The government of Bauchi state under the leadership of governor Bala Mohammed and the All Progressives Congress (APC) guber candidate for the state, Saddique Baba, are trading words over the forthcoming general elections slated for next year.
The duo were observed to have been pointing accusing fingers at each other over an alleged plan to implore the services of political thugs to rig the elections.
In a statement made available to media men in the state by the governor, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mukhtar Gidado, the governor raised an alarm that “plans to foist an extra constitutional and quasi-military organ on the state, for electoral advantage” said the plans have been uncovered.
Such plans, if not timely addressed, he believed ” can only lead to a total breakdown of law and order, with dire and unfathomable consequences for our dear country in general and Bauchi state in particular.”
Wondering why some few individuals that ought to assist the government in creating a conducive environment for the elections to be peaceful are the ones going about seeking ways to frustrate the exercise, “against the backdrop of the deteriorating security situation in the country” he said, “any responsible government will be alarmed by this disclosure which, if true, portends a grave danger not only for Bauchi State but also the country at large.”
Adding that “we note, with concern, that the sudden escalation in violent crimes characterized by kidnappings, banditry and other vices, in certain parts of the state, seems to fall in place with the allegations contained in the said publication.”
The state government, he said ” shudder to imagine that any responsible and patriotic individual or organisation would, willy-nilly, promote violence against its people, more so when, as alleged, the entities involved actually aspire to lead the state”
In a swift reaction, the APC gubernatorial candidate for the state, through his media and Publicity committee led by Ahmed Barau, debunked the allegations, describing it as ” untrue and misleading”.
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The said publication which The Trumpet noticed to have gone viral in some online platforms, accusing the candidate and his team of planning to implore the services of thugs to win the election was observed to have been vehemently frowned at by the party and its governorship flag bearer.
The publication, as stated by him “was to cover the failure of the ruling party in the state, which had resorted to cheap blackmail.”
Part of the statement that the candidate issued out to Journalists through his media and Publicity debunking the allegation reads “to put the records straight, the publication in question, which publishers credited their sources to an unnamed Colonel of the Nigerian Army, said it is in possession of a ‘security signal’ on the said recruitment exercise, without further presenting facts, but only quoted some anonymous ‘politicians’ who obviously funded the publication.”
Further denying the allegations, he said “as law-abiding citizens, we did not hold the meeting in question until we officially sought for and obtained the approval of the Bauchi State Police Commissioner who was represented at the meeting by an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
The candidate who could not fathom why some media practitioners have decided to deviate from the ethics of the profession, beckoned at journalists to always discharge their assigned responsibilities according to the laid down rules of the profession.
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