- * Gov's Aide, Opposition Party Disagree On Sule's Performance Rating
- 'Don't Encourage Failure', PDP Advises Vice President Shettima
By David Okpashi (Nasarawa State Correspondent, in Lafia)
Opposition party chieftain and member of the People's Democratic Party PDP in Nasarawa state, Barrister Awaisu Keffi, on Friday, warned governor Abdullahi Sule against associating president Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s government with what he described as the governor's 'failure'.
He also advised the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, to stop encouraging and condoning failure by some APC governors in the country in the face of what he described as their 'under- performance, decay, and deceit'.
Awaisu Keffi who is a legal practitioner based in Karu, near Abuja, in a statement he made available to some Journalists in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, however accused governor Sule of hijacking local government projects to give credence to his administration, alleging that he (governor) had nothing to show after four years.
According to the statement, "If not for desperation, how can the governor involve vice president Kassim Shettima to commission a 3.5 km village road constructed by a local government in the state?
"Sule's last desperate moves is an attempt to further hoodwink the Vice President to Commission a 3.5km road as part of the Governor's 'grand deception plan'.
The legal practitioner maintained that from the beginning, Sule has proof that his alleged desperation has no ending. He further alleged that in 2023, the governor threatened the Nasarawa state/LGA pensioners to queue behind him before getting their monthly stipends.
"Sule had made Senior Directors and Permanent Secretaries his campaign managers while the civil servants were made APC agents in "operation deliver your ward or face sanction", the statement alleged.
He further claimed that having not been satisfied with all the measures taken in desperation, Sule who was the ex Dangote Sugar manager, allegedly recruited some traditional rulers, Emirs and Chiefs to cajole their subjects to vote him for a second term or risk dethronement.
"Inspite of all these moves, Gov Sule still lost woefully at the March 18th, 2023 Governorship poll to a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr David Emmanuel Ombugadu, after which he and his collaborators mounted pressure on INEC to declare him winner", Awaisu declared
He said after Dr Ombugadu of the PDP dragged Sule and INEC to court and following the tribunal ruling against him, Sule have since forgotton about development in pursuance of his alleged 'desperation' which saw him through at the Appeal Court on technical grounds.
"As the two parties get set for the final ruling at the Supreme Court any day soon, Gov Sule's desperation has resurfaced again with the purchase of the former FCT Minister, Solomon Ewuga, to join his party to boost his profile.
"Last week of December 2023, Gov Sule struck once again. This time, he lured the Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency Senator Kashim Shettima to commission a local government project at Masaka, in Karu, Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
"The Masaka-Luvu 5km road ordinarily shouldn't be commissioned by such a high profile personality signifying the low level of our present situation and showcasing such under performance to the world after four years as the Chief Executive Officer of Nasarawa state.
"Only God knows how much Gov Sule must have expended on such desperate political investment," the statement declared.
In a swift reaction, the Senior Special Assistant to governor Sule on Public Affairs, Peter Ahemba, denounced the claims by the opposition, saying that governor Sule's administration remained committed to the turn-around of the fortunes of the state through massive infrastructure that are designed to enhance socio-economic development of the state.
"For the avoidance of doubt, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, is scheduled to commission more projects in the state on Saturday 6th January, 2024. Governor Sule remains focused and cannot be distracted by the antics of sponsored opposition elements. The claims in the write-up are baseless and unfounded and should be disregarded by all", the governor's Aide stated. NNL