The Kogi State government has debunked an allegation by the Social Democratic Party that it masterminded attacks on witnesses at the ongoing Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, saying the allegation was reckless.
The state government said, contrary to the ‘propaganda’ of the SDP, discerning members of the public were following the tribunal case and would know that there was “no way anyone would plot an attack against witnesses that were already testifying against those who paid them to testify.”
The commissioner for Information and Communications in the state, Kingsley Fanwo, said it was, however, important to enlighten the SDP that the case at the tribunal was between parties and that the state government, which it accused, was not one.
Fanwo, who spoke at a press conference yesterday in Lokoja, noted that if any attack did happen as claimed by the SDP, “it must have been stage-managed by the SDP to justify their failure to produce the number of witnesses they claimed to have in line with their modus operandi as witnessed during the campaign.
“Why would anyone attempt or even attack a witness that has testified against those that paid him to witness for them? The discerning public is following the tribunal case and understands there is no need to attack witnesses that are doing enough to make SDP lose woefully in the law court.”
The state government noted that it was “incomprehensible for the SDP to continue to exhibit anti-democratic tendencies and provoke the sensibility of the people in such a reckless manner,” adding that “if they are so confident in their incompetent petition, why resort to self-help?
“We wouldn’t have bothered to respond to the SDP and its leadership as the state government is busy with governance; but it is important to set the record straight and address the minds of the public to the tradition of lies by the SDP.
“The governor of Kogi State is a law-abiding gentleman who is working hard to consolidate on the achievements of the immediate past administration. He promised to protect all Kogites irrespective of their political and religious beliefs. His commitment to fulfilling such promises is iron cast and unimpeachable.”