The Kogi State government has warned Murtala Yakubu Ajaka and other candidates ahead of the upcoming state governorship election to desist from overheating the state. The state government warned that refusing to turn away from overheating the political situation in the state by spreading falsehoods would make them involve security agencies to put a stop to their activities.
Kingsley Fanwo, Commissioner for Information and Communication, issued a press statement on Tuesday warning, in particular, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, to desist from spreading falsehoods about the state governor, Yayaha Bello.
Fanwo said that the state government was reacting to the “spreading of falsehood with reckless abandon” by the SDP governorship candidate, a situation that is quite capable of unsettling the state and risking the lives and properties of the people of Kogi ahead of the election.
The statement partly read, “Kogites and Nigerians know Muritala Yakubu Ajaka, and they know that his intention is to create ethnic division and blow his own ego. We know the contenders and the pretenders, and he is not a political threat as far as Kogi State is concerned.”
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The state commissioner reminded Ajaka and other candidates that Governor Bello has no special interest in the coming governorship election other than to see a peaceful transfer of political power to whomever the people of Kogi State choose to rule them.
The state government promised to continue to protect the people of Kogi State as it is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, urging them to go about their lawful businesses.
It said that as a responsible government, going on a path to frame up any candidate, especially Ajaka, is a direction that it won’t be dragged in.
It said, “As a Government, we will not condone reckless statements, as we urge the security agencies to arrest the current trend by acting decisively against inflammatory statements.
“A lack of action has emboldened some political opportunists to think they can spread lies, incite the people, play the politics of ethnic profiling, and still get away with them.”
The state government assured “all political parties and candidates of their safety as they go about their electioneering.”
Fanwo promised “that the state government will not succumb to any blackmail of the unpopular candidate of the SDP.”
