*Minister Bala Mohammed Kicks* Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda has reiterated his earlier stance that PDP and not APC members were behind attacks on President Jonathans campaign convoy in Bauchi state in order to embarrass him before the President. Speaking to BBC Hausa service earlier on Friday, Yuguda said, “I am sure and let the world know that the people who did this thing were PDP members and those politicians in Abuja were the ones behind it; they were not APC members. “They found these youths on the road and gave them brooms and satchets of water, and they instructed them that when the President was passing they should raise the brooms and throw the satchets of water at him. “They did that so that the President would think that Isa Yuguda is against him. They have been telling him in Abuja that we are not supporting him. They did that to show the President that Isa Yuguda is nothing in Bauchi, to show that despite being an indigene of Bauchi, Isa Yuguda could not be respected with his guests in Bauchi.” The Governor did not however mention names while speaking to the BBC. But reiterating his allegations to Vanguard, Governor Yuguda stated that the FCT minister Bala Mohammad was the man behind the attacks, told Vanguard over the weekend that the stoning of the president’s convoy was instigated by Senator Mohammed to embarrass him, Yuguda, as not being on ground in the state. Both men, members of the PDP and associates of the president, were present at the PDP presidential campaign rally in Bauchi following which the president’s convoy was pelted with stones. The minister was also pelted during the rally. Yuguda told Vanguard in an interview that the FCT minister secretly imported the thugs to cause trouble at the venue of the campaign rally in Bauchi last Thursday to give the president the erroneous impression that he (Yuguda) was not on ground in the state. He said: “The whole thing was carefully planned and implemented by the FCT Minister in collaboration with his cohorts who wanted to embarrass me and prove to President Jonathan that they were more politically relevant in Bauchi State than the sitting governor. “The minister and his group sponsored small boys of not more than seven years of age and gave them brooms to give the impression that they were from the opposition party whereas they were all wearing T-shirts branded with his name and that of TAN. “Before the arrival of the boys, the presidential rally was going on smoothly. When they entered the venue they started signing “Sai Jonathan”, “Sai Jonathan” only for them to begin to chant “ Sai Buhari”, “Sai Buhari” to the bewilderment of all present. “I feel very bad over the sad incident caused by Bala and his group to discredit me and all that I have been able to accomplish in Bauchi. I must say that I am very sad and disappointed by the antics of the minister.” Yuguda said it was apparent that the minister was up to some mischief when he refused to join the central planning committee headed by him to plan the presidential rally but went ahead to set up his own committee whose agenda was not known to anyone else. The governor thus charged the minister to apologise to Nigerians over the embarrassment he caused the president and his visitors to Bauchi during his visit to the state. Kicking against the allegations leveled against him, the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, said that Gov. Yugudas allegation was nothing but concoction of lies to tarnish his image. In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Nosike Ogbuenyi, the minister said, “It is totally illogical, irreconcilable, wicked and fallacious for anybody to insinuate that the Hon. Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed imported thugs to stone and attack himself while addressing the President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign rally in his home state, Bauchi. “The question begging for answer is ‘why wasn’t Governor Yuguda stoned by the rampaging thugs when he was on the podium addressing the same rally?’ “Every sincere person in this country can attest to the fact that the loyalty of the FCT Minister to President Goodluck Jonathan and his commitment to the success of the PDP in all elections have never been in doubt. “Those who are specialists in running with the hare and hunting with the hounds should, please leave Senator Bala Mohammed and the PDP alone to campaign peacefully for President Goodluck Jonathan and other PDP candidates across the country, Bauchi State inclusive,” the minister pleaded. Reacting to the development, yesterday, the APC said Governor Yuguda’s claim had vindicated the party’s stance that the spate of stoning was fallout from the fractious PDP primaries in the affected states. “Frankly speaking, we thank Governor Yuguda for vindicating our stance,” APC national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told Vanguard last night. “We knew all along that this violence was instigated by PDP which is all due to the manner they handled their primaries that is now responsible for the spate of violence all over the country. We thank God we have been vindicated and now we know who is trying to scuttle our democracy,” he added. Reacting to the governor’s statement, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Ibrahim Jalo, said that only the governor was in a position to clarify his statement on the matter. Jalo said, “How can my party be organising stoning? Anyway, Yuguda has spoken on the issue. He should be the one to clarify his position on the matter. “I was in Bauchi that day and I saw what happened. The governor said it was done by PDP members. Ask him to speak further on it.” However, a presidency source described the governor’s statement as unfortunate. “How can he speak like that? We have condemned it; the party has condemned it and now, he’s blaming the party for this. That’s bad,” said a presidential aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak officially on the matter. But the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP presidential campaign organisation, Femi Fani- Kayode, warned the APC on Sunday to stop blaming the ruling party for the attacks on the President. Dahiru Mohammed Lawal reports from Abuja, FCT Elomba
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 10:54:44 +0000
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