Don’t Introduce Religion into Your Sack By Governorship Tribunal, PDP Tells Gov Sule

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees and Chairman of the party’s Governorship Campaign Council in Nasarawa State, Senator Walid Jubrin, has asked Governor Abdullahi Sule not to blame his sack by the governorship election tribunal on religion.

According to Senator Jubrin,  Governor Sule should not blame his sack by the governorship tribunal on the two judges because they are Christians.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Jubrin told the governor that he lost the election in the first place due to poor performance in office but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allegedly manipulated the election in his favour.

Jubrin explained that it was wrong for Governor Sule to attribute his loss at the tribunal due to religion, saying, “Islam does not approve of robbery or injustice or cheating your neighbour on the basis of religion.

“Islam is first and foremost about truth, fear of God and justice! Sule and everyone in Nasarawa State and Nigeria is fully aware that Sule did not win the election and therefore should not be governor in Nasarawa against the will of the people and the law.

“The sad attempt to divide the judiciary on religious lines will destroy the only institution that remains the last hope of the common man.

“The judgement of the two jurists was based on facts and Governor Sule should speak to the facts rather than pleading Islam to divide public opinion in order to hand on to power after he had been clearly rejected by majority of voters in Nasarawa State.”

He further said, “I am an elder of over 70 years and I am also a devout Muslim and Fulani by tribe. At my age, I went round the whole of Nasarawa State during the last campaign. It was very clear everywhere we went that the people were no longer with the incumbent Governor Engr. Audu Sule of the APC.”

He recalled the electioneering campaigns, saying, “From the first APC campaign outing in Toto Local Government, the governor was greeted by women and youths with street protests. They told him clearly that they were tired of his lack of performances and empty promises.

“In fact, Toto had been without electricity for almost 10 years of APC governorship in our state. Everywhere the governor and his team went the reception was cold and scanty which was a very clear signal that Governor Sule was out of touch with the needs and aspirations of the people of Nasarawa State.”

The former PDP BoT chairman said that it was due to the poor performance of Sule in office that President Bola Tinubu lost the state during the Presidential election on February 25, which was the foretaste of things to come in Nasarawa State.  

According to Senator Jubrin, “It was clear there won’t be any miracle for APC in the governorship election which was just two weeks ahead!

“In the governorship election, Governor Sule suffered crippling defeat as voters in his Local Government of Akwanga overwhelmingly rejected him and voted massively for the PDP Governorship candidate, Dr. David Ombugadu.

“Similarly, in Sule’s senatorial zone, he suffered crushing defeat after four years in office.

“The situation in the Southern Zone was even worse for the governor who was defeated flatly in Lafia the state capital and in Doma Local Government where His Deputy, Dr. Akabe, hails from!

“Obi Local Government also rejected him and voted massively for Dr. David Ombugadu of the PDP! These are the most populous LGAs in the Southern zone!

“In the West Senatorial zone, only Keffi gave Sule any real winking votes. He was defeated in Kokona where the state chairman of APC hails from and in Karu which has the highest numbers of registered voters in our state, Governor Sule was overwhelmingly defeated as voters rejected him in favour of Dr. David Ombugadu of the PDP!”

He said that it was no surprise that the governorship tribunal in the state sacked him as the state governor, explaining that it has nothing to do with religion and the justices of the tribunal being Christians.

According to Jubrin, “We were all shocked by what happened because up to this day the results from polling units from Nasarawa State on the INEC IREV platform shows that Engr. Sule lost to Dr. Ombugadu of the PDP!

“Instead of conceding defeat as is the case in true democracy the state government collided with INEC in Lafia to add massive figures to Sule’s vote just to declare winner!,” he explained.

Jubrin said that the PDP showed maturity by rejecting the fraudulent declaration and following the due process of law to reclaim Ombugadu’s mandate, insisting that he was not surprised that the tribunal upheld the PDP complaints.