Bauchi State government has demanded probe of the alleged recruitment of 1,000 militants and political thugs by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi ahead of the 2023 governorship election to disrupt the political process.
In a statement issued yesterday by the special adviser to the governor on media and publicity, Mukhtar Gidado, he said the matter should be of grave concern to anybody with a keen interest in the development of Bauchi State and the overall health of Nigeria.
An online newspaper had reported that “Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar and the APC had recruited over 1,000 foot-soldiers with arms to destabilise parts of the state perceived as opponent’s stronghold.”
Sadique Abubakar is the APC governorship candidate in the state. Gidado said, “We are not concerned by the lamentations contained in the story of unnamed APC stalwarts who appear to have been shortchanged during the primaries of the party as that is their internal affair. However, against the backdrop of the deteriorating security situation in the country, 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.”
Meanwhile, the APC Gubernatorial Campaign Committee of Ambassador Sadique Abubakar in Bauchi has said no amount of campaign of calumny would distract it from pursuing the state’s plum seat come 2023 general election in the country.
The chairman, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar Media and Publicity Committee, Hon Salisu Ahmed Barau, described as a false alarm the ‘concocted story’ sponsored by the state government that APC in the state recruited 1,000 militants’ political thugs ahead of the governorship election slated for next year.
Reacting to what he described as ‘concocted Sahara Reporters’ story’, Barau said it was ostensibly fabricated to mislead the average Bauchi voters who are increasingly showing interests in ensuring the success of the APC candidate in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
But Gidado said the state government noted with concern that the sudden escalation in violent crimes characterised by kidnappings, banditry and other vices, in certain parts of the state, seem to fall in place with the allegations contained in the Sahara Reporters story.
Gidado said during this period, places like Sabon Gari, Garin Sambo, Digare, Mansur and Shafan Duguri in Alkaleri local government, Boto and Tudun Wadan Malima in Tafawa Balewa local government area, Sabon Garin Na Rabi and Gumau in Toro local government area, Bura in Ningi local government area have witnessed increased security threats and actual breaches.
He said the state government had been stretched to the limits as it battles what to all intents and purposes, is a well-orchestrated chains of crime and criminality, designed to distract it from its developmental goals.
“We shudder to imagine that any responsible and patriotic individual or organization would, willy-nilly, promote violence against its people, more so when, as alleged by Sahara Reporters, the entities involved actually aspire to lead the state.
“It raises the question: Do they aspire to rule over the dead? Though we have heard allegations of violence and insecurity instigated by people in authority, we cannot imagine anyone shooting his way to power, in a democracy,” he said.
The adviser observed that power-hungry persons cannot understand the sustained and painstaking effort at democratisation and people-empowerment that have endeared the Bala Mohammed administration to the vast majority of the Bauchi people.
“People in the state are shocked that, despite orchestrated campaigns of calumny, Bala Mohammed’s popularity continues to soar as demonstrated by the desertions from other parties to the PDP, with the APC suffering the most biting exodus.
“Despite the eye-opening Sahara Reporters story, the Bala Mohammed Administration wishes to assure the good people of Bauchi State that it will remain focused on delivering the dividends of democracy that, for several years before 2019, had eluded the peace-loving people of the state,” he said.
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