Concerns are mounting that the congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State may be engulfed in crisis following violent clashes linked to an alleged supremacy battle between Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

The crisis took a deadly turn on Wednesday when two persons were reportedly killed and five others injured during the party’s ward congress in Odode-Idanre, headquarters of Idanre Local Government Area.

The violence occurred as the APC conducted congresses across its 203 wards in the state in line with a directive from the party’s national secretariat for the election of ward, local government, and state executives.

The unrest is believed to be a spillover from Tuesday’s disruption at the party’s state secretariat in Akure, where suspected hoodlums stormed a stakeholders’ meeting and allegedly assaulted party leaders.

Among those attacked was Raphael Adetimehin, younger brother of the state APC caretaker chairman, Ade Adetimehin. He reportedly sustained machete wounds after being mistaken for his brother. Eyewitnesses said his vehicle was set ablaze before he was rushed to the General Hospital in Idanre, where he remains in a coma.

Former Commissioner for Water Resources, Yetunde Adeyanju, alleged that the attackers openly invoked the governor’s name.

“The thugs came and were shouting, ‘we are from Aiyedatiwa.’ They specifically mentioned Aiyedatiwa, that ‘Aiyedatiwa sent us. We don’t want congress in Ondo State… anybody that wants to talk about congress in Ondo State will be assassinated,’” she claimed.

Corroborating her account, the state party chairman, Ade Adetimehin, said he had alerted the governor to intelligence about possible disruption.

Ondo APC Congress Turns Bloody, 4 Killed, Many Injured. Read Full Gist Here

“He said no that such a thing cannot happen under his watch… but 30 minutes later, the place was invaded with thugs, with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons. They beat hell out of all the leaders and members,” he alleged.

Governor Aiyedatiwa has denied any involvement in the violence, insisting that supporters of various aspirants were responsible for the disturbance.

“But this one was an impromptu stakeholders’ meeting… Later, I got to know that some miscreants, who had sympathy for one aspirant or the other… were moving around and trying to create some kind of fracas,” the governor said.

He added that he directed security operatives to secure the secretariat and called for investigations into the Idanre violence.

According to The PUNCH, his Chief Press Secretary maintained that there was no rift between the governor and Tunji-Ojo, describing Aiyedatiwa as the undisputed leader of the party in the state.

“The governor is the leader of the party and father to all party members… The pockets of issues recorded have nothing to do with the governor,” he said.

Similarly, the state Commissioner for Information, Idowu Ajanaku, dismissed reports of a feud.

“I am not aware of any crisis anywhere, the governor is the party leader, no argument about that,” he stated.

However, a chieftain of the party and Director-General of the Grassroots Movement for Tinubu, Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, admitted that there was tension between the camps, accusing the governor of poor party management.

“For instance, during the last Christmas period… the rice was delivered to political office holders and not party members. The party was abandoned, and it was BTO who brought rice and gave 20 bags to each ward,” he alleged.

“If not for BTO today, there would be no APC in the state… But the governor is not comfortable,” he added.

The chairman of the party’s elders’ forum, Pa Erastus Akeju, said the elders would now step in following the public escalation of the crisis.

“When there is no report of violence… we cannot simply go to the governor and ask, ‘Are you quarreling with BTO?’… It is only now, as the issue has escalated publicly into a physical confrontation, that we can say, ‘All right, it’s time for the elders to intervene,’” he said.

A political analyst, Lanre Alewa, described the alleged cold war as unhealthy for the party ahead of future elections.

“At times, these political jobbers, who call themselves supporters, cause such issues. They must be called to order by their principals so they do not destroy the party,” he said.