All Progressives Congress [APC] in Taraba State wing has vehemently denied that the alleged attack on a prince of Wukari chiefdom, Adi Shekarau, son of late Aku Uka, was commissioned by Hon. Danjuma Usman Shiddi, House of Representatives member representing Wukari/Ibi Federal Constituency. Shekarau was allegedly beaten into a pulp by some thugs during the APC congress held in Jalingo, the state capital but the party state that the alleged attack was magnified beyond proportions.
Ezra Audu, Media aide to Hon. Danjuma Usman Shiddi, said in a statement issued in Abuja that the misunderstanding between the parliamentarian and the prince was caused by the appearance of unaccredited delegates who were not invited to the special precongress meeting of stakeholders of the party. “What happened was simple. Some APC stakeholders from southern Taraba bribed the ushers, who gave them tags to access the venue of the meeting that was meant for critical stakeholders. The intruders were not invited to the meeting owing to their low party statue or ranking and were not eligible to attend such a mega meeting.
“So, the likes of Adi Shekarau, son of late Aku Uka, who were not stakeholders, infiltrated the meeting. While the meeting was going on, the intruders, including Adi resorted to throw decorum to the wind and started behaving in a manner that threatened to disrupt the meeting. The intruders deliberately asked senseless, provocative questions and insulting Danjuma Usman Shiddi aka Danji SS like people acting a script. “The House of Representatives member interrupted them and asked why some people who were not stakeholders in APC Taraba should allowed to be part of important meetings and were asking questions typical of thugs. “Infuriated by the lawmakers comment, Prince Adi Shekarau rose up and walked to Hon. Danjuma Usman Shiddi and violently hit him three times on the chest, challenging him to a fight for asking why they should be part of the APC stakeholders meeting.
“Luckily, Danjuma Shiddi did not utter a word nor dignify Adi with a response to his affront. Rather, he weighed his office, age, education and maturity and kept silent, leaving Adi to keep throwing tantrums. “Suddenly however, Prince Adi was swept from his feet, thrown down on the floor and beaten up by Danji’s loyalists who came from behind having seen the outpouring of anger and arrogance exhibited by Prince Shekarau. “Why should a two-time member of House of Representatives worry about such intruders that were not comfortable with the soaring popularity of Danjuma Usman Shiddi?, the statement asked.”
Ezra Audu, the media aide accused Prince Adi of only wanting to gain cheap popularity by fabricating lies that Danjuma insulted the late Aku Uka, saying the prince actually framed-up Danjuma Usman Shiddi to cover up his lowly activities. “Who in Wukari, Ibi, or even across southern Taraba and beyond does not know that Danjuma Usman Shiddi respects the late Aku Uka, as a father and the Supreme Leader of the Jukun people? Even among the siblings of Prince Adi, many were not happy with the unholy attitude of one of them who allowed himself to be used by politicians,” Ezra Audu concluded.