From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

Chairman, Kogi East Elders Council, and Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Gabriel Aduku, has expressed worry over the political violence ahead of governorship election in Kogi State, saying the election may not hold if violence continued unabated.

The governorship election is scheduled for November 11.

Aduku described as undemocratic, the trend where  the powers that be intimidate and threaten opponents running for political offices in the state. He called on relevant authorities to wade into insecurity in the state to save the people from being killed and property burnt  because of political interests.

“We have not enjoyed peaceful election since the current leadership came into government. It has been attack here and there,” he lamented.

Aduku, who was recently elected chairman, National Executive Council (NEC) of ACF, spoke shortly after meeting with the staff of ACF in Kaduna, said the election in Kogi State was of great concern to all given the security challenges associated with it.

“Kogi State is pestered with insecurity for the past few years, even at the beginning of this democracy and it is escalating. You can see that there will be no election at the end of day if this violence continue to occur. My feeling is that there may be no election in Kogi State, it is obvious, because people are allowed to carry arms and go to specific places that are not favourable to the administration, to destroy. You have them on record, I can’t mention them one after the other for you. In the last three weeks you can see the violence coming and other plans may be on. I am on the radar because I am preaching peaceful election. But we have experts who use violence for election rather than using peaceful manner. So, it is a great concern to us. It is very scaring that going into the election it becomes concepts of violence, concepts of destruction, this is being openly said now. We are concerned about it…

“Nobody is saying that a governor should not be interested in who takes over from him. No, it is normal, but if it’s going to be done in such a way that you humiliate some persons in the state, you cuddle them through violence which has been obvious, and not by discussion, it will not be fair. So that is our concerns.

“I don’t think any other part of the country has experienced what we are experiencing in the state in the past five to six years of the present administration. This is a fact. And we’re hoping that government itself will do something with sanity to enable it do peaceful election in Kogi State. We need peaceful election, meaning that it will be fair and just.”

That conducive atmosphere is one of our major concerns. You cannot go and start destroying property and homes of people. I have a catalogue of it, but I can’t say it now. It is obvious, and it is escalating. Can we have it going on, and we think we can do election, it will not be fair. We will like to appeal to the government of the day that Kogi State deserves and needs peaceful election.”