The embattled Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba state whose electoral victory was upturned at the state election petition tribunal recently has reacted tothe judgment which ordered that the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, be sworn in as the winner of the April 11 gubernatorial election.
Ishaku
In an interview with Vanguard, Ishaku expressed shock over the tribunal’s verdict, which posited he was not validly nominated as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He stressed that the verdict was not only a surprise but a “total disappointment” in view of the fact that the main issues before the tribunal were not considered except for the promotion of trivialities.
He said:“As a matter of fact, the issues before the tribunal were purely election issues, but regrettably, the tribunal in its judgment picked a pre-election issue. By this singular act, one can easily conclude that certain interests are coming to bear in the judgment. It is a calculated attempt to deprive me of the people’s mandate to lead them.
“I contested the primaries under the platform of the PDP and won. I was presented with the party’s flag as a mark of recognition as its candidate for the last polls. Therefore, it will be out of place for someone or the tribunal to insinuate in its judgment that I never contested the primary or I was not validly the candidate of the party.”
Ishaku noted that there was growing anxiety across the nation particularly by the PDP supporters that the APC ruling government was scheming hard to muscle out the opposition party by unfair means.
He further noted that it was for that reason that the governorship elections in Rivers, Taraba and Akwa Ibom states were quashed.
The governor said:“Apart from the use of the tribunal there are also other unfair means such as use of anti-corruption agencies to hunt down PDP members. This scenario is not healthy for the nation’s nascent democracy.”
Speaking on whether his challenger aroused passion among Nigerians because she is a woman, Ishaku said:“It may be one of the factors responsible for the support Aisha Alhassan who contested the election with me is receiving, but I want to say that the much propaganda her supporters are making on the issue in the media, especially the social media which had so much promoted falsehood on the issue among other reasons are contributory factors. As a matter of fact often times, the issue of religion is another factor her supporters are using to attract sympathy from different quarters for her.”
On his assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari, Ishaku said that he saw the president as a man who wants to also contribute his own quota for the development of Nigeria for posterity, stressing that it was on that note that the president came up with policies and programmes “even though they are yet to mature”.
Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state recently denied making any Facebook post on the judgment of the Taraba state governorship election tribunal.
Ishaku
In an interview with Vanguard, Ishaku expressed shock over the tribunal’s verdict, which posited he was not validly nominated as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He stressed that the verdict was not only a surprise but a “total disappointment” in view of the fact that the main issues before the tribunal were not considered except for the promotion of trivialities.
He said:“As a matter of fact, the issues before the tribunal were purely election issues, but regrettably, the tribunal in its judgment picked a pre-election issue. By this singular act, one can easily conclude that certain interests are coming to bear in the judgment. It is a calculated attempt to deprive me of the people’s mandate to lead them.
“I contested the primaries under the platform of the PDP and won. I was presented with the party’s flag as a mark of recognition as its candidate for the last polls. Therefore, it will be out of place for someone or the tribunal to insinuate in its judgment that I never contested the primary or I was not validly the candidate of the party.”
Ishaku noted that there was growing anxiety across the nation particularly by the PDP supporters that the APC ruling government was scheming hard to muscle out the opposition party by unfair means.
He further noted that it was for that reason that the governorship elections in Rivers, Taraba and Akwa Ibom states were quashed.
The governor said:“Apart from the use of the tribunal there are also other unfair means such as use of anti-corruption agencies to hunt down PDP members. This scenario is not healthy for the nation’s nascent democracy.”
Speaking on whether his challenger aroused passion among Nigerians because she is a woman, Ishaku said:“It may be one of the factors responsible for the support Aisha Alhassan who contested the election with me is receiving, but I want to say that the much propaganda her supporters are making on the issue in the media, especially the social media which had so much promoted falsehood on the issue among other reasons are contributory factors. As a matter of fact often times, the issue of religion is another factor her supporters are using to attract sympathy from different quarters for her.”
On his assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari, Ishaku said that he saw the president as a man who wants to also contribute his own quota for the development of Nigeria for posterity, stressing that it was on that note that the president came up with policies and programmes “even though they are yet to mature”.
Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state recently denied making any Facebook post on the judgment of the Taraba state governorship election tribunal.
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