"Dont Set Kogi On Fire" APC to Opposition Parties

 ......Ugers Them To Seek Legal Redress At Appropriate Channel Rather Than   Latches On Cheap Popularity

From Aviashima Toom, Abuja

The National Publicity Secretary, NPS, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Barr. Felix Morka has warmed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Social Democratic Party, SDP candidates in the Kogi Governorship Election against post election violence in kogi and also  channel their energy at the appropriate quarters instead of wasting efforts on frivolous issues.

Morka gave the warning on Thursday while briefing newsmen in Abuja, urged the aggrieved politicians to seek legal redress if they are still convinced they won the poll instead of attempting to cause unrest in the state.

He said, “We are concerned about the Post-election events and how Kogi has been bedevilled by violence. You can’t set Kogi on fire because you lost an election. Dino Melaye has refused to challenge the result in court. Melaye did not even have the confidence to vote for himself in the election. Dino should know that participating and boycotting election is a democratic right. He should choose wisely. But he cannot stop our democratic train from heading to its destination.

“Let me also say a few things about my former colleague and SDP candidate, Murtala Ajaka, who also refused to challenge the election. But in a sudden U-turn, he seemed to have changed his mind and now planning to send a petition. Are we happy that we lost in Bayelsa election? No, we are not. But we have not resorted to any form of underhand or undemocratic efforts to try to gain back what we lost in Bayelsa and the state has continued to live in relative peace.

“We are concerned that, as we speak, the SDP and the PDP have engaged in incendiary statements aimed at causing unrest in Kogi State and put the totality of that blame on our party. We reject this as a political party. In Delta, our candidate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was not announced as winner but he has challenged the result in court. The APC has enormous respect for the judiciary and the role it plays in democracy. We will leave law enforcement agents to investigate.

“The people of Kogi State deserve their peace. We have condemned the recent attack on INEC REC and the secretary and we are happy the police are looking into the case. We will also implore them as we did after last week NWC meeting to properly investigate the attacks and douse tension in Kogi. There is no flawless election anywhere in the world. We also called on opposition parties in Kogi to chase their cases in court and allow the police to do their job. You cannot win by intimidating the judiciary and court justices”, Morka noted.

The APC NPS further said despite substantial compliance with electoral laws and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the conduct of the elections, the post-election situation in Kogi has been bedeviled by contrived controversies and orchestrated violence that now threaten the peace and security of the good state of Kogi.

He derided the opposition parties that contested that election, particularly the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are severely conflicted between accepting or challenging  the result of the election.

According to Morka, the candidate of the PDP, Dino Melaye, has emphatically and publicly declared his decision not to challenge the outcome of the election, according to him, because he has no confidence in the judiciary to fairly adjudicate any dispute he may bring forward.  It is worth noting, that Mr. Melaye did not also have the confidence to vote for himself during an election in which he was candidate of a major opposition party. So we must accept that Dino is very equitable in his “lack of confidence”, and, indeed, lacking confidence in himself.

” This lack of confidence in himself also explains his loud but empty call for opposition parties to boycott future elections, in his twisted thinking, so APC may appear to have enacted a one party state. The fact remains that Dino did not go to court because he has absolutely nothing to stand on by way of evidence, other his vituperations in the media space.

” This is all against the backdrop of INEC’s declaration of the APC candidate, Ahmed Usman Ododo, who polled 446,237, as winner of the Kogi State election, with Muritala Ajaka of SDP polling 259,052, and Dino Melaye of PDP polling 46,362. Ajaka and Dino  rejected the election results, citing alleged irregularities.

” We condemn, as dangerous, the incendiary rhetoric of opposition figures in Kogi state who continue to inflame passion and incite strife. Their actions and utterances provide a charged atmosphere for escalation of violence in the state.

“We especially condemn the reported attack against the Secretary of the Election Tribunal, Mike Umar David, on Monday, December 4, 2023, in very spurious circumstances. The SDP clearly has a lot of explaining to do regarding this incident. Their utterances and actions, prior to, and since, that incident, betray suspicious special knowledge of the incident”, he stated.