Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule yesterday said he will not descend to the level of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by promoting religious politics in a desperate bid to return to power at all costs.
He said PDP resorted to ethinic and religious politics as means of forcing its way back to power, adding that the opposition party’s divisive standing became manifest during the run up to the March 18 governorship election in the state.
He accused the main opposition party of a plot to elicit sympathy along religious lines to swell its political fortune in the state.
Reacting to media reports on petition by the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), urging international community to impose visa ban on him over his comment on the recent spilt judgement of the governorship election petition tribunal in the state, the governor said he was not surprised by the apparent misrepresentation of his position.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mr. Peter Ahemba, he urged the general public to disregard the mischievous video being circulated on the matter to cause confusion.
“It has become a matter of serious concern, the promotion of religious politics by leaders and agents of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in Nasarawa State. The opposition party now strive solely on falsehood and religion with the intent to elicit sympathy from unsuspecting members of the public and authorities.
“Early this week, (Tuesday, 10th October, 2023), His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule, Executive Governor of Nasarawa State participated in a Peace and Development Summit organized by the Sultan Maccido Institute for Peace, Leadership and Development Studies, University of Abuja, where he served as Special Guest of Honour and was inducted into the Institute’s Fellowship of Peace.
“At this occasion, the Governor, in a thought-provoking message revealed how his administration had been able to deal with security challenges in the State through engagements, education and empowerment, and cautioned politicians against the promotion of religious politics in the interest of peace and unity of the nation.
“He further revealed how he averted what could have triggered needless controversy prior to the concluded 2023 general elections by declining the suggestion to him by some individuals to join issues with a respected Christian Cleric, who openly told members of his congregation to vote for only a Christian candidate to emerge as Governor of Nasarawa State.
“He informed the institute that Nasarawa state elections were conducted in most places along religious divide because of such calls by the Cleric and others, who joined issues with him. He further explained that against the backdrop of the coronation being given the recent split judgement of the Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal in the State which seemed to have gone along the same religious divide.
“The Governor brought up the matter in the cause of his speech at the occasion with the intent to disabuse the minds of those insinuating religious bias in the Tribunal judgement. It is the same governor that has continued to call on all political appointees and the good people of the state to avoid making statements that are capable of creating tension.
“We condemn in the most strongest terms, the deliberate and mischievous twisting of the context and intent of the Governor’s comment on this sensitive matter in an edited video circulating on the social media by leaders and paid agents of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, who have been promoting religious politics in the desperation to return to power.
“The call for visa ban against His Excellency is laughable because the governor has not applied for any visa and has no plan to do so. The governor studied and worked for several years in the Western world before he willingly returned home on his own. We advise the PDP to be responsible and avoid dragging the United Kingdom and other nations of the World into its dirty politics.
“We call on the general public to disregard the mischievous video being circulated to cause confusion. The opposition elements have deliberately misinterpreted the Governor’s recent comment on the split judgment of the Governorship Tribunal to achieve selfish religious sympathy.
“Government is fully aware of the distractive strategies being adopted by the opposition party to use the outcome of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to further distract the Governor and slow down the pace of ongoing implementation of policies and programmes of the administration, even as such antics have continued to fail woefully.
“Against the expectation of the enemies of the State, His Excellency has remained resolute in the discharge of his official duties even after the Tribunal delivered it’s judgement. The people’s love and support for the Governor has continued to be increasingly higher as demonstrated by the People of Nasarawa-Eggon, the PDP governorship candidate’s Local Government of origin and other locations within the Karu-Keffi-Akwanga axis, who trooped out in their thousands to accord His Excellency a heroic welcome from Abuja after an official engagement.
“It is a known fact that His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule, is a man of peace and remains committed in promoting peaceful coexistence. It is therefore not surprising that the Sultan Maccido Institute for Peace, Leadership and Development Studies recently singled him out and inducted into the Institute’s Fellowship of Peace.
“The PDP leaders in the state should be reminded that they need a state first, to be governor, as such, the desperation to be Governor by all means should be jettisoned for the collective good of the State,” the statement said.