A heated dispute has erupted in Ondo State, Nigeria, following the distribution of palliatives aimed at mitigating the impact of the government’s removal of fuel subsidies.
The tension escalated to the point where one of the state’s commissioners, Dr. Mrs. Bunmi Osadahun, was brutally attacked over the weekend.
Reports indicated that the state government had initiated the distribution of palliatives to the residents of Arigidi Akoko, located in Akoko North West Local Government Area.
Dr. Bunmi Osadahun, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, who hails from the region, became embroiled in the controversy when some leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) accused government officials of conducting the exercise covertly and raised objections.
The altercation between Commissioner Osadahun and a man, captured in a video circulating on social media, showed a violent exchange where the commissioner was attacked with a chair.
A source from the community explained that “the man, who is a ward Chairman of the party in Arigidi, in Akoko North West, Olumide Awolumate, was present during the distribution of palliatives in the council, but nobody knew what transpired between the two of them.
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He said that there was an inequitable distribution of palliatives, which many people have been complaining about while some residents boycotted the exercise.
He said, “The man was trying to smash the chair on the Commissioner’s head while Osadahun has been inflicted with wounds on her face and head.”
”Immediately this happened, some young boys loyal to the commissioner also descended on the attacker and dealt with him.”
But another source disclosed that Awolumate had promised to embarrass the woman commissioner by removing his name from the beneficiaries of the palliative of the Federal Government.
He said the Commissioner was injured with noticeable bruises on her face and body and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
But in another video, the man who was alleged to have beaten the Commissioner, Awolumate, explained, “I was assaulted in my house by the power-drunk Commissioner for Women Affairs with her son in the presence of a police officer.
“Today I was in my house relaxing when the Commissioner came with her son, one other boy, and a police officer.
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“The police officer told me they needed my attention at the station in Oke Agbe, and before I could respond, the commissioner pounced on me, tore my clothes, and the Commissioner also joined in beating me.
“The Police officer is still here, and I have resisted arrest, and I don’t know why they had to descend on me to hand me such treatment.”
The female Commissioner was said to have reported the incident to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO)
However, all attempts to speak with Osadahun were unsuccessful, but her daughter, Dr. (Mrs.) Jumoke Bakare said that her mother has since been hospitalised after the attack.
She said, ”My mother is in the hospital; she can’t talk with you now. She’s resting.
Also, one of her aides, who craved anonymity, said Osadahun had been advised to take a rest at the hospital and that she would respond to questions when she was fit.
Meanwhile, the state government and the ruling party in the state had not responded to the issue.
It will be recalled that the state government last week flagged off the distribution of palliatives to vulnerable households in the state, with commissioners leading the distribution in their respective local governments.
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The State Commissioner for Information, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, had assured that the food palliative would reach the targeted beneficiaries, saying about 1,200 bags of rice would be distributed to 6,000 households in the council area.
She disclosed that religious groups, market women, and traders associations, among others, would benefit from the palliatives and not party affairs.