The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State has been charged with inciting racial and religious tensions after a recent Court of Appeal ruling that validated Governor Abdullahi Sule’s victory.
Mr. Peter Ahemba, the governor’s senior special assistant on public affairs, brought up the issue in Lafia yesterday.
Ahemba accused the opposition party of trying to stage-manage a protest in Lafia over the latest ruling in order to undermine and blackmail the judiciary. He made this accusation in a statement he sent to journalists.
He claimed that during the “stage-managed” protest, some state residents were referred to as “foreigners” by the “sponsored individuals” operating under the auspices of the “Coalition of Indigenous People of Nasarawa State,” which amounted to inciting ethnic strife in the state where residents have lived in peace for their entire lives.
He claimed that despite repeated warnings from security authorities to avoid from plunging the state into crisis, the PDP had persistently followed the hazardous route beginning with the electioneering activities ahead of the state’s governorship election on March 18.
He claimed that during the last governorship election petition tribunal hearings, the party had also launched an attack on the judiciary. He also added that the stage-managed demonstration was just another ruse to get sympathy from the public and damage the reputation of the judiciary.
The recent stage-managed protest against the Appeal Court’s ruling by a group of sponsored individuals operating under the banner of the “Coalition of Indigenous People of Nasarawa State” is a deliberate attempt to undermine the Appeal Court’s brave, wise, and firm ruling and intimidate the country’s judiciary into considering the Governor’s appeal on its merits rather than based on gut feelings.
The ridiculous appeal for the international community to become involved in the domestic affairs of the state and to label certain ethnic groups as foreigners has further exposed the opposition PDP’s ethnic agenda in Nasarawa State politics. It is imperative that the PDP and its leaders are reminded of the state’s great diversity in terms of ethnic and religious views, and that no group can produce a governor of the state without the support of other groups.
Therefore, we denounce this display of desperation for power and implore state security authorities to take heed of the opposition PDP and its allied parties’ hazardous speech, which verges on inciting hatred among the populace.
The PDP-sponsored coalition’s accusations of outside meddling in state affairs are particularly absurd, given that the opposition party, which lost the governorship election, depended entirely on outside forces to seize power. It is well known that the PDP used sentiments to win over some gullible people and groups both domestically and abroad in its attempt to usurp the mandate granted to Governor Sule and his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),” said Ahemba.