By Bashir Idris Opaluwa
The Audu Faleke Political structure has raised alarm over alleged threat to the life of the current Minister of Steel Development Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu concerning the ongoing Kogi State Gubernatorial Election Tribunal.
Addressing a press conference in Lokoja on Monday, the Head of Secretariat, Audu Faleke Political structure, Emmanuel Ekele accused Kogi East Critical Stakeholders, (KECS) of blackmailing the Minister of Steel, noting that, the allegations against their principal by KECS were concocted and fabricated to suit the group’s personal purpose as those issues only exist in their vague imagination.
Explaining further, Ekele said “The Honourable Minister Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu has no business, absolutely no business interfering in the ongoing Kogi State Gubernatorial Election
tribunal which is part of the electoral process.
“it is also not within his purview hence it’s needless to threaten him of any consequences over what you imagine which does not even exist in the first instance. May we also warn Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) to be mindful of criminal intimidation.
“The Honourable Minister is concerned at this time with his primary task of reviving the Steel Sector for the good of the nation’s economy and has really no time for the imagined accusations. He was only appointed as Director General of the Governorship Election Campaign by his party the APC. The Election is over
and he has since returned to his office.
“The Honourable Minister Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu has strong faith in our judiciary and wish to advice Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) to desist from speculations and casting aspersion on the judiciary which is very wrong and misleading.
“We advice Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) to leave the Honourable Minister of Steel Development Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR out of Kogi State Gubernatorial Election Tribunal. In their desperation, they lack respect for constituted authority as your blackmail and frivolous allegation knows no bound.
He called on the Department of State Services, (DSS) to invite the group to show justification for allegedly blackmailing the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This group of ethnic war lords must be made to understand that freedom of speech is not a call for sweeping and unsubstantiated allegations. This is a case that can go as far as Supreme Court why all the panicking and blackmail from this point. The action of Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) may not be healthy for our judicial system” he added.
On the alleged demand that the Honourable Minister Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu must take along the Social Democratic Party, (SDP) Candidate in the November 11 Governorship election in Kogi Alhaji Muritala Yakubu Ajaka if the people of Kogi East must visit the President, Ekele said ‘ We consider this point laughable because in the first place this is the visit you have condemned and called to be cancelled, why are you interested in it and demanding the inclusion of your sponsor. You can see that you have betrayed yourselves that all the allegations is simply because you assume that your sponsor is not on the delegation for the visit.
“Nobody stops anyone from visiting the President so why demand that Alhaji Muritala Yakubu Ajaka must be taken along with Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu to visit the President? Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) should have simply requested the assistance of the Honourable Minister quietly instead of making it a public demand and this is one of the reasons why we see the Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) as being used by a group of people who have hidden motives but lack integrity in themselves therefore they needed a platform to execute their mission.
“Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) should clearly know that Kogi East is not a one party region and they shouldn’t be undemocratic by boxing everyone into one corner even against their wishes.
” We advice Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) to stop issuing threats to people as this act portrays their disposition to violence. They should allow people to be themselves and should also know that threatening people without justification amount to criminal intimidation which is an offence under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“At this juncture may we put it on record that if anything happens to the Honourable minister and or any of his supporters Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) should be held liable.
“We want to remind Kogi East Critical Stakeholders (KECS) that the Honourable Minister, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu is not a lawyer neither a judge nor a party at the election petition tribunal, they should focus on their legal team and let him be. The Honourable Minister is a law abiding citizen and the issues at the election petition tribunal is not before him”.
