Kogi guber: SDP calls for postponement

Barely days to the conduct of the Kogi State governorship election slated for Saturday, the national leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), on Tuesday, called for the immediate postponement of the poll, citing unfavourable security reasons in the entire state.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the National Chairman of the Party, Prof Tunde Adeniran, flanked by other members of the National Working Committee of the Party, disclosed that members of the party including its Candidate in the election had come under heavy attacks by political thugs in the last few days which had cumulated to the razing down of the Party’s State Secretariat in Lokoja over the weekend.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the Kogi state November 16th governorship election and ensure that there is an atmosphere is conducive for a free fair and credible election.

According to him, “the SDP is calling for the postponement of the Kogi State governorship election as a result of the setbacks that the party and her candidate Natasha Akpoti suffered by the unjust disqualification of the party candidate which was restored by a competent court of jurisdiction and yet our candidate and party leader were prevented from gaining access to the venue where candidates were to sign the peace accord in Lokoja.

“We also once again wish to draw the attention of the Nigerian Police, as well as all other national security agencies to the huge threat to security and peace of the state that the governorship election has become.

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“The rising tension and dark cloud of despair which is building up across Kogi State ahead of the November 16 governorship election must be adequately addressed and very fast in order to prevent the election from engendering anarchy as well as to restore the confidence of electorates and the SDP members in particular in the election.”

He raised concern over the burning down of the Party’s State Secretariat in Lokoja, and called on the Nigerian police to make sure the perpetrators were brought to justice.

According to him, “the National leadership of the SDP has made official report of the incident through a petition on the dastardly act to the Office of the Inspector-General of Police, demanding an inquest into the crime.

” We count on the Inspector-General of Police to act swiftly and patriotically to expressly order a full-scale investigation into the crime to identify the sponsors and the criminal elements that perpetrated that atrocity on our Party and bring them to justice

“Nigerians woke up on Monday morning, the 11th of November 2019, to receive the shocking news of the burning down by yet-to-be-identified political thugs, of the State Secretariat of our party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

“This latest criminal act of arson, which was carried out on our party secretariat in Lokoja, is the culmination of assaults on us which began in the build-up to the 2019 general elections.”

Prof Adeniran who said that the party never expected things to go this bad pointed out that, “but we never envisaged that the banality could be taken to such an extreme of setting fire on our Secretariat building which also serves as the Campaign Office for our candidate in the governorship election.

“The fire which did a major damage to our campaign materials, office furniture and equipment as well as some sensitive documents was deliberately done not only to intimidate our candidate but to crumble the Party and incapacitate it in engaging in any meaningful campaigns in the short time left to it.”

According to him ” the attack may not be unconnected with party’s victory at the court and her candidate’s ground welcome by people of Kogi State in Lokoja.

“Going by the state-wide jubilation that erupted following the declaration of the eligibility of the SDP and Barrister Natsaha Akpoti, our candidate, to contest the election by the Federal High Court, Abuja on Thursday 7 October 2019 and her unprecedented triumphant entry to Lokoja thereafter, as well as the rousing welcome she received, it is natural that the opposition camps would get jittery.”

Prof Adeniran also debunked the claim that the Party representatives boycotted the signing of the Peace accord among the stakeholders in the election, saying rather the Party’s representatives were physically attacked and chased away from the venue like common criminals.