Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has said the fund he used to prosecute the litigation arising from his reelection during the March 18 governorship election in the state was from private sources.
The governor in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mr Peter Ahemba said he didn’t need state’s meager resources for such purpose.
The clarification came on the heels of allegation by a body known as Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) that Governor Sule must have deployed state resources for a case that is personal.
The organisation had called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe same.
However, in a statement on Thursday in Lafia, the governor said the position of the body was laughable and mischievous.
The governor said if he did not use state fund to prosecute his reelection campaign, why would he revert to same to defend the mandate given to him by the people who he sworn to better their lives.
The governor said the tribunal was just the first leg of the ongoing war to defend the people’s mandate freely given to him during the March 18 governorship election, adding that he is ready to deploy his last earning in ensuring that justice is duly served in the case.
He said the resort to blackmail was another distractive strategy by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to use partisan and compromised groups to court public sympathy even as he vowed that no amount of blackmail would dampen his resolve.
“The attention of His Excellency, Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule, Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, has been drawn to a media publication credited to a group operating under the umbrella of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), calling for his probe.
“In the ill-motivated publication, the group urged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations that the Governor might be utilising state funds to support his legal battle following the recent erroneous judgement by two members of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal against him.
“His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi A. Sule calls on the public to consider this allegation as another distractive strategy coming from an obviously partisan group working for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
“It is on record that the administration of Engr. Abdullahi A. Sule has remained consistent in the promotion of transparency and accountability in governance, especially the management of State’s meager resources since assumption of office in 2019 and cannot use a penny belonging to the State to pursue his matter at the Appeal Court or any personal cause.
“The State Government hereby assures all individuals and groups, (including HURIWA) who are working to hijack the mandate freely given to Governor Sule in the March 18th governorship election by the people of the State that they will not succeed by the grace of God.
“For the avoidance of doubt, His Excellency has since directed his legal team to appeal the erroneous ruling of two members of the 3-man panel of the Tribunal and shall do everything within the confines of the law to ensure that the mandate given to him remains in place till 2027.
“We wish to reiterate the call on the good people of Nasarawa State to remain calm and peaceful in their conduct, no matter the provocation from members of the opposition party in the State,” the statement said.
