The police  Tuesday averted a possible breakdown of peace in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, as supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) squared up to each other over the ownership of the party secretariat.

The controversy over the ownership of the secretariat began following the defection of the Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, his predecessor, Senator Bukola Saraki and their loyalists from PDP to APC.

Since their defection, the Saraki loyalists, whose group is believed to have provided the building housing the secretariat, have engaged their former party, including instituting a suit in court, in a battle to regain the building.

Based on reports that the PDP caretaker committee, which was constituted in the aftermath of the defection of Saraki and his supporters, would be coming to begin work yesterday, the APC supporters stormed the secretariat to take over the property.

PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, had last week inaugurated the caretaker committee for the   state chapter of the party, with Hon. Solomon Edoja as chairman and Alhaji Jubril Bala Jos as secretary.

The APC  supporters angrily removed the PDP flag hoisted at the disputed secretariat.
It took the intervention of armed policemen to prevent what could have led to a breakdown of law and order in the state.

It was learnt that  the state police command, on learning about the incident, dispatched four lorry loads of fully armed riot policemen and officers  to the party secretariat to maintain law and order.

The state police spokesman, Mr. Ajayi Okasina, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), told journalists that it was wrong of the PDP to attempt to take over the secretariat when the matter over ownership of the secretariat was still pending in the court.
Also in a statement yesterday on the development, a former secretary of the ruling PDP in the state and now a chieftain of APC,   Mr.  Yemi Afolayan, accused  the police for encouraging the PDP to create a crisis in the state.

"The PDP in Kwara State, in another demonstration of the impunity and disregard for the rule of law for which the party has become known for,  made another futile attempt to take over our property at the GRA in Ilorin.

"This should not have come as a surprise to anyone given that the party of recent has become a haven of lawlessness with flagrant disregard to the rule of law as its watchword.

"Kwara has known political peace and harmony in the last several years and we appeal to our people not to allow a few disgruntled political elements who can only be regarded as having any level of influence when they create crisis to succeed," he said.
In his reaction, a member of the PDP caretaker committee, Mr. Rex Olaoye, defended the party's action.

He said: "The PDP is not joined in the court case as being raised by the APC loyal to Senator Saraki. The only people joined in the court case was the Nigeria Police Force and hence we met our lawyers and the police before we came here today(yesterday) for our inauguration but some APC members came to mob us."