By Mohammed Muktar Umar, Bauchi

A chieftain of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, Ukkasha Hamza Rahama, on Wednesday called on the state Commissioner of Police and the Director of the State Security Services (DSS) in the state and other security agencies to arrest destroying billboards of APC aspirants with a view to prosecuting to serve as a deterrent to others.

The APC chief made the call while speaking with journalists in Bauchi, drawing a particular reference to the recent destruction of campaign billboards of an APC gubernatorial aspirant, Nura Manu Soro by some unknown persons, describing the development as “condemnable and unfortunate”.

According to Rahama, the destruction of the aspirant’s campaign billboards was coming at the time that the said Nura Manu Soro had “every constitutional rights to contest whatever political seat he may deem fit according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

While asserting that Bauchi State is known and described in history as a pacesetter that laid standard for politics and politicians on the direction to follow in the country, the APC chieftain said the unfortunate incidence of the increasing attacks on the opposition parties, particularly APC in the state allegedly under the watch of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) called for an urgent need to tame the thugs and their sponsors.

“It is in the light of the above that as a bonafide son of the state and a beneficiary of this aforementioned school of thoughts and a leader of today, I see the need to draw the attention of His Excellency the Executive Governor of Bauchi State Senator Bala  Mohammed  on the urgent need to address the increasing attacks on the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state, especially as we are approaching the general elections comes 2023 of which the process of electing leaders through party process has commenced earnestly,” he stated.

According to him, “the governor as a beneficiary of opposition must protect Bauchi long ancestral heritage where power and money does (sic) not win elections for aspirants.”

Rahama declared that since the inception of what is called Nigeria today, Bauchi State and its politicians had been at the forefront and dominated political scenes in the country both in terms of elections and by federal appointments, thus making it the leading state and a political tutor to others.

The said the clampdown on the opposition APC in the state was condemnable, saying that, “it should not continue to happen as the  recurrence of such will pitch the parties and the politicians against each other and denied the state of any meaning development.

“We are using this medium to call on the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the State Security Services  in the state and security agencies to ensure that these political thugs and their sponsors behind this ugly and unfortunate situation are arrested and prosecuted according to the laws of the land to serve as the deterrence to others who may have similar motives.”

He then declared that the APC aspirant, Nura Manu Soro had both moral and constitutional rights to contest for the office of Bauchi State governor.

He added that, “on no account should he as a citizens be cowed/intimidated into not contesting the office of the governor of Bauchi State due to the activities of thugs and their sponsors by destroying his campaign materials.”