The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Taraba State, Emmanuel Bwacha has accused Governor Darius Ishaku of being behind his legal travails.
Bwacha alleged that the governor wants his party man and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Kefas Agbu to win the next election to cover his “tracks” after his eight-year administration.
Bwacha said Ishaku is threatened by his emergence as the APC candidate and has allegedly worked with some disgruntled members of the APC to deny him the ticket through various litigations.
“The governor of the state is threatened by my emergence. He knows that by the grace of God if I am on the ballot I will win this election,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday.
“He (Ishaku) has a candidate, he wants someone who will succeed him and cover his tracks. It is normal, that is the tradition in all the states, no governor will want to leave without having a successor in place.”
Bwacha, a serving Senator representing Taraba South Senatorial District, won the APC governorship primary in Taraba on May 26, 2022, months after he dumped the PDP for the APC in February.
His candidacy has since been challenged by some members of the APC in the state.
In September, Justice Simon Amobeda of a Federal High Court in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, sacked Bwacha after a petition by an ex-aspirant, David Kente.
By mid-November, Justice Donatus Egwuatu of a Federal High Court in Abuja also sacked Bwacha as the APC governorship candidate for Taraba after a suit filed by the Senator representing Taraba Central District, Yusuf Yusuf.
However, Bwacha appealed both judgements.
Last Thursday, Justice Tani Hassan of the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola set aside Justice Amobeda’s ruling and ordered that his name should be resubmitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Bwacha, on the Channels Television’s programme on Monday, accused “enemies from within” of being behind his legal ordeals.
The senator said he is not perturbed by the Abuja court ruling, expressing optimism that he will emerge victorious just as he was over the Jalingo court ruling.
“There are members of the APC who now wear two caps; they are neither here nor there, they have one leg here and another in the opposition. The desire of the opposition is that we don’t fill a candidate,” he said.
According to him, it does not profit any of his co-aspirants within the APC to seek his disqualification. He alleged that the plaintiffs in both cases were sponsored by the opposition who seeks to benefit from the tragedy.
Bwacha also said he has “empirical evidence” to defend his allegation that the PDP is working with some APC ex-aspirant to deny the party a governorship ticket in the 2023 general elections.
On whether he plans to hold peace talks with members of the APC in Taraba to solidify his acceptance into the party, he said, “The last person you can convince to work with me is the governor of the state. And if is the driving force behind one or two of the people that contested with me, it will be difficult to reach a consensus with them. However, I have not given up. I will reach out to them.”
Bwacha alleged that the governor wants his party man and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Kefas Agbu to win the next election to cover his “tracks” after his eight-year administration.
Bwacha said Ishaku is threatened by his emergence as the APC candidate and has allegedly worked with some disgruntled members of the APC to deny him the ticket through various litigations.
“The governor of the state is threatened by my emergence. He knows that by the grace of God if I am on the ballot I will win this election,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday.
“He (Ishaku) has a candidate, he wants someone who will succeed him and cover his tracks. It is normal, that is the tradition in all the states, no governor will want to leave without having a successor in place.”
