Leaders and politicians who incite people, threaten violence and engage in
hate speech should not be elected, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said.
Speaking at his campaign rally in Dull, Tafawa Balewa local government
area of Bauchi State on Thursday, Hon Dogara noted that northern Nigeria
is facing existential threat as a result of unprecedented level of
violence and killings and called on the people to resist attempts by
wicked, unpatriotic and divisive people to incite them against each other.
He said it is time for Nigerians to use the 2019 general elections to
stamp out killings, kidnapping, armed banditry and other sundry crimes
that have engulfed the country, especially the north.
Whilst expressing gratitude to his constituents for their patience and
sacrifice in electing him for three consecutive terms which enabled him to
be elected as the Speaker; he pledged to ensure the completion of all
projects in the constituency when they re-elect him.
He informed the mammoth crowd of supporters how he attracted road projects
worth over N46 billion to the State, which he said would have taken the
Bauchi State government decades to execute.
Hon Dogara berated the state governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, for
using the state’s resources to sponsor protests against him in Bauchi,
Abuja and Lagos.
“They said we did budget padding and even Bauchi State government
sponsored protests against me but now that they have seen the projects
they say it is Buhari’s project. So, was it Buhari who did the padding
which they sponsored protests against him?” he queried.
While arguing that his people have benefitted immensely from the PDP, he
reminded them of how he facilitated the construction of 78km Bauchi-Tafawa
Balewa road worth N9.6 billion during the administration of the Peoples
Democratic Party.
Also speaking, Senator Adamu Gumba and Hon Ahmed Yerima urged the people
to reject moves by the APC government to use religion to divide them ahead
of the elections.
“Because they’ve nothing to show as their achievement, they now want to
use religion but they won’t succeed, our people are wise. They should come
out openly and do it. Why are they moving under the cover of darkness?
They have been exposed already and the agenda they came with has failed
woefully,” Senator Gumba said.
For his part, Hon Yerima said: ” You should not be deceived, APC wants to
stop the unprecedented developments you are witnessing in this
constituency and Bauchi State”.
The Speaker had, two weeks ago, raised an alarm on how the Bauchi State
government and the ruling APC are arming thugs with assault rifles ahead
of next week’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
On Tuesday, Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasiru Ahmad El-rufai, also of
the ruling APC, threatened that foreigners who interfere in Nigeria’s
election will go back in body bags.