members.
“We are here to protest against Santana and the Council Members, who all worked against the party in the election on Saturday and the February 25 National election, which caused both the House of Representatives candidates, Hon. Hussein IJABAH and Hon. Akinwale Akinwole Wolekanle, to lose miserably.
“Within two weeks, the Local government council must be disbanded; else, we will barricade the secretariat and render the building ungovernable for all”
“We are loyal and committed party members, and we will never allow the council to continue to disrespect the deputy governor and continue to benefit from the government that the LG council worked against in the two elections by supporting All Progressives Congress.
“Many of us struggled to sleep in the last days before the election as we worked tirelessly on House of House campaign only to discover that the councillors, local government chairman and appointees who benefit most from the party were the ones who fought against us on election day. This is sad and unacceptable”, he added.
