National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ,Chief Ralphs Nwosu has admonished party faithfuls and the electorate in Kogi State to remain calm in view of plot to arrest and detain the governorship candidate of the party in the November 11 election in the state, Hon Leke Joseph Abejide, allegedly by security operatives, under spurious charges.
The national chairman of the ADC spoke yesterday in Abuja following the complaints filed at the Lokoja Magistrates Court, by a former chairman of the ADC in Kogi State, Kingsley Temitope Ogga.
Ogga, in the petition alleged criminal intimidation and threat to his life by Abejide, in what was viewed in the opposition ADC camp as a sponsored ploy to arrest and possibly detain the ADC candidate under thumped up charges in order to distract and derail his campaign .
In a press release in Abuja on Thursday, the ADC National Chairman called for calm.
He noted that the game plan was strictly a plot hatched by the party in Government in Kogi State in order to distract and derail the ADC campaign ahead of the November governorship election using an insider as a pawn.
Nwosu stated in parts:
“As a law abiding political party, we wish to call the attention of the general public and the law enforcement agencies to the evil plots of the state government to truncate the campaign of Hon Leke Joseph Abejide, ADC Governorship candidate for Kogi state. The agents of state governor have been in the habit of disrupting activities of ADC party members and campaign events. Our members and campaign managers are regularly being threatened and harassed with spurious allegations.
“We have ignored the shenanigans of the government and continued to conduct our activities in consonance with the constitution. Our sensitization, mobilization and familiarization activities have been conducted with due diligence.
“The leaders of our party at Kogi state level and national level have had to go and rescue and bail our members and numerous volunteers without making noice about it. However, we have been compelled to make this public statement because the agents of the government in power in Kogi State have crossed the boundary by now threatening to arrest our candidate, Hon Leke Abejide with some thumped up charges and frivolous allegations.
“These agents have filed cases with the department of state security (DSS) with a view to arresting and detaining him for the period of the electioneering campaign if he had ceded to their invitation. After Hon Leke reported the case to higher officials of the agency, their allegations fell like pack of cards.
“We have been reliably informed by sources within the government that cases are being sponsored in various courts including magistrate courts in Kogi state all in effort to get our God fearing candidate incarcerated to prevent him from campaigning in order to thwart his flourishing campaign.
“Hon Leke Joseph Abejide is a law abiding citizen of Kogi, a patriot and one of the most disciplined and humane legislator with a track record of performance that Kogi state, nay Nigeria has produced in this current democratic dispensation. His records before politics and in-politics are manifestly visible in most families within his constituency and the roads he constructed far better than that of the state government. These have positioned him as the candidate Numero uno for the Lugard House in January 27, 2024.
“We call on the National security Adviser (NSA), Inspector General of Police (IGP), and Director General, State Security Services to call Governor Bello to order to allow for a free and fair contest in this election.
“We have continued to apply restraint to avoid chaos in the state. We have held our numerous supporters from giving fire for fire because Hon Leke is a peace loving man.
“The party is also aware that the governor is using one Mr Kingsley Ogga, the sacked former chairman of ADC Kogi state as his canon fodder. We use this opportunity to inform the good people of Kogi State that Mr Kingsley Ogga is a usurper, who has ceased to be an ADC member. He seems to have taken to the satanic agency of the first order at the whims of governor Bello. This young man who will sell his soul for a pot of soup must be ignored.
“While we also invite President Bola Tinubu to help in building peace in Kogi State ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the state, ADC will continue on our campaign diligently following our strategic dashboard and compass.
“We are determined to dislodge the satanic forces and human obstacle on our way to delivering change and to enthrone a transformative leadership to Kogi people and build Kogi state into the biggest Confluence hub in Africa.
“Hon Leke Joseph Abejide is a man of peace. We therefore invite all Kogians to join him to bring peace and unprecedented development to the state.”
Nwosu said the leadership of ADC and Hon Leke’s campaign will not allow anyone to intimidate, blackmail or frustrate their efforts to deliver good, qualitative and productive governance to the entire people of Kogi state.
