Politics
Kogi: SDP, gov candidate blackmailing security agencies, must be called to order, Lawyers, Activists tell President, security chiefs
Kogi: SDP, gov candidate blackmailing security agencies, must be called to order, Lawyers, Activists tell President, security chiefs
. Lambast Muritala Ajaka for allegedly trying to compromise security agencies for sinister motives
. Urge security agencies to checkmate anyone posing threat to guber poll
Scores of Lawyers and Activists, on Wednesday, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and relevant authorities to caution desperate politicians blackmailing Nigeria’s security agencies for selfish, sinister motives, saying that the Social Democratic Party and its governorship candidate in Kogi State should be particularly called to order.
The Activists, under the aegis of Lawyers and Activists for Good Governance, who have been in the struggle against bad governance for over 16 years, called on security chiefs in the country to caution and deal appropriately with politicians that have continued to drag security agencies into the dirty arena of politics through unwarranted and incessant blackmail with which they hope to compromise them.
The good governance Activists, numbering about 500 across Nigeria, and represented by stakeholders from the geopolitical zones at a press conference in Abuja, said this must be done as a matter of priority to ensure violence and crisis-free elections, especially in Kogi State.
They specifically accused the Social Democratic Party and its candidate, Muritala Yakubu of deliberately blackmailing the Police and the Department of State Services, DSS, to prevent them from carrying out their constitutional assignments of ensuring security of lives and property and preventing criminal activities from festering.
According to them, they had raised the same alarm in July, this year, when the trend first reared its ugly head.
Co-Convener, Lawyers and Activists for Good Governance, Comrade Mohammed Sanni, who addressed the press, referred to a recent press release by the SDP, in which the party passed a vote of no confidence in the security agencies in the state, while alleging that they were planning to arrest some of their members.
According to him, the SDP Candidate is the only candidate that has had a running battle with every Police Commissioner posted to the Kogi State and should be thoroughly investigated.
He said, “We consider as unfortunate and irresponsible the Press Release authored by the Social Democratic Party a few days ago, which amounted to blackmailing the Police and the Department of State Services, DSS, for carrying out their constitutional assignments of providing security for politicians and the electorate alike.
“In the said Press Release, the SDP claimed to have passed a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the Police and DSS in the state and called for their removal. The Party alleged that the security agencies were planning to arrest some of their people. If those people have committed crimes worth investigating, why would they not be invited or arrested as the case warrants?”
The Activists added, “You will recall that the state’s Police Commissioner recently issued a statement saying that all invitations extended to Mr Muritala Ajaka, the governorship candidate of the SDP, either for peace meetings with other candidates or to respond to several allegations of violent conduct against him and his supporters were not honored by the candidate.
“It is given that, except you have constitutional immunity, ignoring Police invitation is criminal in nature. Nobody is above the law and, certainly, Mr Ajaka has no constitutional immunity and cannot be treating our security agencies with disdain while still trying to blackmail them from performing their lawful duties.
“We have nothing against him and his Party. But the idea of acting as if above the law is not only unacceptable but totally condemnable. There are 18 political Parties participating in the Kogi election and no one candidate should be allowed to hold the state to ransom for his own selfish political ambition.
“Out of these 18 candidates, it appears to us that it is only Mr Ajaka who has been having troubles with security agents across board. You have refused to honour Police invitations but now turn around to accuse the Police and DSS of partiality. If they were to be partial, once you have ignored their invitations, they would have just declared you wanted and get you arrested.
“For whatever reasons, they haven’t done that but you have decided to embark on campaign of blackmail against them. This is dangerous because it can incite the citizens against security agencies and lead to avoidable anarchy that will ultimately jeopardize the election in its entirety which seems to be the dark goal of these desperate politicians.
“We reiterate our support for the Police and DSS for the good works of securing Kogi State and we urge them to remain unperturbed and focused on ensuring that we have a peaceful election on November 11 by checkmating whoever poses a threat to the upcoming election.”
“We urge them never to succumb to cheap blackmail but to continue doing their jobs professionally and patriotically,” they concluded.
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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