The Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) were among the security services that arrived at the party secretariat as early as 6:00 a.m.
A total of 13 police vehicles and one armored personnel carrier (APC) were used to fence off the secretariat, and stern-looking security personnel were stationed at the entrance.
The party's youth wing had vowed to oppose the governor's protracted absence from the state. Some of the teenagers who were blocked from entering the secretariat claim that there has been a leadership void in the state with no one in charge of its business.
Tayo Oluyi, one of the young leaders, claimed that the protest was meant to draw attention to what they viewed as the governor's carelessness and its detrimental effects on the state.
"Ondo State has experienced a leadership vacuum for the past nine months," he claimed. The state's populace occasionally became angry in April, which resulted in the appointment of an acting governor.
"We also knew what happened when Aiyedatiwa took over as his representative. Since the governor returned from his three-month medical leave in Germany 32 days ago, we haven't seen him anywhere near the state. That isn't even our problem because it's an internal matter.
"However, we have heard that Akeredolu has been enacting bills by proxy, and this is what motivated the state's PDP youth wing to stage a protest."
The security authorities' action has been criticized for impinging on young people's right to free speech in the interim.
Olufumilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, the state's police public relations officer, however, stated that: "On Friday, we got a kind of unanimous letter stating that some people want to protest. The letter came in without letter-head, no details of those that wanted to embark on the protest, and for the safety of the party involved, we just felt to mobilize our men to maintain law and order in case of anything.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday postponed further proceedings in the lawsuit brought by Ondo State Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who claimed that Governor Akeredolu made an arbitrary decision to change his rights and obligations by using illegal means.
This came after the court heard lengthy discussions from the parties' attorneys over the matter of service of court documents and the claimed disobedience to the court's continuing order issued on September 26 against the deputy governor's impeachment.
In today's proceedings, Justice Emeka Nwite first delivered his impending decision on the parties' arguments made on the last court date of October 9, 2023, regarding the impact of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-created reconciliation committee and the Ondo state House of Assembly's petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Since several of the aforementioned applications raise questions regarding the court's jurisdiction, the court declared that it will hear all current applications. The court further determined that it would not defer the case only on the basis of the parties' lack of agreement regarding reconciliation and settlement because it would still hear the case.
The court then heard arguments regarding the status of outstanding applications and ordered that all parties should be served with copies of all filed documents. The matter was subsequently postponed until October 30 so that the applications could be further decided.
