New Telegraph-Admin 
Over the decades, frequent, violent ward congresses have sparked concerns here in Nigeria, driven of course, by intense intra-party competition for local control, often resulting in fatalities and the use of armed gangs.
Key hotspots have been Rivers, Ondo, Edo, Benue, Nasarawa, and Akwa Ibom states. Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressive Congress (APC), and New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) have been involved in violent clashes during these congresses. Such has clearly shown the lack of internal party democracy in the country and it is really worrisome.
For instance, while the recent directive from the National Secretariat of the ruling APC for congresses to elect party officials at the ward, local government and state levels scheduled for February and March this year ahead of the 2027 general elections is understandable, turning such into violence is most unfortunate.
But sadly, the violence that took place in Odode-Idanre, the headquarters of Idanre Local Government Area, that led to the killings of two people and five others injured during the congress which took place in 203 wards across the state.
Such an oddity should have been avoided. The bloody incident has therefore, raised serious concerns over the conduct of congresses by the different political parties in the country ahead of the 2027 general elections. The significance of this clarion call is predicated on the allegation that the scary scenario in Ondo State is traceable to two political gladiators flexing their strength over who controls the party structure in the state.
The unrest is believed to be a spill over from the previous disruption at the party secretariat held in Akure, where suspected hoodlums stormed a stakeholders’ meeting and assaulted party leaders. Among the victims was Raphael Adetimehin, younger brother of the state APC Caretaker Chairman, Ade Adetimehin, who sustained machete wounds after attackers allegedly mistook him for his brother due to their resemblance. According to eyewitnesses reports his vehicle was set ablaze before he was rushed to the General Hospital in Idanre, where he remains in a coma.
This runs against the dictates of democracy. Going by party tradition and structure, the governor is widely regarded as the leader of the party at the state level, just as the President occupies that position nationally. Recent political developments, however, suggest that the Ondo State chapter of the APC has quietly split into two blocs.
The bloody incident has therefore, raised serious concerns over the conduct of congresses by the different political parties in the country ahead of the 2027 general elections
The alleged rivalry between the two groups came into the public sphere a day before the ward congress when political thugs invaded the APC state secretariat in Akure during a pre-ward congress stakeholders’ meeting.
The attackers reportedly assaulted several party leaders, including the state chairman, Adetimehin; the Ondo State representative on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Otito Atikase; former Sports Commissioner, Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, and former Water Resources Commissioner, Yetunde Adeyanju. Contrary to earlier insinuations, however, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has denied any involvement in the fracas.
The stakeholders’ meeting was eventually held at the party secretariat — albeit in the absence of the state chairman. The governor maintained that supporters of various aspirants were responsible for the violence, insisting he had no hand in the attack. He further clarified that the earlier gathering which was disrupted was not an officially recognised stakeholders’ meeting.
A chieftain of the party and Director-General of the pro-BTO group known as the Grassroots Movement for Tinubu, Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, confirmed the internal crisis in the state APC relating to the governor and the minister, Tunji-Ojo but blamed the governor for not managing the situation well as the leader of the party in the state.
According to Yusuf-Ogunleye, who was a former Commissioner for Sports in the state, he alleged that Tunji-Ojo had been taking care of the party after it was abandoned by the governor.
According to him, the gesture had earned the minister significant popularity, leaving the governor jittery. But the Commissioner for Information, and Orientation Idowu Ajanaku, said there was no rift between the governor and the minister, adding that as leader of the party in the state, Aiyedatiwa has provided effective leadership and fostered unity among members. “I am not aware of any crisis anywhere, the governor is the party leader, no argument about that,” Ajanaku said. In all of this back and forth blamegame and brickbats, what is patently obvious is that it was clearly avoidable.
The governor, as the APC leader in the state should muster the political will, discretion and sagacity to mend broken fences. And so it should be in all the 36 states and the FCT, Abuja. Indeed, the preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections provides Nigerian political party leaders with yet another golden opportunity to show the world that it is possible to conduct free, fair, credible and peaceful elections devoid of violence.
That should start with internal party democracy anchored on propeople philosophies, beginning at the grassroots. With sustained voter education at the political party level it has become expedient to do away with the deployment of dangerous weapons; the use of force, threats and intimidation.
Rather, focus should shift from selfish inclinations to the larger picture of the identification of the people’s most pressing needs and articulating the vision of finding sustainable solutions to them. That done, peace would be guaranteed and precious lives would be saved.
