Ahead of the All Progressives Congress governorship primary in Ekiti State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji has expressed his displeasure with some of his political aides and cabinet members whom he alleged are hobnobbing with his opponents and are unable to defend the government during social media attacks.
This came on the heels of an allegation by the governor that some APC members were among individuals recruited to launch media attacks on him.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Yinka Oyebode, in Ado Ekiti on Friday stated that “over 150 persons across various social media platforms, including notable influencers at the national level, had been paid to carry out the attack beginning from next week”.
Oyebode said the government would treat the plot with the seriousness it deserved.
He stated: “The sponsors of this grand plot, sadly, are members of the ruling APC, who are bent on heating up the polity in a bid to make a cheap political point.
“Part of their grand design, as uncovered, is to discredit the governor, as well as some key figures within the party and the government, through spurious and malicious allegations, including forged documents and AI-generated graphics.
“Those behind this planned social media onslaught are the same people who clandestinely launched a social media attack against President Bola Tinubu last week, using one of the federal roads in the state—the Itawure-Aramoko-Igede road—as an alibi.
“These characters went back to the drawing board and came up with another action plan, which includes inducing 150 social media attackers with huge sums of money (in foreign currency) to carry out the nefarious act of character assassination and cheap blackmail through online trending of forged documents.
“The government has chosen to alert the public on this grand plot in order to avert likely breach of the peace, recourse to self-help and unnecessary tension in the polity, which are the main intention of the masterminds of this ignoble plot.”
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In a viral video sighted by The Eagle Online, Governor Oyebanji accused some of his political appointees of receiving financial gains from the opposition, which makes them silent when the government is attacked on platforms they are.
He said: “We need to seize the social media space.
“It’s not that they are winning the battle, but some of even my political appointees, because they’re eating from both sides, they cannot even come out and defend the government.
“I’m telling you, very few of them will be on platforms where they will be attacking the government and keep mute.
“They won’t be able to talk and they’re collecting a salary every month.
“I’m marking them one by one.
“I’m not going to talk now, but be rest assured that those of you that are on platforms that they’re attacking the government and keep mute and you’re collecting money from this administration, we will come back to you at the appropriate time.”
