Go And Rest, Lalong Is Waiting To Be Sworn In For A Second Term Ex-Plateau Speaker, Azi Tells Useni

Yakubu Busari

The former  Speaker Plateau State House of Assembly, Rt Hon  Peter Ajang Azi has said, Jeremiah Useni  should  go home and rest that  Governor Simon Bako Lalong is waiting to be sworn in the second time as the Executive Governor of Plateau State.

Azi who made this  disclosure to our correspondent  in Jos said  that APC is prepare for the  Saturday Jos, Bassa Federal House of Rep seat.

He expressed optimism that the APC government has done credibly well to deserve the votes of Tudunwada, Kabong supporters to overwhelmingly voted him.

Azi called on politicians to eschew violence and campaign for the candidates of their choice because politics is not a do or die affairs, we should  embrace togetherness rather than preaching division amongst the state.

The Plateau PDP State Campaign Council is aware of the meetings between the Benue State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) who is an indigene of Kanke Local Government Area and the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Plateau State over the weekend.

Information at our disposal indicates that the meetings, which held at the INEC office in Jos were ostensibly to work out strategies to aid the current governor of Plateau on Saturday during the elections.

Plateau PDP Chairman Hon Damishi Sango had last week criticised the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the State Alhaji Husseini Halilu Pai for compromising his position and raising tension in the state.

He accused the REC of allowing the arbitrary cancellation of results in many PDP strongholds thus leading to inconclusive elections or attempting to give PDP’s victory to APC.

An insider familiar with the workings of the strategies of the Lalong administration has said

“This government is willing and very ready to do anything; I mean anything, to retain power in the March 9, 2019 governorship election.”

And that “anything” includes the meetings between the two Resident Electoral Commissioners, vote-buying, box snatching, monetary inducement of INEC staff, deployment of faulty card readers in PDP strongholds, using fake score sheets or voting without result sheets, causing confusion or fights in Polling Units that could lead to vote cancellation  and the outright buying and intimidation of PDP agents.

Other measures penciled for implementation include frustrating the movements of the PDP governorship candidate Senator JT Useni and some key PDP stakeholders, and deploying the military to  intimidate voters and harass party agents to keep them away from collation centres. 

The insiders said the “anything” also includes instigating fatal confrontations between opposing political parties where necessary. 

We have been reliably informed that these extreme and unconstitutional measures are being contemplated because the governor is personally not prepared in any way to concede defeat – it is not an option to him and his handlers.

In addition,  he is being perceived by Abuja as a weakling for letting go of Plateau North Senatorial seat to PDP instead of declaring APC as winner  and letting the heavens fall.

The campaign council is particularly concerned at some reports by residents that some military personnel have visited the Government Secondary School Tudun Wada used as ward collation centre and have asked for two classrooms to pitch their camp for four days to the elections.

It is a well -established fact  in our nation that soldiers are not to be deployed for election purposes.

The campaign therefore council urges PDP supporters to raise their level of alertness this week of election to frustrate APC’s elaborate rigging plans.

It assures that all steps are being taken on the many issues that are being reported daily.