EING TEXT OF A PRESS RELEASE BY JOSHUA GWEBE, THE NATIONAL CONVENER CONFERENCE OF HARMONISED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS IN NIGERIA ON THE 14TH OF APRIL 2023 AT CHIDA HOTELS, UTAKO, ABUJA
PREAMBLE
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, as fellow patriots and stakeholders in the Nigerian project especially as the nation struggles through a transition period, we are determined more than ever to uphold and strengthen the Nigerian democratic experiment in line with our mandate of fostering due process and transparency in the electoral process.
It is in line with this and coupled with the nefarious activities of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) under the leadership of Mr. Fintiri before, during and after the March 18th Governorship elections that we make bold to say that Mr. Fintir should be held accountable if the security of lives and property in Taraba State gets worsens even as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) plans a re-run in the State.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, on the 18th of March, 2023, the good people of Adamawa State came out in their large numbers to vote for Hajiya Aisha Dahiru of the All Progressive Congress (APC) with a firm conviction that she will be the leader who will save Adamawa from the clutches of bad governance and corruption. However, having realized that he has lost, the incumbent governor devised a myriad sinister plots that led to the declaration of the results as inconclusive by INEC.
Attempts to conduct a re-run have continued to suffer numerous setbacks and frustrations by agents of the State government who would rather prefer to have Mr. Fintiri announced as the winner even though he was never the choice of the good people of Adamawa State. Since the governor failed to carry out his undemocratic and criminal scheme of having himself cleared a winner, he has resorted to sponsoring violence and thuggery as a means to an end.
Credible intelligence before us shows that Mr. Fintiri has employed the services of thugs and men of the underworld who are armed and given logistics support to go round the local government of the state to cause mayhem and create fear and panic in the hearts of Adamawa people. This is unacceptable in any civilised society and Mr. Fintiri can’t be allowed to get away with this and should be held accountable if there’s a further breakdown in law and order in the State.
We therefore call on Mr. President and all the federal security agencies to do all they can to put an end to the lawlessness that Mr. Fintiri is breeding in Adamawa State. Security agencies should as a matter of urgency arrest and prosecute all those involved in this shameful and disgraceful act to serve as deterrent to others.
