- President promises to complete Mambilla power project
Wole Ayodele in Jalingo
The Taraba State Government has berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the attack on the convoy of Governor Darius Ishaku, and his deputy, Alhaji Haruna Manu, by hoodlums.
This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the people of the state that the Mambilla Hydropower Project would be among the key projects he would execute if re-elected president of the country.
The state government has equally condemned the death of five persons who lost their lives at the APC presidential campaign rally held at the Jolly Nyame Stadium in Jalingo, yesterday.
Ishaku, who had accompanied President Buhari after the rally in company of his deputy, the state Commissioner of Police and other top government functionaries to the Danbaba Suntai airport had his convoy attacked by hoodlums who were armed with dangerous weapons.
Addressing journalists after the incident, Senior Special Assistant to Ishaku on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu, condemned the attack, saying it was unprovoked and unwarranted.
Dan Abu described the attack as part of a delibrate plot by the APC to cause mayhem in the state ahead of the general election to achieve its motive of causing a postponement of the gubernatorial election in the state.
“Governor Darius Ishaku’s convoy was also attacked on its way out of the airport where the governor and his deputy and other senior members of the government had gone to see off President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The deputy governor’s car and several other cars in the convoy, including that of the state Commissioner of Police and a special adviser to the governor were damaged.
“What happened today is a big contrast with the PDP presidential flag-off on February 5, 2019 in Jalingo, which attracted a larger crowd but recorded no incidence of crisis and death.
“Taraba State Government hereby condemns this unfortunate bloodletting that has become the character of the APC in Taraba State and we want to state that the state government will no longer fold its arms while innocent people are being killed and maimed”
Meanwhile, the remains of the five persons that lost their lives at the APC rally had been deposited at the mortuary of the State Specialist Hospital in Jalingo.
The Public Relations Officer of the Hospital, Dorcas Philemon, told Journalists that five dead bodies and another injured person with bullet wounds were brought to the emergency/accident unit of the hospital.
In a related development, President Buhari has assured the people of the state that the Mambilla Hydropower Project would be among the key projects he would execute if re-elected president of the country.
The President, who addressed a mammoth crowd that thronged the Jolly Nyame Stadium in Hausa language, stated “the Mambilla hydropower project is the main project that will bring accelerated development not only in Taraba State but the entire country.
“It will generate enough electricity for you to do businesses and improve your living standard, which I will complete if re-elected as president.”
Buhari also promised to sustain his fight against corruption as well as ensure that the fight against insurgency is fought to a logical conclusion.
