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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Kaduna State, Jonathan Asake, has refuted the allegations making the rounds on social media and in public space claiming that he collected a sum of N100 million from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to remain in the governorship race.
Asake who spoke on Arise television, Tuesday sought to clarify the public as he denied the allegation describing it as outright falsehood and cheap tactics by opposition parties, particularly the People Democratic Party (PDP) to undermine his candidature and divert the attention of his followers.
“Why will I collect money from the APC, for what purpose. I have not collected a dime from any political party or its members especially a party that I am set to contest against,” he said as he challenged anyone with evidence to prove it.
Asake also debunked the rumour that he or the party had a discussion of alliance with the PDP or that he had stepped down for their candidate of the PDP.
According to him, “I know that some people would go the extra mile in the name of politics. Just like any other person, I heard on the radio that I had stepped down. This is not true. They have never approached me or the Labour Party for any negotiation. I am still in the race and my party is well prepared to take it on March 11 governorship election.”
He described the barrage of accusations against his party as a campaign of calumny and falsehood as he insisted that he would not step down for any candidate. He noted that LP was fully prepared and determined to win the forthcoming election and form the next government in the state.
While pointing fingers at the PDP for the allegations, Asake said that they were jittery and attributed it to the fear that they must face the Labour Party on Saturday at the polls.
He also lamented that the lives of members and supporters of LP in Kaduna State were being threatened by the opposition parties. However, rather than mar their efforts with such threats and falsehood, it has strengthened their resolve and even earned them more followership.
When asked if he was concerned that 9 other political parties had endorsed the PDP candidate in the state, Asake responded by saying, “Most of these parties do these things for the media hype. The problem is not in coming out to tell people that other political parties are working with you. The real issue is true followership.”
To that regard, he expressed confidence in the organic followership enjoyed by his party hopeful that the LP would emerge victorious.
Asake also noted that they have identified the loopholes in the previous presidential elections and that they had addressed most of it to increase their chances at winning.
This is even as he called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to keep up with its promises by rectifying the issue with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (Bvas) machines and challenges of uploading of results to the server.
