Taraba delegates hurl stones at Gov. Ishaku, Deputy; boycott Primaries

From Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo

Delegates of the People’s Democratic Party PDP in Taraba state on Wednesday stoned the convoy of the state Governor Darius Ishaku and his deputy Alhaji Haruna Manu at the Catholic Pastoral Centre Jalingo.

Our correspondent reports that the deputy Governor had driven to the venue where the delegates, supposed to vote at the party’s Congress to elect a Gubernatorial candidate today are hosted, but the delegates in defiance drove the deputy Governor away with stones.

Shortly after, the state Governor’s convoy drove into the arena but was not allowed to stop as the delegates started stoning the convoy insisting that they did not want to talk to the governor and leadership of the party.

Some of the delegates who spoke to our correspondent said that they were not comfortable with the imposition of the state PDP party Chairman as an aspirant when he was never a part of the process until barely forty eight hours to the Primaries.

Our correspondent recall that posters of Chairman of the party Col. Kefas Agbu Rtd who had earlier denied been a part of the governorship race in the state suddenly sprung all over the state capital Jalingo shortly after the former Minister of Defense General Theophilus Danjuma flew into the state and allegedly anointed him as his candidate for the party’s flag ahead of the 2023 general elections.

However, the action has sparked widespread condemnation and agitations from stakeholders who insists that they would not have the elder statesman impose a candidate on the party again, more so that the candidate is the seating Chairman of the party and from the same zone as the current governor who is about to complete his second tenure in office.

Meanwhile, three aspirants have shunned the party Primaries over alleged irregularities and manipulations.

The aspirants, Professor Joseph Albasu Kunini, Mr Victor Bala Kona and Alhaji Ayuba Aminu Kotolo, were absent at the venue of the Primaries and their agents were also absent.

Chairman of the election committee Alhaji Kabir Bappa Jauro, who declared the process to commence at around 5:30pm said that he received a formal notice of boycott by Victor Bala Kona.

Daily Sun reports that Seven persons had bought the forms to contest for the governorship ticket of the party and were screened and cleared but a few hours to the day of the Primaries, the state Chairman of the party Col. Kefas Agbu Rtd surreptitiously joined the race after his endorsement by the former Minister of Defense, sparking protests and agitations.