Bauchi State APC And PDP Anticipates Victory Ahead Of Supreme Court Verdict Amidst Tension
Residents in Bauchi are witnessing Political tension ahead of the Supreme Court Judgement on the state gubernatorial election petition which is expected to be delivered on Monday with the two actors, APC and PDP hoping for a positive outcome.
Though people of the state were going about their normal businesses, there was however apprehension as people were seen discussing the issue in groups agitating for the camp they belong to.
The Newera News gathered that a chieftain of the APC who is an ardent supporter of the former governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar who was defeated at the polls, Hassan Sharif while talking to our correspondent, assured that victory is theirs because according to him, the APC won the contested election.
He said that: “The APC won majority seats in the State House of Assembly with 21 members, 10 House of Reps, 3 Senators, the presidential election with over 80%, how then will someone imagine that we lost the gubernatorial election, definitely the judgement of the Supreme Court will be in our favour.”
On his part, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Yayanuwa Zainabari, insisted that the PDP won the election because people voted for it massively because of their disaffection with the then ruling APC, stressing that the PDP apart from winning at the polls, also won at the Tribunal and the Appeal Court.
He said: “People of Bauchi State massively voted for PDP and its gubernatorial candidate, we have so far defeated the APC in three places, in sha Allah we will defeat them again at the Supreme Court. We have worked hard for our victory and nobody will take away from us”.
However, the party representatives called for calm after the judgement must have been delivered agreeing to the fact that Bauchi State and its people should be paramount, stressing that any violence will only retard progress in the state.
They appealed to their supporters to accept whatever is in the outcome of the case having in mind that the office has a tenure of only four years after which another election will be conducted, saying that going by this, there is no need for violence after the judgement.
Meanwhile, elders of the state under the auspices of ‘Coalition of Elders for Peace and Good Governance in Bauchi State’ have appealed to citizens of the state to accept the outcome of the verdict in good faith.
The coalition of elders made the appeal in a press statement it issued to newsmen on Sunday and signed by Sarkin Arewan Bauchi, Alhaji Hassan Sharif, Mr Apolos J.H, Alhaji Abdullahi Gololo, Alhaji Lawan Mohammed Gungura, Alhaji Kawule Kakudi, Alhaji Ibrahim Hardawa, Alhaji Hassan Galadiman Wandi, Alhaji Danlami Ubale Zaranda, Alhaji Inuwa Boto and Malam Yahya Gabciyari.
Other signatories are Malam Hassan Dagu, Alhaji Abdullahi Sarkin Yamma, Garba Sa’idu Cheledi, Alhaji Mai Jama’a Damba, Alhaji Adamu K. Udubo, Alhaji Hamza S. Sakuwa, Alhaji Ahmed Alaramma Itas, Alhaji Sambo S. Jama’are, Alhaji Garba Wuro Dawakeri and Alhaji Sa’idu Adamu Ginja.
According to the elders, the appeal became imperative in view of the political tension in the state as the judgement is about to be passed by the Supreme Court, saying that the state is known for peace and political tolerance since the second republic when losers went to court to seek redress, adding that the courts’ decisions had never triggered violence or crisis in the state, hence the need for the citizens to maintain the tempo.
“As elders, we foresee the danger in crises, and we won’t like a situation where the generation of our unborn children suffer because of the inactions of some unscrupulous elements within our midst. It is on this basis that we call on the good citizens of Bauchi state to maintain the tempo they are known for by accepting whatever decision the supreme court may pass as Bauchi should be our first priority,” they said in the statement.
Likewise, another civil society organisations known as Arewa Youth Mobilisation and Mass Mobilisation for Voting Wisely urged politicians and supporters of political parties in the state to avoid overheating the polity ahead of the supreme court’s verdict.
A spokesperson for the organisations while addressing a press conference at NUJ Secretariat in Bauchi Abdullahi Abdulkadir urged security agents to be on the alert with a view to forestalling any potential break down of law and order after the judgement.
“We should be very careful and tolerant and remain law-abiding. When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. So let us accept whatever decision made by the court in good faith,” he pleaded.