•APC denies allegation, demands evidence
Kayode Fasua
Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo yesterday said the rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) last Thursday resulted in the destruction of public utilities worth over N500 million, accusing the APC of hiring political thugs from neighbouring states.
Dankwambo expressed disappointment that many government properties were either vandalised by the thugs at Nafada, the hometown of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Alhaji Bayero Nafada during the rally.
allegation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Press Affairs, Alhaji Junaid Abubakar Usman, noting that during the invasion by political thugs, no fewer than 30 citizens were injured and are still in critical condition in various hospitals.
He explained that the APC “has been disrupting the existing peace in Gombe since they began their rallies and on Thursday during their last rally, went extra violent as they not only pulled down Nafada and Dankwambo’s billboards and destroyed his posters, but also went to the extent of destroying public properties.
“They set ablaze many private and government vehicles, burned down houses and damaged so many public infrastructure that will take government over N500 million to restore.
“Gombe has been a peace-loving state since Dankwambo came into power, but the APC has now disrupted the peace, creating an atmosphere of fear wherever they go campaigning.
“Since Dankwambo came into power, all the thugs he met on ground have been reformed and given jobs and are now living decent life. You can see some of them in uniforms on the road as marshals. Definitely, the thugs that the APC brought are from outside the state.”
In a swift reaction yesterday, the Publicity Secretary of Gombe APC, Mrs. Naomi Jewel Awak described the governor’s claims as concocted lies to attract sympathy.
According to Awak, our rallies throughout the 11 local government areas in the state have been very peaceful; peaceful to the extent that we did not even match a lizard.
She said it was the PDP thugs that launched “attacks on the APC members in Nafada. The vehicles they destroyed are still there for everyone to see, why we rushed our injured members to the hospital.”
Awak declared that her party would win the coming elections, as some key figures in the state’s PDP had defected to the APC, praising Goje for working hard to reposition the APC.
