Saddique Baba
The Bauchi State government has accused the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Saddique Baba, of allegedly planning to recruit political thugs for the 2023 gubernatorial elections.
The government based its allegations on an online publication (not The Nation) titled “Ex-Chief of Staff Sadique, ruling APC recruit ‘1000’ militants, political thugs’ saying it will resist any plan by the APC guber candidate to put the state into chaos.
In a statement made available to journalists in Bauchi, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the governor, Mukhtar Gidado, requested President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate Saddique over the alleged plan.
The statement party reads: “It should not be overstated that, the plan to foist an extra-constitutional and quasi-military organ on the state, for electoral advantage, can only lead to a total breakdown of law and order, with dire and unfathomable consequences for our dear country in general and Bauchi State in particular.
“However, against the backdrop of the deteriorating security situation in the country, any responsible government will be alarmed by this disclosure which, if true, portends a grave danger not only for Bauchi State but also the country at large.
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“We note, with concern, that the sudden escalation in violent crimes characterised by kidnappings, banditry, and other vices in certain parts of the state, seems to fall in place with the allegations contained in the Sahara Reporters story.”
But the camp of the former Chief of Air Staff fired back at the state government, describing the allegations as untrue and misleading.
A statement by the Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee to the APC candidate, Ahmed Barau, said: “To put the records straight, the publication in question, which publishers credited their sources to an unnamed Colonel of the Nigerian Army, said it has a ‘security signal’ on the said recruitment exercise, without further presenting facts, but only quoted some anonymous ‘politicians’ who funded the publication.
“As law-abiding citizens, we did not hold the meeting in question until we officially sought for and obtained the approval of the Bauchi State Police Commissioner who was represented at the meeting by an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
“It is their decimal performance in office that prompted the entry of the retired Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar into the gubernatorial race, and the voters are eager to give them their scorecards on the election day. We remain steadfast and committed to our mission of winning the coming election and enthroning good governance. Therefore, no amount of cheap blackmail will distract us.”
The Nation
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