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Alleges Some traditional rulers working to influence tribunal judgement
By Dauda I Omaku
The People’s Democratic Party, PDP Nasarawa chapter, has appealed to the Vice President, Alhaji Kashim Shettima to distance himself from the activities of some traditional rulers working against the governorship election tribunal sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa state.
This is even as the party has accused some Traditional rulers in the state of attempting to use external forces to influence the judgement at the ongoing governorship tribunal sitting in Lafia.
The PDP state chairman, Hon. Francis Orogu made the allegation on Friday in Lafia while addressing journalists.
According to the opposition PDP Chairman, traditional rulers in the state were allegedly abandoning their traditional role by dabbling into politics and taking side on issues bordering on the interest of the entire state.
“We are aware of the position of the traditional rulers in the state who have taken side with a political party before, during, and after the last elections. They have vowed that they will use their position to ensure nobody else win the seat of the governor if not Abdullahi Sule.
“We are not also surprised that they have organized themselves desperately to visit the Vice president to lobby him to influence the decision of the tribunal in favour of governor Abdullahi Sule.
“Nothing is hidden in this era of digital age where information travel fast, nothing done in secret can be hidden any longer. The traditional rulers claimed the visit was to thank the vice president for appointing their son and daughter from the state as ministers. Is it the vice president that appointed the ministers?, the Chairman questioned.
“Our greatest shock is that three of the traditional rulers who are involved in this mission are former Judges. But why should they allow themselves to be used to frustrate or influence the judicial proceeding against the will of the citizens’ votes in the last elections.
“We are aware too that these traditional rulers who are former justices have their influences in the judicial world. But we believe God almighty has the final say, too.
The state PDP boss appealed to the Vice president to be father to all and not to allow his honorable office be used to frustrate the rule of law, stressing that allowing justice to reign without tempering or interfering with the decision of the court on election matters will mean well for the nation’s political system.
“These same traditional rulers could not persuade their subjects to vote APC both at the presidential elections and governorship but allow the ruling APC to lose to both Obi and the Labour party onlt to turn around to claim ownership of the president and his vice in the state.
“The actions of our monarchs at this critical period do not only show that the traditional rulers are now politicians but monarchs who have relegated themselves to the dictates of the governors
“It is because they have allowed politics infiltrate into the traditional domain where politicians now control and dictate what they want and not what the traditional stool stand to achieve.
The PDP chairman appealed to traditional rulers in the state to restrict themselves to their core mandates of ensuring peaceful coexistence and security of their communities instead of engaging in active partisanship preaching politics of rancor and sentimentsevidence of which we have in abundance”.
While expressing the strong conviction on the position of the tribunal that justice would be delivered, added that his party and the governorship candidate of his party, Dr. David Emmanuel Ombugadu would shame those seeking manipulation of the tribunal judgement in the state because Nasarawa people spoke through their votes ever since.
