Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Former Minister of Defence, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (retd), has alleged a conspiracy to rig the 2019 governorship elections in Taraba State. He said those behind the plot want to impose somebody on the people of the state, against their wish.
Danjuma, who spoke in Takum, during the commissioning of a medical laboratory block at the Rifkatu Referral Hospital, said there are clandestine moves to cause civil unrest, particularly, in Taraba, with the hope of making the governorship election inconclusive, in order to perfect the change of government.
He said: “We are in the eve of election, and if you want another four years for our able governor, we must work for peace, because those who do not wish us well want us to fight one another, then, they would use soldiers and police to destabilise us and rig the election.
“We should endure all provocations because there are going to be plenty between now and the time of election. I beg everyone to help maintain peace, so we can have a peaceful election.
“This time, they have perfected run off. Once you don’t win the first time, the second time, they will sit down and write the result and announce it in the run off. They will award votes and this is the primitive democracy we now operate in this country. So, it is up to you to guard your votes and make sure your votes count.”
He, also, cautioned eligible voters against selling their votes to power hungry politicians and said “you will be selling your birth right if you agree to their demand.”
In a swift reaction, the spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, Mr Aaron Artimas, said the allegations by the elder statesman were not only frivolous, but equally misleading.
Artimas said: “This is a clear indication that they have lost so much popularity in the state, and are jittery. So, clearly, it is the PDP that is precipitating violence in the state and not the APC.”