Taraba Governor, Darius Ishaku, on Sunday distanced himself from attack on the convoy of the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan, during Saturday’s Assembly bye- election in Takum.
Ishaku, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Bala Dan-Abu, said the allegation that he sponsored thugs to attack the minister was very malicious.
The convoy of the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan, was on Saturday attacked by hoodlums alleged to have been sponsored by the Governor.
Youths in Takum had pelted the minister’s convoy with stones, shattering windscreens of two vehicles in her convoy.
An eyewitness told our correspondent that the minister and other APC chieftains were attacked while monitoring the bye-election at Rogo Ward within Takum metropolis.
Speaking to journalists in an interview in Takum, Aisha Alhassan said, “When I came in on Thursday, there was no problem and people were happy to see me.
“They went and hired people, not from Takum, because Takum people accommodated us even in the governors ward.
“They brought thugs yesterday; and thank God, when I heard the information, I reported to the Police Commissioner, who was also in Takum, that we had reliable information that PDP was bringing thugs from Wukari, Jalingo and Bali local government areas and he said they were going to monitor the situation.
“But we discovered that the people sneaked into this town and gathered stones in a Hilux vehicle and waited for us at the route we were to follow.
“While we were moving, we started seeing stones coming from one direction and the security officers on the convoy advised that we go back to avoid clash between our supporters and theirs.
“Immediately we made a U-Turn, they also moved along with us in their Hilux and were stoning our convoy.
“They broke the rear windscreen of the state APC chairman’s car and broke that of my own car which did not scatter because of the way it was designed.
“I am not surprised, because that is the PDP style of politics.
“I was in PDP before, but I left because that’s not in my character,” she said.
But Governor Ishaku, who condemned the attack, said it was wrong and wicked to associate him with the attack.
“The governor is from this place and if he wants people to attack Aisha, does he need to go and import them? Why does he have to go outside Takum to bring people for the attack?
“The governor is a democrat who believes in democracy.
“He believes in election as an instrument of recruitment and will never go to a ridiculous and dishonorable extent of frustrating the election.”
