All Progressive Congress APC Campaign Council in Plateau state on Thursday said it deeply appreciates the public plea for peace and restraint by the highly revered royal father, His Majesty the Gbong Gwom Jos and Chairman, Plateau State Council of Chiefs and Emirs, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, issued in view of the tension arising over the delay in the announcement of results of the National Assembly elections conducted on the 23rd February 2019.
In a statement issued by Mr. Jonathan Ishaku, the media publicity and protocol Committee of the campaign council and made available to newsmen in Jos reads that “The Council wholly identifies with the clarion call by His Majesty and enjoins every peace-loving resident of the state to always toe the path of peace and orderly conduct and allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to carry out its duties.
As we pointed out in our last press statement, the delay had indeed provided merchants of mischief the opportunity to mobilize miscreants with the purpose of unleashing violence in the state. We are glad that INEC has now finally announced the results for Plateau North Senatorial zone and we also hope that they would also handle the Plateau South case in an expeditious manner.
While the delay lasted, there was no doubt it was being manipulated by invidious political forces who desperately want to truncate the atmosphere of peaceful, fair and free elections which was witnessed at the last polls. They wanted to cause chaos to scare away voters and blackmail the ruling party in the process. Only last night, a failed assassination attempt was made on a popular artist and APC chieftain, Mr. Joseph Chuwak Dalyop (popularly called DJ Tassa), while driving along with his wife on Domkat Bali Road, Jos. The bullet narrowly missed him but not his wife who is now lying critically ill in an undisclosed hospital with a shot to the head. The attempt was made to incite APC partisans to violence but owing to our preachment for peace we were able to calm frayed nerves.
We, however, urge the police and other security bodies to step up pro-active measures to avert future occurrences.
Lastly, we wish to extricate the APC in the ongoing imbroglio. The party is only a contestant in the elections along with 72 other political parties. The conduct of elections is the responsibility of INEC, the independent umpire whose duty it is to collate and announce the result of the ballot.
It is, therefore, disingenuous to bring the name of our party and the Governor of the state into the matter. If the party or the Governor had the electoral leverage being ascribed to them to determine the names of winners and losers, then why do they submit themselves to elections as the others?
We deprecate the frequent linkage of our party and the Executive Governor in the enpassé by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), especially the Chairman, Chief Damishi T. Sango. The tone of his press statement dated February 27, 2019 and subsequent action are unbefitting of a leader of a registered political party. We condemn this as a ploy to blackmail us ahead of the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections our party is once again set to sweep.
We think it is also an incitement to violence promoted by the very top echelon of the PDP which has a desperate agenda to win by all means, fair or foul. The security establishment should hold them culpable should there be a total breakdown of peace in the state. There is clearly a link between their reckless rhetoric and the failed assassination attempt on the APC chieftain. This is a new dimension in the annals of Plateau State politics.
