Governor Nasir el Rufai of Kaduna State has alleged that intelligence reports suggest that the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is planning to disrupt the coming elections because of the imminent defeat.
The governor who disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting at Kudan town on Sunday, however, assured the people of the state that security agents are already on the alert to ensure peaceful elections.
According to him, the reports didnt suggest that the opposition party will forment trouble in Kaduna State but the government is not taking chances.
“As a leader, it is my responsibility to tell you what is being planned because there are a lot of PDP bigwigs in Kudan local government and they may try to disturb the peace of this area,” el Rufai argued.
The governor who said that any reasonable person will not want to cause trouble in his locality, however, said that PDP chieftains are not always reasonable.
Kudan is the hometown of Hon Isa Ashiru, the PDP governorship candidate. Similarly, Hunkuyi which is the headquarters of Kudan local government, is the hometown of Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi, el Rufai’s estranged political ally who is the senatorial candidate of PDP.
Speaking further, Governor El Rufai advised the people of Kudan local government to shun any politician who approaches them with a plot to cause a crisis in the run-up to the polls or during elections.
“If any politician approaches any of you to cause violence, ask him to bring his child so that you will execute the plot together. Politicians are fond of using the children of the masses for nefarious activities while their children are either schooling somewhere, or are safe abroad,” he advised.
According to the governor, “no life is better than the other. The life of a rich man’s son is no more precious than the life of a poor man’s son. Also, the life of an educated person’s son is of equal value as the life of an illiterate’s son.”
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El Rufai however assured that government will provide adequate security on election day for people to vote candidates of their choice.
“Politics is about conviction. There is no compulsion in politics. Siblings of the same family can vote for different parties or candidates. It is our duty as a government to ensure security so that people can exercise their franchise,” he pointed out.
The governor also explained why he chose Dr Hadiza Balarabe as his running mate, arguing that his choice has nothing to do with religion or ethnicity but her competence.
El Rufai said that “ethno-religious considerations have always informed the choice of deputy governors since 1992 but it has not brought peace in Kaduna state.”
The governor said that it is time to discard the politics of religion and ethnicity and embrace a merit based system that will bring progress and development in the country.
