Ahead of the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State, the Candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle on Monday raised the alarm that his life was under threat over his insistence not to step down despite pressures on him.
Addressing news in Abuja yesterday, Alhaji Dantalle also raised the alarm over the alleged plans to screen out 13 Political Parties including APM out of the race in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC), by the Independent National Electoral Commissioned (INEC).
He, however, expressed the confidence of winning the governorship election despite all odds as the People of the state were fed up with the administration of the incumbent, Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress.
According to him, ” my life is under threat over my refusal to withdraw from the race after winning the ticket of my party, a top government official has been going round with huge sums of money, prevailing on candidates of other political parties to withdraw from the race and I have been approached but I turned down the offer, that’s offence.
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“The APC disqualified serious contenders who they saw as threats to Governor Yahaya’s chance, the trend has now been shifted to formidable political parties and they are desperate to push those of us who are ready to slug it out with the APC candidate/
“This will not work, APM which I am the Candidate will win the race with the support of the People of the state across the Political Parties.
“Right now, there is a grand plot by the INEC to use technicalities to disqualify our deputy governorship over his age and we have been making frantic to make a replacement inline with the electoral guidelines but the officials of Commission have been using delay tactics.”
He said the party was banking on Not too Young to Run Act while INEC said the minimum age is 35 years, saying that the current deputy governor of Zamfara State is 32 years and wondered why he was not disqualified.
He said the party would follow the constitutional procedure if INEC eventually disqualified its candidates.
” I don’t know why our own case is different when the current deputy governor of Zamfara state is just 32 years old, we are just raising the alarm now so that the public will no what’s going on underground.”
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