By ‘Kunle Ajayi
Former Governor of the Old Ondo State, Mr Bamidele Olumilua has been arrested by the local police. Sources told Irohinoodua that Olumilua was arrested and taken to the Police Headquarters this afternoon. His arrest was prompted by a petition allegedly written by a faction of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Ekiti State.
However, in a related development, Ibile, a socio-cultural group in Ekiti has condemned the recent arrest of a former governor of Ondo State, Mr Bamidele Olumilua who was said to have been picked by the local police at the prompting of political rivals in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
In a released signed by Prince Tunde Adeleke, Director of Publicity of Ibile and made available to IrohinOodua, the group said the arrest of Baba Olumilua by the police mark a turning-point in the lingering crisis in the Ekiti State chapter of the party.
“We condemn this arrest which we believe was prompted by an APC faction that feels uncomfortable with the prospect of this recalcitrant rival group not producing the Ekiti State ministerial nominee.”
He described Olumilua’s arrest as petty, parochial and unwarranted. Ibile, he said, is worried at the speculations that the arrest was at the instance of supporters of a former governor of the state or that those who initiated the arrest are using the name of the former governor.
“It is unfortunate that while many people are anxious to make peace and resolve the state’s lingering intra-party crisis, a faction within the APC in the state is bent on deepening it.”
He said Olumilua was arrested because he was suspected to have supported a neutral person as the state’s ministerial nominee saying that the future of APC in Ekiti State lay in ‘a transparent, honest and people-driven political party where the people are stakeholders and not as it is where the party is in the hands of a cabal that was largely responsible for the humiliating defeat of APC in the recent elections.”
The group stated “We call for the immediate release of Chief Olumilua and urge the police not to allow itself to be dragged into the messy intra-party politics of the APC being fanned by a group that led the state to her present quagmire.”
Adeleke described Baba Olumilua as an outstanding statesman in the state and a notable figure that remains a rallying point for many locals. Ibile said the ‘cabal responsible for this irrascible and ignoble act should be blamed for the consequences if the other APC factions in the state decide to device proportional response to the destructive antics of the cabal in the party.’
Signed
Prince Tunde Adeleke
