National chairman of the Inter-party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC), Peter Ameh, has alleged that some persons have found willing tools within personnel of the Nigerian Police Force who are being used to threaten and intimidate him.
“I want to cry to the whole world that this is political persecution by few cabals to use the police authorities to deny me my right to stand for the IPAC election slated for August 27, 2019,” Ameh cried out.
The extant chairman of the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) who emerged chairman of IPAC in a controversial circumstance last year said the renewed ploy of intimidation towards his person by some vested interest may not be unconnected with the forthcoming election of IPAC slated for Tuesday in the Federal Capital Territory.
He said, If those seeking to scuttle “my interest to participate in the forthcoming election have a case against me, they should go to Court and present their case stating that employing this odd tactics was undemocratic, illegal and crude.”
He said that certain vested group who want to take over IPAC for political gains have part of their ploy to keep “me off the venue of the election on Tuesday to whittle down my chances to win the election,” in an interview with Tribune at his office in Abuja.
According to him, the source of the intimidation and threats of his person arises from a matter that has long been trashed by court of competent jurisdiction on the one hand and the general assembly of the council and wondered the basis of the new tactical intimidation employed to scare off contesting for another term as chairman of IPAC.
According to him the whole issue started as far back as August 2018 when a faceless group by the name Concerned Leaders of Nigeria’s Political Parties in a purported letter of inquiry seeking: “Appraising Your Suitability To Lead The inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC”, the authors of the document said in part that “Our respective parties would like to know why you seek to lead an organization you factionalized.
In the document dated August 13, 2018 addressed to Mr. Peter Ameh, National Chairman, Progressives Peoples Alliance, and signed by the duo of Edozie Madu, National chairman, Independent Democrats and Professor Bankole Okowa, National Chairman, Unity Party of Nigeria.
In the document, the duo said: “Our respective par ties and we believe, all Nigeria’s political parties, are concerned about the image of IPAC and the credibility of its leaders. We are eager to review your response to these issues before the election, in order to help us make an informed decision about your suitability to hold any IPAC office?”
Ameh told Tribune that it was after the letter that “I won to emerge chairman of IPAC. What does that tell you? He asked.
One of the signatory, to the document seeking to appraise the suitability of Ameh, Edozie Madu in a letter dated August, 12 2019, to Peter Ameh entitled: RE-Appraising the Suitability To lead the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) dismissed the document stating that: “The letter in which my name appeared to have signed with one Prof. Bankole Okowa, National chairman of unity Party of Nigeria is without my consent. I did not authorize anybody to sign any such letter on my behalf.”
Ameh who noted that this tactics is similar to that deployed before the last election said he had received a formal invitation and was later notified via sms from a phone line with number 0806592851 registered to one Aminu Sokoto an officer with the police attached General Monitoring unit located at Louis Edet House.
Upon getting to the station he realized it was allegation of money spent on behalf of IPAC while he was secretary while Yunusa Tanko was the Chairman of IPAC and he made his statement.
He said it is curious how that attention has been focused at him when the chairman of IPAC in the period 2013-2015 was Yunusa Tanko whom the Political Parties Code of Conduct 2013, stated that the chairperson be a signatory to all bank accounts operated by IPAC; chairperson approve expenditure and financial commitment on behalf of IPAC.
He pointed out that the matter which has been resolved by the general assembly of IPAC where the police could not resolve it is now an issue for which he has been subjected to all forms of threats and intimidation urging the general public to note that his plight.
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