The action, our correspondent gathered, was an attempt to block the embattled chairman of the party, Isaac Kekemeke, from gaining entry into the premises of the party's secretariat.
The leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State on Monday took a new turn as suspected ritualists sealed off the secretariat of the party with fetish items suspected to be sacrificed.
The fetish items were sighted by a SaharaReporters correspondent at the entrance of the APC secretariat on No. 17 Oyemekun Road in Akure during the early hours of the day.
The action, our correspondent gathered, was an attempt to block the embattled chairman of the party, Isaac Kekemeke, from gaining entry into the premises of the party's secretariat.
Mr. Kekemeke had during the weekend summoned some members of the party's State Executive Committee (SEC) loyal to his camp to a "peace talk" meeting following a crisis due to the purported removal of him from his position.
The meeting was fixed for the party's secretariat, our correspondent was told.
Sources from the party revealed that the suspected ritualists must have been employed by some aggrieved members of the party.
The source disclosed that the aggrieved members might be those who want Mr. Kekemeke to resign following allegations of incompetence.
In a telephone interview, Omo'ba Abayomi Adesanya, the Publicity Secretary of the party, condemned the action and further called for a thorough investigation to unravel the masterminds behind the act.
Also reacting, the Director of Media and Publicity of the party, Steve Otaloro, confirmed the development at the entrance of the party.
Mr. Otaloro, however, denied that members of the party could have carried out the action due to the leadership crisis rocking the party in the State.
"Our members could not have done that by placing such fetish objects in the front gate of the party secretariat all in the name of a crisis, but I see the hand of the opposition in this case.
"Although there is a crisis in our party, the national leadership is already taking steps to resolve this crisis among the wary factions because the primary election is near.
"I can assure you that the party will go into the primary election peacefully and it will be handled by our national secretariat in a transparent way," he said.
Meanwhile, the traditional monarch of the Akure Kingdom, Oba Ogunlade Aladetoyinbo, has condemned the fetish placed at the Ondo State APC secretariat as "sacrilege."
Oba Aladetoyinbo described those who carried out the action as "miscreants" who want to drag the name of the palace into the murky water of the politics in the State.
"The palace condemns the attitude of some miscreants who went and sealed the entrance of the party secretariat with the traditional palm fronds, which is the traditional means of sealing off premises in Akureland.
"We want to state that carrying out traditional sealing-off of premises remains the prerogative of the palace."
The monarch said the sacrifice did not emanate from his palace, adding that his palace was ready to investigate the action.
"It is certain that those who carried out this condemnable act are not aware of the cultural and traditional implications of this action.
"The palace is apolitical and therefore should not be dragged into the internal wrangling of any party.
"The palace has sent its emissaries to carry out a thorough investigation of the matter and we are confident that the culprits will be apprehended in no distant time," Michael Adeyeye, a spokesman for the palace, said in a statement.
As at the time of this report, the fetish items were being removed by some brave members of the party who employed the service of spiritual leaders in the State.
