Nigeria Content Online

A former governor of Ekiti State,
Ayodele Fayose, has said that he is alarmed over what he said was the
increasing rate of violence in the state. Mr Fayose, who issued a
statement on the matter yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, said the wave of
violence in the state is a threat to the peaceful co-existence of the
people of the state. The Labour Party politician warned that the daily
parade of political thugs in the state portended danger for the 2011
elections.

“The level of violence which greeted
the primaries of various political parties in the state calls for great
concern,” he said. “The way politicians in the state now use thugs to
terrorise the people is very dangerous. This is an indication that the
2011 elections may be marred by violence. Arming thugs is worse than
armed robbery.

If politicians could be this dangerous
during primary elections, which are party affairs, one can imagine how
dangerous the general election will be.”

He said political thugs would always resort to armed robbery after
being used and dumped by their ‘employers’ during voting periods. The
former governor however called on the inspector general of police,
Hafiz Ringim, to ensure that armed gangs were not allowed to continue
to harrass innocent residents of the state in the run-up to the general
elections. He also called on politicians not to set the state on fire
by their actions, saying violence would never solve any problem.</