Police in Ondo on Saturday night restrained the deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, from moving out of his official quarters at the Government House premises.
Mr Ajayi and the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, have been at loggerheads for a while.
The police commissioner, Bolaji Salami, reportedly acting on instructions from Mr Akeredolu directed officers to prevent the deputy governor from moving out of the premises.
Agboola, alongside some of his personal aides, were trying to move their properties out of the government house.
Unconfirmed reports say the deputy governor intends to contest for governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Agboola’s spokesman, Allen Sowore, told journalists that his principal was taken hostage for hours, despite having immunity.
“We could not leave the government house for several hours yesterday as they refused the deputy governor to pack his personal belongings,” he said.
“At a time, the deputy governor had to ask the stand of the commissioner of Police in this matter, because the way he acted yesterday was just too low of him as a public officer and not a politician.”
But Akeredolu’s special assistant on new media, Richard Olatunde accused Agboola’s aides of moving out properties belonging to the government.
He said: “The deputy governor’s aides were caught last night with government properties. Some of them even carried the whole of a government furniture claiming he was the one that refurbished it.
“They took a television set, claiming the office of the deputy governor bought it as if the deputy governor’s office doesn’t belong to the government.
“So, they were made to return these items by the security men at the gate, and instead they call the deputy governor who later came, and the aides became emboldened by his presence.”
